Siman 685, Se'if 1 · Introduction: where we are and what we are dealing with

Introduction: where we are and what we are dealing with

Shulchan Aruch, siman 685, se'if 1

• The four parshiyos: There are four special Torah portions read in addition to the regular weekly parshah of that Shabbos. For this we take out a second Sefer Torah and read the special portion from it.
• Where we are holding: Se'if 1 itself has already been explained. Our discussion now is on the words of the Mishnah Berurah in s.k. 2, which begins by explaining what Parshas Shekalim is and why Chazal instituted its reading.

The reason for the takanah of reading Parshas Shekalim

"For the verse says: 'This is the burnt offering of each month in its month, for the months of the year.' The words 'for the months of the year' are superfluous. Rather, the Torah is saying: there is one month in which you must renew, so that the bringing of the daily and additional offerings should come from a new terumah, and that is the month of Nisan, as we derive through a gezeirah shavah that this month is the month of Nisan."
(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 2)

• The extra words in the verse: The phrase "each month in its month" is self-understood, since it is speaking about every single month. The additional words "for the months of the year" come to teach that there is one month in which the year is renewed.
• Identifying which month: That the month in question is Nisan is derived in the Gemara through a gezeirah shavah.
• What comes out of this: Every year the korbanos must be renewed, meaning that from Rosh Chodesh Nisan the offerings brought must have been purchased with the money of the new terumah, and not taken from the existing stock.

The tamid and the mussaf offerings

• The olas tamid: The tamid offering is brought every single day in the Beis HaMikdash, one lamb in the morning and one in the afternoon. Hence its name: it is brought constantly, including on Shabbos and Yom Tov. This is an obligation on the tzibbur every day, and there is no way to be exempt from it.
• The mussaf offering: On Shabbos two additional lambs are brought, over and above the olas tamid, and that is the mussaf offering. This is why the verse says "in addition to the daily burnt offering it shall be done," meaning in addition to the olas tamid.
• Tefillas Mussaf: The Mussaf prayer was instituted as a remembrance of the mussaf offering, and therefore we recite in it the verse appropriate to that occasion: on Shabbos "UveYom haShabbos," on Pesach the verse of the fifteenth of the month, and so on.
• Communal offerings: The tamid, along with the offerings of Shabbos and the festivals, are called korbanos tzibbur, offerings that the community is obligated to bring. In contrast there are korbanos yachid, brought by an individual who sinned or who pledged a donation to the Beis HaMikdash.
• Communal offerings on Shabbos: The communal offerings are brought in their proper order even on Shabbos. Although the Torah says "you shall not kindle fire in all your dwelling places on the day of Shabbos," in the Mikdash the law is different, and the avodah of the korbanos is performed on Shabbos just as on any other day.

The stock in the Mikdash and the inspection of the animals

• Why a stock was needed: You cannot go out in the morning and buy an animal for that same day's offering, and therefore the Beis HaMikdash maintained a stock of animals.
• Inspection for blemishes: There is a special requirement to inspect the korban, that is, to examine it for a mum (blemish) four days before it is offered, in order to know that it is fit to be brought.
• Who did the inspecting: In the Beis HaMikdash there were kohanim whose job it was to inspect for blemishes, and they were experts in it.
• Someone coming from far away: A person who came from a distance, say from Metulla to Yerushalayim, and could not drag an animal the whole way, would pay and acquire his korban on the spot. That is why there was a storehouse of animals in the Beis HaMikdash, as well as merchants who brought animals.
• Renewing the terumah: Even if there was stock left over from the previous year, from Rosh Chodesh Nisan one must bring offerings purchased with the new funds, and therefore the money has to be collected in advance.

