Yoma 2 - Staying alone

Seven days before Yom Kippur, they take the High Priest away from his house and his wife and lead him to the Chamber of Parhedrin, where he will spend the next seven days in solitude and in preparation for the service.

Since all of Yom Kippur's services will be done by him, and they are kosher only if performed by a High Priest, this additional measure of separation was required to prevent even an unlikely possibility of him becoming ritually impure for the service.

There was yet another event in the life of a High Priest when a seven-day separation was required, and that was before burning of the Red Heifer to provide ashes for the purification from a dead body. Both had their source in the Torah and were connected to the Levites' initial consecration for the services, when they likewise spent seven days near the Tabernacle, separated from the rest. Back then, the Levites did it "to do" "atonement." For the future, "to do" refers to the Red Heifer and "atonement" to Yom Kippur.

Art: Solitude by Marc Chagall

Shekalim 22 – Temple curtain and shekalim today

The curtain in the Temple was one hand-breadth thick; it was woven with the thread of seventy-two strands; it was twenty amot (about 30 feet) by forty (about sixty feet); it was made at the cost of 820,000 gold coins, and another reading has it that 82 maidens were weaving it; it was replaced twice a year, and three hundred Kohanim were needed to hold it. Some say that 300 Kohanim was just an exaggeration, and perhaps this refers also to the cost. The Talmud also discussed how it was ritually purified in a mikveh and how other utensils were purified.

The mitzvah of shekalim applies only in the time of the Temple. What happens if one designates his shekel as the Temple shekel offering? – Even though the mitzvah does not apply, the shekel does become consecrated. What is he to do, seeing that there is no Temple where it can be used? – He must drop it in the Dead Sea. In truth, any sea will do, except that no boats were traversing the Dead Sea, and therefore there was no danger that the coins deposited there would be found and used. In the other seas, the coins have to be ground first.

Art: The Dead Sea with the mountains of Moab by Gustave Bauernfeind

Shekalim 21 - Found spittle

When people were able to keep the laws of ritual purity, they were careful if they found spittle, for perhaps it came from someone (a zav) whose spittle would make a person ritually impure. However, in Jerusalem, people kept a higher standard, so spittle found there was considered pure - this is Rabbi Meir's opinion. Rabbi Yose, however, says that this depends on traffic. In the time of the festivals, when ritually pure people occupied the center of the streets, spittle found in the center was pure, but one on the sides - impure. On other days it was the reverse. The Talmud then discusses knives found on the way down to a mikveh, and on the way up from it, at different times and for different types of knives.

Rav Bisna wanted to know if the blood of killed animals makes one ritually impure and what amount of it, and he posed this question to Rav Bivi. However, Rav Bivi did not answer and even spurned Rav Bisna. Rav Bivi' colleague, Rav Zerika, asked him, “Is it because he asks you a question that you spurn him?” Rav Bivi replied with the phrase from the Torah, “Your life will hang in suspense” - is one who only has provisions for a year, and “you will not be sure of your life” is one who eats from hand to mouth and buys his food from the baker daily. Rav Bivi said that it applied to himself. This is why he did not have the presence of mind to answer.

Art: A partridge, a dead duck, a pitcher, two knives, a loaf of bread and hens, on a forest floor By (after) Ferdinand Phillip De Hamilton

Shekalim 20 - Found animals

If one found an animal in Jerusalem's environments, then in the times of the Temple, it was most certainly an offering that got lost. If so, we need to determine what kind of sacrifice it was. If it is a male, we assume that it is a burned offering, but if it is a female, it is a peace offering. But why?

Granted that a female animal cannot be brought as a burned offering, we can assume it is a peace offering. But a male animal can be brought as a peace offering; why do we assume that it is a burned offering? The Talmud suggests a few explanations: we are really talking about a one who consecrates money, not an animal, or the teacher doesn’t mean that we really bring it as an offering, or maybe we exchange its designation. In the end, the Talmud finds all of them lacking. Finally, Rabbi Yakov suggests the following: the court makes a stipulation that if a sacrificial animal is lost, then its designation by the owner becomes invalidated retroactively, and now it transpires that it always was a burned offering.

