Daf Yomi Shekalim

Shekalim 2a and Shekalim 2b, the RH Adar announcement of the need to give a half shekel, why then, what Jews did and did not give to in their contributions, and how the first Adar relates to the second.

Shekalim 3a and Shekalim 3b, the source for marking graves, for the power of courts to confiscate money, who is obligated to give the half shekel (and whom we dun for not giving it), whether kohanim are included or not.

Shekalim 4a and Shekalim 4b, aspects of the Temple to which non-Jews can or cannot donate, whether Cutim converted fully, the role of kalbon, the additional coin given as part of a half-shekel, and when brothers count as partners or as heirs.

Shekalim 5a and Shekalim 5b, when things go wrong with the half shekel, either in getting it to Jerusalem, or in a person mistaking it for his own when it belonged to someone else.

Shekalim 6a and Shekalim 6b, when someone donates money to a sacrifice or shekalim inexactly, when the sanctification takes effect and the money must be used for sanctified purposes, and when it can be hullin, go back to ordinary use.

Shekalim 7a and Shekalim 7b, finishing up where extra monies go, the right of Torah scholars to care about their honor, the value of being quoted even after one’s passing, and then a new chapter, starting with the three times of year monies were sampled to be used for communal sacrifices.

Shekalim 8a and Shekalim 8b, the reasons behind how we structure the year for tithing animals–first of Elul or of Tishrei, or Elul a month of its own–the taking of monies from the pile to finance sacrifices, and how we determine the size of various items, including the four cups of wine on Seder night.

Shekalim 9a and Shekalim 9b, whether blood of animals creates ritual impurity, why teachers might snap at students, how the money was taken from the lishka for use for sacrifices, what they did about shortfalls in the finances, and the rising steps of spirituality according to R. Pinhas b. Yair.

Shekalim 10a and Shekalim 10b, whether individual contributions can be fully donated to the community, and the uses of various versions of the funds for the Temple.

Shekalim 11a and Shekalim 11b, what was done with extra monies of various sorts, including how the Beit HaMikdash always made the extra money on transactions, and how extra items of the Temple–extra incense, extra animals–were deconsecrated and reconsecrated for the next year’s use, and how salaries were paid to craftsmen for the Temple.

Shekalim 12a and Shekalim 12b, when someone donates animals to the Beit HaMikdash without specifying their purpose, or specifying an unacceptable purpose, what kind of sanctity develops for those animals.

Shekalim 13a and Shekalim 13b, what happens with animals donated to the Temple that cannot be used as sacrifices, the advantageous terms the Temple got in purchasing flour and wine for libations, and then the list of people who performed functions in the Temple, leading us to remember other great contributors to Jewish history, like those who saved the Torah tradition. Then, back to the Temple officials and their great skills, starting with the linguistic skills of Petahyah.

Shekalim 14a and Shekalim 14b, how Gd’s justice expresses itself or doesn’t to those who have done good deeds, how the families of Garmu and Avtinas resisted sharing their knowledge of how to make the bread and incense for the Temple, the supervision system of money in the Temple, and the token system for purchasing the accompanying flour, wine, and oil for sacrifices.

Shekalim 15a and Shekalim 15b, finishing up the discussion of how rams were the only animal differentiated in its libations from the immature version of the animal, a new Mishnah about giving charity to the poor in a proper, dignified way, and then a new chapter about the various collection containers, tables, and bowings in the Temple, starting with where the Aron HaKodesh was buried.

Shekalim 16a and Shekalim 16b, what miraculous objects were hidden with the Aron, the Ark of the Covenant, the anointing of kings and High Priests, the way the luhot fit in the Aron, depending on how many handbreaths there are in a cubit.

Shekalim 17a and Shekalim 17b, the gates of the courtyard of the Temple, especially the one through which water will flow to supply many types of fish to Kinneret and heal the saltiness of the Dead Sea. Then the tables of the Temple area, marble, silver, and gold, and why, including the additional tables Shlomo HaMelech built

Shekalim 18a and Shekalim 18b, the tables and candelabras Shlomo added to the Temple, the minimum offerings of wood, frankincense, and gold, and the meaning of the six containers for voluntary offerings.

Shekalim 19a and Shekalim 19b, how to decide the status of money and meat found in an uncertain place, between containers of kinds of money in the Beit HaMikdash, or in the city of Jerusalem or the rest of the world, including the principle of kavu’a and parush, when the item is found in its place, or has already been moved to a new place.

Shekalim 20a and Shekalim 20b, meat that disappeared and how we can know we are allowed to eat it, when found items can be kept under the assumption the owners have had ye’ush, have despaired of recovering them, and the status of found animals, along with rules the courts made to ease the financing of uncertain sacrifices.

Shekalim 21a and Shekalim 21b, more issues of uncertainty and how to resolve them–saliva and utensils in Jerusalem, when we assume people are or are not likely to be ritually impure, and how to immerse the parochet, the curtain separating the two rooms of the Beit HaMikdash from each other.

Shekalim 22a and Shekalim 22b, finishing the tractate with discussions of where we burn items that have become ritually impure, what kinds of sanctifications of items do and don’t work in our times (including the half-shekel).