The campaign: announcing the shekalim in Adar

"And since in Nisan the offerings must be brought from a new terumah, therefore we go early and announce about the shekalim in the Adar adjacent to it, so that people should bring their shekalim by Rosh Chodesh Nisan."
(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 2)

• The announcement on Rosh Chodesh Adar: Messengers of the beis din would go out and announce that the collection of the machatzis hashekel was to begin and be sent to the Beis HaMikdash. In those days there was no other means of publicity, no newspapers and no media, so the announcement was made by messengers going around the city, even though the public knew on its own from the date.
• How the collection worked: In every city the gabbaim and the communal leaders collected the machatzis hashekel from the contributors, and over the course of Adar they sent the money to Yerushalayim, where it was placed in the collection chests in the Mikdash.
• The point of starting early: So that by Rosh Chodesh Nisan there would already be a supply of new shekalim, from which to purchase the offerings with which the new year's cycle begins.
• Surplus funds: If money remained in the chests, it was used for the repairs of the Beis HaMikdash. The haftarah of Parshas Shekalim speaks of strengthening the bedek habayis.
• Maintenance, not miracles: Although miracles occurred in the Beis HaMikdash, the Torah does not rely on miracles. The Mikdash building, like any building, required ongoing maintenance, and that costs money.

A remembrance of the Mikdash: reading Parshas Shekalim today

"And we pay 'the bulls of our lips' with the reading of the portion of Ki Sisa, in which the matter of the shekalim is written."
(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 2)

• Two Sifrei Torah: We take out an additional Sefer Torah, read the weekly parshah from the first one, and read the maftir from the second one, from the beginning of Parshas Ki Sisa, rather than the maftir of that week's parshah.
• What is read: We read the beginning of Parshas Ki Sisa, where it says "and each man shall give a ransom for his soul," and the whole subject of the shekalim.
• This year's reading: This year Parshas Shekalim falls out on Parshas Vayakhel, and the maftir is read from Parshas Ki Sisa, which is a parshah that is read afterward.

Yotzros in the four parshiyos

"There is a yotzer for Shacharis and likewise also for Mussaf on Parshas Shekalim and Parshas HaChodesh."
(Mishnah Berurah)

• The difference between the parshiyos: On Parshas Shekalim and Parshas HaChodesh there are piyutim both for Shacharis and for Mussaf, whereas on Parshas Zachor and Parshas Parah nothing was instituted for Mussaf, only for Shacharis.
• The names of the piyutim: The piyutim of Shacharis are called "yotzros," named for their place in the berachah of "Yotzer Or." The piyutim of Mussaf go by a different name, "kerovos," and they have no Yotzer berachah.
• An explanation for the difference: Even for Zachor and Parah piyutim were composed for Mussaf, but they were lost and never reached us.
• The situation today: In many shuls people are in a rush and have no patience for saying the piyutim, and the community has given up on reciting them. It depends on the place and the custom, and in earlier times piyutim were said both in Nusach Ashkenaz and in Nusach Sefard.

The dispute about reciting the piyutim: the concern of hefsek

• The root of the argument: From the era of the Geonim onward there was a dispute whether to recite the piyutim, because one who says them is interrupting in the middle of the berachos of Krias Shema.
• Where the piyutim are placed: The piyutim are named for their location: the yotzer at the beginning of the berachah, the me'orah near "Yotzer HaMeoros," a piyut in the berachah of Ahavah Rabbah, and the zulas further on, approaching Shemoneh Esrei. The closer one gets to Shemoneh Esrei, the more serious the interruption, more so than the piyut at the very start of the berachos.
• The dissenting view: Some held that the piyutim should not be said in the middle, but rather at the end of davening, and that there is no necessity to say them inside the berachos of Krias Shema. Others held that there is no hefsek here at all.
• An example from Rosh Hashanah: "Or Olam be'otzar chaim," recited on Rosh Hashanah, is not part of the tefillah itself but a fragment of a piyut, and we do not say the whole thing, only its first and last lines.

