Shekalim 11: Leftover Ketores and the Trigger For Sectarian Schism

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The Mishnah describes what is done with leftover Ketores from theprevious year. Since the Ketores that is offered on the Mizbe'ach must bebought from the present year's collection of Shekalim, the leftover Ketoresfrom the previous year may not be offered on the Mizbe'ach. What is done withthe leftover Ketores? The Mishnah describes the procedure through which theKedushah is removed from the old Ketores and transferred to money of theTerumas ha'Lishkah in such a way that the money is then used to buy back theKetores with money from the new year's Terumas ha'Lishkah.

The Tziddukim and the Perushim weredivided as to how the incense is offered on Yom Kippur (Yoma 53a): "Heshall place the incense upon the burning coals before God – he should notarrange them in place outside [of the Holy of Holies] and then enter, exceptthe Tziddukim who say that he should arrange it outside and then bring itin." In other words, the view of the Tziddukim is that the Kohen Gadoloffers the incense while he is still outside of the Holy of Holies, and onlythen does he enter with the censer. Unquestionably, this view regards theincense as a sort of screen that protects the Kohen and separates between himand the Divine Presence (as Rashbam explains). The halakha, on the other hand,stipulates that the Kohen offers the incense only after he enters. Clearly,then, the function of the incense is not to create a barrier.

This invites a scholarly intriguing theory regarding "The Tale of the Sadducee who Incorrectly Prepared the Yom Kippur Ketoret". by Dr Yonatan Feintuch

Shekalim 10: Temple Tax

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The fourth perek of Massekhet Shekalim, which begins on our daf opens with the question of how the shekalim are spent. We have already noted that the communal sacrifices were purchased with this money, but there were other needs in the Temple and in Jerusalem that were paid for with these donations.

After the return under Nehemiah, Jews in the Diaspora continued to pay the Temple tax. Josephus reported that at the end of the 30s CE "many tens of thousands" of Babylonian Jews guarded the convoy taking the tax to Jerusalem (Ant. 18.313).

This leads us to the historical evidence regarding Pointius Pilate's looting of the temple treasury from the perspective of Josephus vs the NT.

Shekalim 9: Steps to Perfecting the Soul

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The Mesilas Yeshorim bases his thesis on the ladder of middos that Rabbi Pinchos Ben Yair presents in our daf as well as in other places in shas (Avodah Zara 20b). The rungs that the Ramchal (author of Mesilas Yeshorim) uses as chapters are somewhat different than the ones in our Gemora. (He himself states in the introduction that this statement is found in a few places in Shas, where each Gemora may have a different version of the statement.)

We will present them here with the girsa of our Gemora:

Zerizus (alertness) leads to nekiyus (cleanliness);

nekiyus leads to tahara (purity);

tahara leads to kedusha (holiness);

kedusha leads to anava (humility);

anava leads to yiras chet (fear of sin);

yiras chet leads to chassidus (piety);

chassidus leads to ruach hakodesh (divine spirit);

ruach hakodesh leads to techias hameisim (resurrection of the dead);

techias hameisim leads to the coming of Eliyahu Hanavi.

and ponder the popularity of this work in the last hundred years across the spectrum of Jewish academies of learning.

Shekalim 8: The Appearance of Impropriety

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The Mishnah teaches that great care was taken to make sure that no one would steal – or be suspected of stealing – from these monies.

No one was permitted to take the money from the Temple office if he was wearing clothing or shoes in which he could conceal money.

To support the ruling that obligates people to show care not only before God, but also before people, and ensure that they do not suspect you of wrongdoing, the Mishnah refers to passages in Num 32:22 and Prov 3:4 that clearly indicate the need to be concerned with both heavenly and this-world suspicions.

This leads us into an inquiry as the borders of impropriety in law and in a particular shaila...

Shekalim 7: Plagiarism

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There is a certain immortality that is achieved when a teaching is said in the name of a deceased person. It is as if “their lips move in the grave.”

Elsewhere the Talmud has this to say on the importance of proper attribution:

Which leads us to discuss plagiarism and the importance of proper citation.

Shekalim 6: Sale of Joseph

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Shekalim 5: HAMAN’S SHEKEL

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Shekalim 4: כמין מטבע של אש

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The Gemara cites an additional reason for the obligation to give a half-shekel: It atones for the sin of the sale of Joseph.

