Bekhorot 50

רבי יוחנן אומר דינרא הדריינא טריינא שייפא דמזבנא בעשרים וחמשה זוזי דל מינייהו שתותא והנך לפדיון הבן הני עשרין וחד נכי דנקא הוי

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: If one wishes to know how much to give for the redemption of the firstborn son, take the worn-out gold dinars of Hadrian and Trajan, which are sold at twenty-five dinars, and deduct from them one-sixth. And these that remain are the five sela that one must give for the redemption of the firstborn son, i.e., twenty dinars, as there are four dinars in a sela. The Gemara challenges: After deducting one- sixth from twenty-five, one is not left with twenty dinars, but twenty-one dinars less one-sixth [danka] of a dinar.

אלא דל שתותא וזוזא והנך לפדיון הבן אכתי עשרין נכי דנקא הוי אלא דל זוזא ושתותא והנך לפדיון הבן דהוי להו עשרין מתקלי במתקלי דינרא דאינון עשרין ותמניא זוזי ופלגי ופלגא דנקא

Rather, deduct one-sixth and another dinar, and these that are left are for the redemption of the firstborn son. The Gemara challenges: But the calculation is still inexact, as this sum is twenty dinars less one-sixth of a dinar. Rather, first deduct one dinar, and from the remainder, i.e., twenty-four dinars, deduct one-sixth, and these that are left are the five sela coins that one must give for the redemption of the son. The Gemara notes that these are a weight of twenty matkalei of the small golden dinars known as matkalei, which are worth twenty-eight and a half dinars, and half of a sixth of a dinar, in Arabian silver dinars.

אמר רבא סילעים דאורייתא תלתא ותילתא הוי דכתיב עשרים גרה השקל ומתרגמינן עשרין מעין ותניא שש מעה כסף דינר

§ Rava says: The biblical sela coins, i.e., the shekels that must be given for the redemption of the firstborn son, are each three and one-third dinars in weight, not four dinars. As it is written: “The shekel is twenty gera” (Exodus 30:13), and we translate “twenty gera” as twenty ma’a. And it is taught in a baraita: Six silver ma’a equal a dinar. If so, twenty ma’a, which is equal to the sela of the Torah, is worth three and one-third dinars.

מיתיבי והלא סלע של קדש ארבעים ושמנה פונדיונין

The Gemara raises an objection from a baraita, which discusses the halakha of one who redeems an ancestral field from the Temple treasury. The Torah states that one who consecrates his field in the Jubilee year gives as its redemption, for each of the upcoming forty-nine years, fifty sela for each area fit for the sowing of a kor of barley seed. In this regard, the Sages have said that one gives a sela and a pundeyon, which is half a ma’a, per year. The baraita notes a discrepancy here: But in the sela coins of the Sanctuary there are forty-eight pundeyon, which means that according to the statement of the Sages, the redemption for forty-nine years amounts to forty-nine sela and forty-nine pundeyon, i.e., fifty sela and a pundeyon, one pundeyon more than the sum required by the Torah.

פונדיון זה מה טיבו קילבון לפרוטרוט

The baraita explains: This pundeyon, what is its function? It is a premium [kilbon] for exchanging the sela into pundeyon. In any case, this baraita teaches that there are forty-eight pundeyon in the sela of the Torah, which is twenty-four ma’a. This contradicts the statement of Rava, who said that the sela of the Torah is worth only twenty ma’a.

בתר דאוסיפו עילוייהו דתניא עשרים גרה השקל למדנו לשקל שהוא עשרים גרה ומנין שאם רצה להוסיף יוסיף תלמוד לומר יהיה יכול יפחות תלמוד לומר הוא

The Gemara answers that the baraita is referring to the period after the Sages added one-sixth to the coins, i.e., four ma’a to each sela. As it is taught in a baraita, with regard to the verse: “Twenty gera shall be the shekel” (Leviticus 27:25): We learn from here with regard to the shekel mentioned in the Torah that it is twenty gera. And from where is it derived that if one wants to add to the number of ma’a in the shekel he may add? The verse states: “Twenty gera shall be the shekel,” whereby the term “shall be” denotes an increase. One might have thought that one may reduce the number of ma’a in the shekel to fewer than twenty. Therefore, the verse states: “The same is twenty gera” (Numbers 18:16), i.e., it may not be fewer than that.

