Megillah, Daf Kaf Tet, Part 5
Introduction
This entire sugya is about what passage in the Torah is read on Shabbat Shekalim, the special Shabbat that falls before or on Rosh Hodesh Adar.
מאי פרשת שקלים? רב אמר: +במדבר כ"ח+ צו את בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם את קרבני לחמי, ושמואל אמר: +שמות ל+ כי תשא.
בשלמא למאן דאמר כי תשא – היינו דקרי לה פרשת שקלים, דכתיב בה שקלים. אלא למאן דאמר את קרבני לחמי, הכא מידי שקלים כתיבי התם? – אין, טעמא מאי – כדרבי טבי.
What is the portion of Shekalim?
Rav said: "Command the children of Israel and say to them ‘My sacrifice, my food’" (Numbers 28:2)
But Shmuel said: "When you count [the heads of the children of Israel]" (Exodus 30:12).
It makes sense to the one who says the portion is "When you count," that is why it is called the portion of Shekalim, because shekalim are written in it.
But according to the one who says it is "My sacrifice, my food" are shekels written in it.
Yes; the reason is based on the statement of R. Tabi.
Shmuel says that the portion of Shekalim is Exodus 30:12 and onward, for that is where Israel was told to bring shekels during the census. This, according to many rabbis, is the source of the Second Temple practice of bringing a half-shekel to the Temple once a year.
But Rav says that it is the beginning of Numbers 28, which discusses the musaf and tamid offerings. Why that passage?
The answer is that this accords with R. Tabi’s statement from yesterday’s section, where he said that this verse teaches us that from the month of Nisan and onwards we use the new donations to fund the public sacrifices. Therefore, we need to let people know from Adar and onward that they should bring the shekels. According to Rav, we read this portion in the Torah as well.
בשלמא למאן דאמר צו את בני ישראל – משום דכתיבי קרבנות התם, כדרבי טבי. אלא למאן דאמר כי תשא, קרבנות מי כתיבי? שקלים לאדנים כתיבי!
כדתני רב יוסף: שלש תרומות הן, של מזבח למזבח, ושל אדנים לאדנים, ושל בדק הבית לבדק הבית.
It is understandable to the one who says that "Command the children of Israel" [should be read], because sacrifices are written in it.
But according to the one who says that "When you count" should be read, are sacrifices written there? It is the shekels for the sockets that are mentioned there!
[The reason is] as R. Joseph taught: There were three contributions: of the altar for the altar, of the sockets for the sockets, and of the repair of the House for the repair of the House.
Shmuel’s opinion, that we read Exodus 30 is also problematic, for the collection there was taken to pay for the sockets used in the construction of the Tabernacle (this is alluded to in Exodus 38:25-27). It was not used to finance public sacrifices, which is what the half-shekel was used for. [As an aside, this shows that it is not simple to draw a straight historical line from the collection taken in Exodus 30 to the Second Temple custom of the half-shekel. There is actually quite a bit of research about the subject.]
The problem is solved by an allusion to a statement made by R. Joseph, that there were actually three contributions, one for the altar, one for the sockets and one for the general repair of the Tabernacle/Temple. Thus according to R. Joseph there is a connection between Exodus 30 and the collection of the half-shekel.
בשלמא למאן דאמר כי תשא היינו דשני האי ראש חדש משאר ראשי חדשים, אלא למאן דאמר צו… את קרבני מאי שני? – שני, דאילו ראשי חדשים – קרו שיתא בעניינא דיומא, וחד בדראש חודש. ואילו האידנא כולהו בדראש חודש.
It makes sense to the one who says that "When you count" should be read, because he thus makes a difference between this Rosh Hodesh and other cases of Rosh Hodesh. But the one who says that "Command the children of Israel" should be read, what difference does he make?
He does make a difference, because on other cases of Rosh Hodesh six read in the portion of the day and one that of Rosh Hodesh, whereas in this case all read in that of Rosh Hodesh.
In order to understand this section we need to understand some background concerning Torah reading during the Talmudic period. When a special Shabbat occurred, they would not read the regular portion of the week and then add on the special reading for that Shabbat as we do today. Rather, they would suspend the portion of the week and just read the special reading for that Shabbat. The problem is that if the portion of Shekalim is Numbers 28, then that is the same reading as every other Rosh Hodesh. So how would anyone know that it is a special Shabbat?
The answer is that in other cases of Rosh Hodesh six people would read the regular portion and the seventh would read the Rosh Hodesh reading as maftir (we do this slightly differently, seven people read and then an additional person reads the reading for Rosh Hodesh). On Shabbat Shekalim the entire reading would consist only of Numbers 28. I should note that this would mean there would be a lot of repeating because the passage is not that long.