First, it introduces this topic. Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Since the sons of Jacob sold Joseph, the firstborn of Rachel, for twenty silver dinar, the nation was commanded that each of them must redeem his firstborn son with twenty silver dinar, which is five sela, as there are four dinar in a sela.

This leads us eventually to the Eleh Ezkera Kina on Tisha B'Av and its connection of the 10 Martyrs as atonement for the Sale of Joseph.

Shekalim 3: Money Changers

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The Mishnah opens with the statement that on the first day of the month of Adar - they: the Temple priests and other Jewish authorities - proclaimed that the payment of the half shekel will soon be due in just one month - the first day of the month of Nisan. On that first day of Adar, the Jerusalem Talmud states that heralds went forth from Jerusalem proclaiming that the tax would be due in a month.

Now, why were there money changers in the provinces, and why were there money changers in the Temple? Because the tax was 1/2 shekel, and when people were ready to bring their shekels from their homes to Jerusalem, they needed to make change - you gave the money changer a shekel and he gave you two 1/2 shekels and you could then take your 1/2 shekel to Jerusalem to pay your tax.

This leads us to the commonly helld belief based on NT sources regarding the corruption of the money-lenders and the Parable of the Pound.

Shekalim 2: God’s Currency

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Pesachim 121: Pesachim/Chagigah

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The very last Mishna in the massekhet deals with the various blessings made when eating the sacrifices at the seder during the Temple period. Can the general berakha on the korban hagiga brought for the holiday cover the korban Pesah, as well, or does each need its own berakha? According to the Mishna, this question is debated by Rabbi Yishmael, who believes that one may cover the other, and Rabbi Akiva, who believes that, under all circumstances, each will need its own berakha.

This leads us on a meandering path through the hiding of the Afikoman to the culinary differences between the korban Pesach vs other kordbonos to the differences between the Exodus vs the Deuteronomy account of the korban Pesach.

Pesachim 120: The Midnight Hour

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The Gemara identifies the position that the korban Pesah must be eaten by midnight with Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, who understands the command to eat the sacrifice ba-layla ha-zeh (Shemot 12:8) to mean the same time that God traveled through Egypt for Makat Bekhorot, the last of the plagues, which took place at midnight ba-layla ha-zeh (see 12:12). Rabbi Akiva disagrees with this reading of the pasuk and argues that it can be eaten throughout the night, reasoning that ba-layla simply teaches us that it is a unique korban that can only be eaten at night and not on the following day. This leads us to explore the need to eat the afikoman by midnight and the famous Avnei Nezer's way around it.

Pesachim 119: Epikomazein

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The Mishna in Pesachim 119b states: "One may not eat desert [afikoman] after the Paschal sacrifice." During the time of the Temple, the mitzva was to eat the Paschal sacrifice together with matza at the end of the meal. The Mishna means to say that after eating this matza one is forbidden to eat anything else. The Afikoman tradition is essential to the Passover Seder, and it’s been observed by Jews around the world for centuries. Yet no other Jewish practice is shrouded in more mystery than this special half-matzah.

An answer finally emerges in a rather aggressive apologetic piece by a second-century Jewish-Christian bishop, Melito of Sardis, who knew the word “afikoman” as a Passover symbol for Yeshua. His sermon is dated around 170 AD, several decades before the first rabbinic mention of “afikoman” (the Mishnah was compiled after 200 AD). This evidence has caused Jewish scholars to speculate that the Messianic symbolism in the Seder originated with the Nazarene community.

Pesachim 118: Hallel Ha-Gadol

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Aside from the standard Hallel (Tehillim 113-118) that is recited during the seder, we also are instructed by the baraita on our daf to say Hallel ha-Gadol. Although there is a disagreement recorded in the Gemara regarding which psalms make up Hallel ha-Gadol, we follow the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda who says that it is the whole of Tehillim 136.

This leads us to examine the claim by our daf that securing a person’s livelihood is as difficult for Hashem as splitting the sea?

How does emunah and bitachon operate with the need for hishtadlus in parnassa?

Pesachim 117: בעשרה מאמרות של שבח

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Our daf (Pesachim 117a; Yerushalmi, Sukkah 3:10) states that there are ten types of songs in Tehillim, the Book of Psalms: Ashrei, Brachah, Maskil, Nitzuach, Shir, Niggun, Mizmor, Tefillah, Hodaah, and Halleluyah. The holy tzaddik (righteous person) Rebbe Nachman of Breslov revealed that the recitation of the ten specific psalms he identified, each representing one of these categories, would act as an effective tikkun (remedy, repair, or rectification) for all sins, especially sexual immorality. Their recitation would help in a process of teshuvah (repentance), leading to an awareness of the Divine Presence, which sends blessings to this world but is hidden through transgressions in thought and action. Rebbe Nachman famously said, “If you believe it is possible to destroy, believe it is possible to repair.” (Likutey Moharan II, 112.)

