Arachin, Chapter 6, Mishnah 3. In the fifth perek we learned that collateral could be seized from a person who had accepted an arach vow upon himself, as a way of pressing him to pay what he owes when it is due. The next few mishnayot turn to the details of that seizure: which of a person's possessions the treasurer of the Beit Hamikdash may take, and which must be left in his hands.
The opening words are "af al pi she'amru", even though it has already been established, and the mishnah continues, "chayavei arachin memashkenin otan", that security is taken from one who owes an arach. The treasurer may indeed lay hold of a man's property to make certain the payment arrives on schedule, but his reach is not unlimited. A core set of necessities stays in the owner's hands.
The Basics That Stay With Him
"Notnin lo mazon sheloshim yom", a month's worth of food remains his. Clothing too: "uch'sut shneim asar chodesh", a full year's supply. "Umita mutza'at", a bed prepared for sleeping, complete with its linens, blankets and pillow. "Vesandalin utfilin", his footwear and his tefillin. Should any of these items be missing from his home, he is left with the funds to acquire them. Nothing on this list is a luxury; it is the minimum a person requires in order to live.
"Aval lo le'ishto velo levanav", but these provisions are set aside for him alone, not for his wife and not for his children. True, a man carries an obligation to provide his household with food and clothing. Nevertheless, his obligation to pay what he has dedicated to the Beit Hamikdash takes precedence. It falls to him to work out how his family will manage; the dedication is paid first.
Tools of the Trade
The mishnah now introduces a case: "im haya uman", where the man happens to be a craftsman and his craft is his parnasa, the source of his livelihood. Here he keeps "shenei chelei umanut", a pair of implements, "mikol min va'min", of every category his work demands. Why a pair rather than a single one of each? Because if one of them snaps in the middle of a job, the second lets him keep working and keep earning.
An example follows. "Charash", a woodworker, keeps "shenei ma'atzadin", two adzes, the blade used to pare down and level a piece of timber, along with "ushnei megerot", two saws.
Rabbi Eliezer: Animals as Tools
"Rabbi Eliezer omer", Rabbi Eliezer widens the category. "Im haya ikar", where the man draws his living from the soil, then "notnin lo et tzimdo", his harnessed pair of oxen stays with him, for without them the field cannot be worked. And "chamar, notnin lo et chamoro", one whose parnasa comes from hauling goods by donkey keeps his donkey.
The dispute here is what counts as a tool. For Rabbi Eliezer, the ox and the donkey are precisely the chelei umanut of the farmer and of the driver; without them there is no trade at all. The Tanna Kamma disagrees: animals are animals, not implements. They are ordinary property like anything else a man owns, and the treasurer of the Beit Hamikdash may seize them as security.