The Talmud then discussed other similar conditions that the Court made for the betterment of society. For example, if one finds an animal like the one above and returns the find to the Temple, it used to be that he would be required to bring the libations to go with it. On hearing this, people started leaving the found animals in place. The Court then stipulated that the money for the libations (wine and flour) should come from the communal funds, that is, shekalim.

Art: Landscape With Animals And A Drover Resting By A Tree by Dirk van Bergen

Shekalim 19 – Found coins

While putting money into the collection chests we discussed before, one could err and drop them on the floor. If such coins are later found near the chests, we need to know what to do with them – because they had been designated for a specific purpose. The rule is like this: if, for example, the coins were found next to the “Shekalim” chests, we assume that they are for shekalim. If they were found closer to the adjacent “voluntary offerings” chest, we assume that they are for that purpose. If they are exactly in the middle, we take the more stringent view and put them in the voluntary offerings. Thus “close to” is a ruling principle, but we take the most stringent possibility into account in cases of doubt.

In general, other coins found in Jerusalem, which might be designated for some special purpose, are governed by similar principles. For example, if coins are found next to animal dealers, we assume they have the tithe's holiness. This is because the people used to bring their tithe money to Jerusalem and buy grain or animals for their meals. Most likely, they did not have the chance to spend all the money and dropped the coins. However, if the coins are found on the Temple Mount, we assume they have no designation since we have no reason to assume otherwise. The majority of coins in the world are not designated for anything special.

Art: The gold-weigher by Salomon Koninck

Shekalim 18 - Thirteen tables

There were thirteen tables in the Temple, each serving a specific purpose. Eight of them, made of marble, were used for skinning and washing the sacrifices before burning them. Among others, one was of marble, and on it, they would place the Bread of Vision ready to be brought into the Temple; inside the Temple, the bread lay on a golden table, and after a week of staying inside, but still fresh and warm, it was taken outside and put on another golden table, to be distributed among the priests. Why did they not put it back on the marble table? - Because of the rule that we bring things up in their level, try to never take them down. Another question: why put the bread on a table of marble; wouldn’t silver be more dignified? The answer is that yes, it would be, but silver warms up, and the bread may spoil. But didn’t we say that there was a miracle with this bread anyway, and it would not spoil or cool down?  Also true, but we try not to rely on miracles.

There were also thirteen collection chests in the Temple, called “Shofarot,” because they were in the form of a shofar, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, to prevent people from taking money out of them while pretending to donate. They were for shekalim, new and old, and for various sacrifices. The “old shekalim” means someone’s obligation from last year - which cannot be used for this year but has to go into a separate chest and be used for the needs of Jerusalem instead.

Art: Still Life with Melon, Peach, Fruit-Filled Compote and Glass of Wine on a Marble Table Top By William Mason Brown

Shekalim 17 - Bow down thirteen times

When one visited the Temple, he had to bow down (actually, completely prostrate himself on the floor) thirteen times against each of the thirteen gates. The gates each had a name and some - a story connected to them. This, however, is the opinion of Rabbi Abba, but the Sages say that there were only seven gates. If so, what were the thirteen prostrations for - since the Sages agree to that fact? - The Sages say that after the Greeks made thirteen breaches in the Temple inner wall, and then the Hashmonaim (in the time of Chanukkah) repaired them, the thirteen bowing down commemorated that fact.

One of the Temple's gates was called “The Water Gate,” because, in the future, a spring of water will issue at this place from Jerusalem. The Talmud described how it will happen: from the Holy of Holies, the stream will be like the antennae of the smallest snail; then like locusts’ antennae, and by the time it goes out and connects to the rivers, lakes, and seas of Israel, it will be so powerful that a mighty vessel won’t cross it.

Back to the subject of Temple destruction, when Nebuchadnezzar came up to Israel, the Sanhedrin went out to ask him if the time for Temple destruction had arrived. He told them to give out their king. They told the king Yehoyachin about it, and the latter took the keys of the Temple and threw them to Heaven, from where they did not come back; and some say that a hand came to receive it. When the nobles saw it, they went to the roofs and jumped off there to their death. This is what Isaiah said, “Why have you all gone to the rooftops?”

Art: Daniel Before Nebuchadnezzar by Salomon Koninck