רב אשי שדר ליה שבסר זוזי לרב אחא בריה דרבינא בפדיון הבן שלח ליה לישדר לי מר תלתא יתירתא דאיכא עלוייהו שלח ליה לשדר לי מר תלתא אחרינא דאוסיפו עילוייהו

The Gemara relates that Rav Ashi sent seventeen dinars to Rav Aḥa, son of Ravina, a priest, for the redemption of the firstborn son. Along with the money, Rav Ashi sent him the following message: Let the Master send me back the extra one-third of a dinar that is included in the sum. Since according to Rava the sela of the Torah is worth three and one-third dinars, five sela amount to sixteen dinars and two-thirds, which is one-third less than the seventeen dinars he sent. Rav Aḥa sent him in response: Let the Master send me the other three dinars that the Sages added to them, since after the Sages added to the sela of the Torah, five sela are equal to twenty dinars, three more than the seventeen Rav Ashi sent.

אמר רבי חנינא כל כסף האמור בתורה סתם סלע דנביאים ליטרין דכתובין קינטרין חוץ מן כספו של עפרון שאף על פי שכתוב בתורה סתם קינטרין דכתיב ארבע מאות שקל כסף עובר לסחר ואיכא דוכתא דקא קרו לקינטרא תיקלא

§ The Gemara continues to discuss the value of coins. Rabbi Ḥanina says: Any silver shekel that is stated in the Torah but which is unspecified is referring to one sela. Additionally, any unspecified silver shekel mentioned in the Prophets is a silver litra, weighing twenty-five sela, and any unspecified silver shekel mentioned in the Writings is in centenaria [kintarin], silver weighing one hundred sela. This is the case throughout the Bible except for the silver of Ephron, where even though it is written in the Torah: “Shekels of silver,” without specification, it is in centenaria, as it is written: “Four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant” (Genesis 23:16). This means that the silver was acceptable as shekels everywhere, and there is a place where they call a centenarius a shekel.

אמר רבי אושעיא ביקשו לגנוז כל כסף וזהב שבעולם מפני כספה וזהבה של ירושלים עד שמצאו לו מקרא מן התורה שהוא מותר שנאמר ובאו בה פריצים וחללוה

With regard to the worn-out dinars of Hadrian and Trajan mentioned earlier, Rabbi Oshaya says: The Sages wished to sequester all the silver and gold in the world because of the silver and gold of Jerusalem, i.e., that which was kept in the Temple treasury and was appropriated by gentiles and mixed with other silver and gold. They did not permit its use until they found a verse in the Torah indicating that it is permitted, as it is stated: “And robbers shall enter into it, and profane it” (Ezekiel 7:22). This verse teaches that once robbers plundered the silver and gold it is profaned and does not retain its sanctity.

וירושלים הויא רובא דעלמא אלא אמר אביי בקשו לגנוז דינרא הדריינא טירייאנא שייאפא מפני טבעה של ירושלים עד שמצאו לה מקרא מן התורה שהוא מותר שנאמר ובאו בה פריצים וחללוה

The Gemara asks: And is Jerusalem the majority of the world such that that all of the silver and gold of the world should be prohibited due to a concern that it comes from Jerusalem? Rather, Abaye said: The Sages wished to sequester all the worn-out dinars of Hadrian and Trajan because of the coins of Jerusalem, as these coins contained a large quantity of the Temple treasury’s gold and silver, until they found a verse in the Torah indicating that it is permitted, as it is stated: “And robbers shall enter into it, and profane it.”

רב יהודה אמר רב אסי כל כסף האמור בתורה סתם כסף צורי ושל דבריהם כסף מדינה

§ Rav Yehuda says that Rav Asi says: Every sum of money stated in the Torah without specifying that it is in shekels is referring to silver dinars of Tyrian coinage, which have a high value. And every mention of coins in statements of the Sages is referring to provincial coinage, which was worth roughly one-eighth of Tyrian coinage.

וכללא הוא והרי טענה דכתיב כי יתן איש אל רעהו כסף או כלים לשמור

The Gemara challenges: And is it an established principle that all money mentioned in the Torah is a silver dinar of Tyrian coinage? But there is the case of one who admits to part of a claim that he has not returned a deposit or loan, where it is written: “If a man deliver to his neighbor money or vessels to guard and it is stolen out of the man’s house…the cause of both parties shall come before the judges” (Exodus 22:6–8). This teaches that the case is brought to a court, where the defendant must take an oath.

ותנן שבועת הדיינין הטענה שתי כסף

And we learned in a mishna with regard to one who admits to part of a claim (Shevuot 38b): The oath administered by the judges to one who admits to part of a claim is administered only when the claim is for at least two silver ma’a, and the defendant’s admission is to at least the value of one peruta. If every sum of money mentioned in the Torah is referring to Tyrian coinage, how did the Sages arrive at the amount of two ma’a in this case?

שאני התם דכתיב כסף או כלים מה כלים שנים אף כסף שנים ומה כסף דבר חשוב אף כלים דבר חשוב

The Gemara explains: There, the halakha is derived from a juxtaposition, as the “money” mentioned in the verse is similar to “vessels”: Just as the word “vessels” indicates at least two, so too, “money” is referring to at least two coins. And just as money is a significant item, i.e., silver ma’a, so too, the vessels must be a significant item. Rav Asi, by contrast, is referring to a mention of money where there is no juxtaposition.