Pesachim 116: Blindness

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The Gemara identifies the position that the korban Pesah must be eaten by midnight with Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, who understands the command to eat the sacrifice ba-layla ha-zeh (Shemot 12:8) to mean the same time that God traveled through Egypt for Makat Bekhorot, the last of the plagues, which took place at midnight ba-layla ha-zeh (see 12:12). Rabbi Akiva disagrees with this reading of the pasuk and argues that it can be eaten throughout the night, reasoning that ba-layla simply teaches us that it is a unique korban that can only be eaten at night and not on the following day. This leads us to explore the need to eat the afikoman by midnight and the famous Avnei Nezer's way around it.

Pesachim 115: Korech - The Hillel Sandwich

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When we sit down to the seder, among the most important mitzvot that we fulfill is eating matza and maror. Our tradition is to first make the appropriate blessings (ha-motzi and al akhilat matza) on the matza, then to make the blessing on the maror (al akhilat maror – the blessing of bori pri ha-adama having already been recited on the karpas – and finally to make a sandwich from them together, reminding us of Hillel’s tradition during Temple times.

Pesachim 114: כוס ראשון

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The requirement that every Jew drink four cups of wine with his meal of roast lamb, matzah and maror, is part of the effort of halakhah to ensure that the passover meal is eaten 'in freedom', as we explained in connection with mishnah 1. Technically speaking, the first cup is designated for 'Kiddush', the sanctification of the day over wine; the second is reserved for the recitation of the 'Haggadah' (which is also a requirement of the Torah); the third cup is the cup over which grace is recited after the meal; and the fourth cup is that which accompanies and concludes the recitation of Hallel. The last clause of the previous mishnah mentioned that every Jew at every Seder must have four cups of wine 'even if this is from the soup-kitchen'. In ancient Israel the soup-kitchen [Tamĥu'i] was part of the rather extensive arrangements made for the support of the indigent. Any person whose annual income was less than 200 dinars was considered indigent and was entitled to weekly financial support from the local charity fund, and to daily support from the soup kitchen which supplied them with food.

Pesachim 113: Kaldiyyim, Kalda'ei

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The Gemara often makes use of a statement of aggada to segue to a broader discussion of non-halakhic matters. The teachings of Rabbi Akiva to his son, which appeared on yesterday’s daf, lead the Gemara to quote from a collection of statements made by individual Sages to their children, many of them referring to issues of a mystical and, on occasion, personal, nature. The Gemara teaches that the source for the prohibition against requesting advice or information from the "Kaldiyim" is the verse, "You shall be completely faithful to Hashem your God" (Deut 18:13).

The Gemara in Shabbos (156b) describes a "Kalda'ei" as a Nochri astrologer who uses the constellations to predict future events. The Gemara in Shabbos describes this discipline as legitimate and trustworthy. Why, then, does the Gemara here say that one is prohibited to rely on the advice of Kaldiyim?

Who were the Chaldeans and how much did they influence chazal? And why did some consider their science legitimate?

Pesachim 112: ואפילו מן התמחוי

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The Gemara on our daf asks why the Mishna needs to teach us that someone should take money from charity to fulfill the mitzva of drinking four cups. Isn’t it obvious that if someone needs to fulfill a mitzva that he should accept money from charity?

The Gemara answers: The mishna is necessary only to teach that this halakha applies even according to the opinion of Rabbi Akiva, who said: Make your Shabbat like an ordinary weekday and do not be beholden to other beings. If one is unable to honor Shabbat without financial help from others, it is better for him to save money and eat his Shabbat meals as he would on a weekday rather than rely on other people. Here, in the case of the four cups, Rabbi Akiva concedes that it is appropriate for a poor person to request assistance from the community, due to the obligation to publicize the miracle.

Having presented Rabbi Akiva’s opinion, the Gemara quotes a series of statements that Rabbi Akiva taught his son Rabbi Yehoshua, the final one being the rule of avoiding charity even if it affects your Shabbat. This leads us to examine poverty and the ambivalent attitude in the Talmud