הניחא למאן דאמר לסדר פרשיות הוא חוזר, אלא למאן דאמר לסדר הפטרות הוא חוזר, ופרשתא דיומא קרינן, מאי שני? – שני, דאילו ראשי חדשים קרו שיתא בעניינא דיומא, וחד קרי בדראש חודש, ואילו האידנא קרו תלתא בעניינא דיומא וארבעה קרו בדראש חודש.
This works for the one who says that he returns to the regular order of portions but according to the one who says that that he returns to the regular order of haftarot and that the regular Torah portion is read, what difference is there [between this Rosh Hodesh and others]?
There is a difference, because on other cases of Rosh Hodesh six read in the portion of the day and one reads the special portion for Rosh Hodesh, whereas on this occasion three read in the portion of the day and four in that of Rosh Hodesh.
The above difference between a regular Rosh Hodesh that falls on Shabbat and Shabbat Shekalim works only according to the opinion I described above, that they would interrupt the regular parshat hashavua reading and then return to it the following week. But there is another opinion, that on the special Shabbat the only thing that would be interrupted is the regular haftorah reading (as we do today). So if they read Numbers 28, how is Shabbat Shekalim different from a normal Rosh Hodesh?
Again, there is a difference as to how it is read. On a regular Rosh Hodesh six people would read the regular Torah reading and one would read the Rosh Hodesh portion. On Shabbat Shekalim three would read the regular portion and four would read the special portion for Shabbat Shekalim. [Again, this is not how we do things today].
מיתיבי: ראש חודש אדר שחל להיות בשבת קורין בפרשת שקלים, ומפטירין ביהוידע הכהן. בשלמא למאן דאמר כי תשא – היינו דמפטירין ביהוידע הכהן, דדמי ליה, דכתיב +מלכים ב’ יב+ כסף נפשות ערכו, אלא למאן דאמר את קרבני לחמי, מי דמי? – דמי, כדרבי טבי.
They objected: When Rosh Hodesh Adar falls on Shabbat, the portion of Shekalim is read, and they read as the haftarah the chapter of Yehoyada the Priest.
This works for the one who says that "When you count" should be said, that is why they read the haftorah of Yehoyada the Priest because it is similar in subject, as it is written [there], "The money of the persons according to its value" (II Kings 12:5). But according to the one who says that "My sacrifice, my food" is there any similarity?
It is similar, as R. Tabi said.
The chapter of Yehoyada seems to allude to Exodus 30:12 and uses similar terminology. Indeed, many scholars trace a line between this Torah reading, Yehoash the king’s interpretation of it and the Second Temple custom. This haftorah accords well with Shmuel’s opinion, that we read Exodus 30. But what is the connection between that haftorah and Numbers 28?
Again, the connection is drawn through R. Tabi’s derashah, which connects the shekels with the new contributions used to fund the sacrifices.
מיתיבי: חל להיות בפרשה הסמוכה לה, בין מלפניה בין מלאחריה – קורין אותה, וכופלין אותה. בשלמא למאן דאמר כי תשא – היינו דמתרמי בההוא זימנא, אלא למאן דאמר צו את קרבני, מי מתרמי בההוא זימנא? – אין, לבני מערבא דמסקי לדאורייתא בתלת שנין.
They objected: If it [Rosh Hodesh Adar] falls on the portion next to it [the portion of Shekalim], whether before or after, they read it and repeat it.
This works for the one who holds that "When you count" is read because [the regular portion containing this passage] falls about that time.
But according to the one who says that "Command My sacrifice" does [the portion containing that passage] fall about that time?
Yes, for the people of Eretz Yisrael, who complete the reading of the Torah in three years.
The baraita brought here says that if the portion that is read on Shabbat Shekalim falls a week before or after they read the same portion as part of the regular cycle, then they just read it two weeks in a row. In the Babylonian tradition of reading the entire Torah in one year, this can only happen with Exodus 30, for Ki Tisa falls around this time of year. Parshat Pinhas, which includes Numbers 28, is in the summer. So this baraita seems to support Shmuel.
However, the Talmud explains that the baraita reflects the custom of Eretz Yisrael where they read the Torah in a triennial cycle (actually not exactly three years, possibly twice in 7 years). Thus there is no set time of year in which Exodus 30 or Numbers 28 would be read. Either could fall in Adar.
תניא כוותיה דשמואל: ראש חודש אדר שחל להיות בשבת קורין כי תשא ומפטירין ביהוידע הכהן.
It has been taught in agreement with Shmuel: When Rosh Hodesh Adar falls on Shabbat, the portion "When you count" is read, and they read the haftarah concerning "Yehoyada the Priest."
The sugya ends with a baraita that supports Shmuel’s opinion we read from Exodus 30. This remains the custom to this day.