The history of the piyut and its authors

• Where it began: The piyut began in Eretz Yisrael.
• The background to its growth: According to the researchers, and rabbanim have said this as well, in Eretz Yisrael there were religious decrees forbidding Torah study, and in order to instill Torah learning nonetheless, the piyutim were composed. Through them the public stayed connected to Torah shebichsav and Torah shebe'al peh, since verses and Torah concepts are woven into them.
• Ancient piyutim with no known author: There are extremely old piyutim whose authors' names are not even known, such as "Kel Adon al kol hamaasim," which is built on the aleph beis, and "Adon Olam," which is said at the end of davening. A piyut does not have to rhyme.
• The genius of the paytan: To understand a piyut one has to be a great scholar, and the composers of the piyutim were among the greatest of their generations. Tosafos frequently brings proofs from the piyutim.
• What the word paytan means: Nowadays a "paytan" means a singer with a pleasant voice, but that is not the idea at all. In that era a paytan was someone who knew how to compose a piyut, and that is an extraordinary level of genius.
• The first known paytanim: The first paytan whose name is known is Yosi ben Yosi, after him Yanai, and the third is Rabbi Elazar HaKalir.
• The name "HaKalir": To this day the meaning of the word Kalir is unknown. Some said it is the name of a city, and there is a legend that the kalir was a cake he ate through which he became a great scholar. The matter is not clear.

Music and the tradition of recitation

• The paytan's role: The paytan composed the words alone, and that is where his genius lies. Music plays no role here, and it is not at all clear whether the piyutim were sung to a melody or simply recited.
• Sefer Tehillim: The psalms of David HaMelech are called "mizmor," which would suggest they were sung, but not all of them begin that way; there is also "michtam le'David." What a michtam is, and why the word mizmor is not used there, whether it is a different rhythm or something else entirely, is not clear.
• The lost tradition: The tradition regarding Tehillim and regarding the piyutim was gradually lost, and we do not have all of it. As explained, a large portion of the piyutim themselves was lost as well.

In passing · notes that came up in the shiur

1. The Mi Shebeirach for those who support the shul

• The text of the Mi Shebeirach: After the Torah reading we bless those "who give a candle for illumination and wine for Kiddush and Havdalah." Maintaining a shul costs money, and people who are willing to volunteer and cover the ongoing upkeep receive this berachah.
• The equivalent today: Today there is no Kiddush in shul and no candle for illumination, but there is someone who pays the electric bill and someone who sponsors seudah shelishis, and the berachah is said for them.

2. Animals that were never offered and the condition of beis din

• What was done with the old stock: Animals left over from the previous year are sold, and one begins to purchase animals anew with the funds of the new terumah.
• The question of kedushah: The animals were purchased with the funds of the Beis HaMikdash, and whether they already became sanctified through that purchase is not clear.
• The condition of beis din: Even if they did become sanctified, the beis din making the purchase stipulates at the time of purchase that if they are not brought as offerings they will not remain sanctified but will revert to chullin.
• Inflicting a blemish: One does not simply inflict a mum on them in order to remove them from the category of a korban, and that is a problem in its own right.

3. The problem of the bechor in our times

• The sanctity of a bechor: The kedushah of a firstborn animal cannot be removed, and the various devices of redeeming it with money do not help. If it develops a blemish there is a way to manage, but if it has no blemish there is nothing to be done with it until it dies, and then it is buried.
• The situation in chutz la'aretz: It is well known that in chutz la'aretz firstborn animals wandered around with no use, usually near the cemeteries, because there was nothing to do with them.
• What people did: Some would pay money to someone to cause a blemish in the bechor, and once it had a blemish it could be dealt with, but one does not simply do this.
• The solution today: To prevent the problem from arising in the first place, one enters into a partnership with a non-Jew, selling him a share in the animal, and then the offspring does not become sanctified. This is what is done on the religious kibbutzim. Although doing business with non-Jews is not a simple matter, this is the accepted solution.
• Peter chamor: The very same problem exists with a firstborn donkey as well.