והרי מעשר דכתיב וצרת הכסף בידך ותנן הפורט סלע במעות מעשר שני כסף כסף ריבה

The Gemara challenges: But there is the case of the redemption of second tithe, as it is written: “And bind up the money in your hand” (Deuteronomy 14:25). And yet we learned in a mishna (Ma’aser Sheni 2:8): With regard to one who exchanges copper coins of second-tithe money for a sela, Beit Shammai say: He may exchange the copper coins for the entire silver sela. This mishna indicates that second-tithe money, mentioned in the Torah, can be in the form of copper coins, and is not required to be in the form of silver coins. The Gemara explains that the verse states: “Money,” “money,” using the term more than once. This serves as an amplification. In other words, this addition teaches that second-tithe money can be in any coinage, including copper coins.

והרי הקדש דכתיב ונתן הכסף וקם לו ואמר שמואל הקדש שוה מנה שחיללו על שוה פרוטה מחולל הקדש נמי יליף קדש קדש ממעשר

The Gemara challenges: But there is the case of consecrated property, as it is written: “And he will give the money and it will be assured to him” (see Leviticus 27:19). And Shmuel says: With regard to consecrated property worth one hundred dinars, which was redeemed for an item worth one peruta, it is redeemed. Although the word “money” is stated in the Torah, a copper peruta may be used. The Gemara answers: There too, there is a reason for this unusual halakha, as he derives this ruling from a verbal analogy using the term “holy” mentioned here and “holy” from second tithe (see Leviticus 27:14, 30). Consequently, one may use any type of coin in this case as well.

והרי קידושי אשה דכתיב ויצאה חנם אין כסף ותנן בית שמאי אומרים בדינר ובשוה דינר ובית הלל אומרים בפרוטה ובשוה פרוטה לימא רב אסי דאמר כבית שמאי

The Gemara challenges: But there is the case of the betrothal of a woman, as it is written: “Then shall she go out for nothing, without money” (Exodus 21:11). And yet we learned in a mishna (Kiddushin 2a) that Beit Shammai say that one can betroth her with one dinar or with an item that is worth one dinar, and Beit Hillel say one can betroth a woman with one peruta or with any item that is worth one peruta. If so, shall we say that Rav Asi, who claims that all sums of money mentioned in the Torah are in Tyrian coinage, stated his opinion in accordance with the opinion of Beit Shammai, even though the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel?

אלא אי איתמר הכי איתמר אמר רב יהודה אמר רב אסי כל כסף קצוב האמור בתורה כסף צורי ושל דבריהם כסף מדינה

The Gemara suggests an alternative explanation: Rather, if this was stated, it was stated like this: Rav Yehuda says that Rav Asi says: Every set amount of money stated in the Torah, i.e., when a specific amount is mentioned, such as the fifty shekels paid by a rapist (Deuteronomy 22:29), is referring to Tyrian coinage, and any amount of money set by rabbinic law is in provincial coinage.

מאי קמשמע לן תנינא חמש סלעים של בן וכו׳

The Gemara asks: If so, what is Rav Asi teaching us? We already learn all of these halakhot explicitly in the mishna: The payment of five sela for the redemption of a firstborn son, the thirty for a Canaanite slave killed by an ox, the fifty of a rapist and of a seducer, and the one hundred of the slanderer are all paid in the shekel of the Sanctuary, which is determined based on Tyrian coinage.

ושל דבריהם כסף מדינה איצטריכא ליה דתנן התוקע לחבירו נותן לו סלע ולא תימא סלע ארבע זוזי אלא פלגא דזוזא דקרי אינשי סלע פלגא דזוזא

The Gemara answers: It was necessary for Rav Asi to clarify that payments mentioned in statements of the Sages are referring to provincial coinage, as that halakha was not taught in the mishna. As we learned in a mishna (Bava Kamma 90a): The Sages established that one who strikes another as an act of disrespect must give him a sela as a fine for striking him. And Rav Asi teaches: Do not say that this sela is a Tyrian sela worth four dinars. Rather, it is the sela of provincial coinage, which is worth one-half a dinar, as people commonly call a one-half dinar by the name sela.

חנן בישא תקע ליה לההוא גברא אתא לקמיה דרב הונא אמר ליה הב ליה פלגא דזוזא הות איכא

The Gemara relates that Ḥanan the wicked struck a certain man. He came before Rav Huna for judgment, and Rav Huna said to him: Go give him half a dinar, which is the fine imposed for such an action. Ḥanan had