Introduction
Many have pointed out that Hilkhot Shekalim, focused on the mitzvah of collecting the half-shekel tax to fill the coffers of the Temple, seems completely out of place in Rambam’s Sefer Zemanim and would seem to find its more natural place in Sefer Avodah. I would like to offer a solution to this problem that demonstrates the appropriateness of Rambam’s organization.
The Placement of Hilkhot Shekalim
Rambam describes the general theme of Sefer Zemanim in his introduction to the Mishneh Torah as follows:
"The Third Book includes all of the commandments that occur at known times (zemanim) – e.g. Shabbat, Holidays (Moadot, lit. Appointed Times). I have named this book Sefer Zemanim."
Rabbi Dr. Isadore Twersky points out the following difficulty with Rambam’ classification as it related to the inclusion of the laws of shekalim:
The Temple-oriented components of the holidays, particularly Passover and the Day of Atonement, are reserved for the books dealing with the Temple and sacrifices. Its [Sefer Zemanim's] subject matter is thus a special unit of ritual-ceremonial law, related primarily to the order Mo'ed in the Mishnah, separated from Book Two [Sefer Ahavah] by its trait of periodicity rather than constancy or continuity. The inclusion of the section Shekalim (Shekel Dues), found in the Mishnaic order of Mo'ed, is, to be sure, problematic in terms of the Maimonidean conceptualization.[1]
Boaz Cohen makes an almost identical point, “One would expect these regulations [the laws concerning the shekel] in book VIII, where he assembled all the rules concerning the Temple. Somehow, Rambam seems to have desired to adhere to the order in the Mishna.”[2]
Dr. Joseph Tabory believes this problem is so intractable that he levies it as evidence of the Mishnaic influence on Rambam’s codificatory scheme: “[the] fact that this tractate [Shekalim] appears in Appointed Times [Moadim] in the Mishnah influenced its inclusion in the book of Times [Sefer Zemanim].” [3]
Hilkhot Shekalim, the seventh section, certainly seems out of place. Every adult Jewish male was obligated to give a half-shekel each year.[4] Granted, it had to be given once a year—“a known time.”[5] However, it would seem to find its place more naturally in the eighth book of the Mishneh Torah, Sefer Avodah (Book of Temple-Service), which includes all of the laws related to the Temple and public sacrifices, as it is described in the introduction:
The eighth book includes all of the commandments related to the building of the Temple, the communal sacrifices and the temidin (constant sacrifices). I have named this book Sefer Avodah.[6]
Sefer Avodah would seem to be the logical place for Shekalim. After all, the majority of the funds collected from the half-shekel donations were used to pay for the public sacrifices and Temple needs.[7] Additionally, it is puzzling why Rambam himself does not make note of this problematic inclusion. As Twersky himself points out,[8] Rambam was highly self-conscious and vocally forthright and reflective about the "stresses and strains" in his classificatory system and even offers explanations and apologies for his less harmonious choices.[9] One would certainly expect such an explanation from Rambam when an entire section of halakhot seems out of place—yet none is provided.
Servicing the Temple or Temple Service
What can account for the seeming misplacement of Shekalim? Why not put it in Sefer Avodah? It is, after all, a commandment “related to the era of the Temple” as Rambam writes in the first chapter of Hilkhot Shekalim,
Shekalim are only observed when the Temple is extant. In a time in which the Temple is standing, the shekalim are given, whether in the Land or outside the Land. When it is in ruins, it is not observed even in the Land of Israel.
First, I would like to make a rather simple distinction. The mitzvah of Shekalim is fundamentally different from the mitzvot of Sefer Avodah. Though it might be necessary to be b’fnei haBayit (for the Temple to be up and functioning) to give the shekel-offering, no demand is made of an individual to actually be at the Temple and no priestly assistance is required. The laws in Sefer Avodah are characterized by the fact that they can only be performed in the precinct of the Temple and its environs with priestly officiation.
In simpler terms, the collection of shekalim is a fundraiser. Of course, the institution that the funds are being raised for must be extant for the mitzvah to be performed. However, the collection of those funds is not, fundamentally, a Temple service.
The Time of Shekalim
The above distinction is still not sufficient to explain the peculiar placement of Hilkhot Shekalim. It would be necessary to demonstrate that time is a critical feature of the shekel-offering. Fortunately, one need not look too far. Rambam (basing himself on the Talmud Yerushalmi on the same mishnah) emphasizes the importance of time in relation to this mitzvah in his commentary on the first mishnah in Mesekhet Shekalim [emphasis is my own]:
The explanation of M’shamin (they announce) is: they make an announcement concerning them [shekalim on the first day of Adar], that people should prepare their shekalim in order that the terumat halishkah (levy for the coffers) be done in its time—i.e. the first day of the month of Nissan—as it was done originally—i.e. in the time of the Desert. The original terumah (levy) was done on the first of the month of Nissan, as they [the Rabbis] said, “the day the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was erected was the day the terumah was levied.” And it is said concerning the erection of the Mishkan (Exodus 40:17), “In the first month [Nissan], in the second year, on the first of the month, the Mishkan was erected.”
We see from this source that the timing of this mitzvah has scriptural significance in the same way as Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. These three festivals are clear testimonials to the events related to the Exodus and the “time of the Desert.” It should not be surprising that Rambam makes no mention of the scriptural significance of the timing of shekalim in the Mishneh Torah. He, in fact, does not mention the significance of the timing of any of the festivals, Shabbat or Yom Hakippurim. He only explains the timing of the fast days whose scriptural source are somewhat unclear[10] and Chanukah, which has no scriptural source whatsoever. This is understandable; the purpose of the Mishneh Torah is normative—understanding the significance of these days is part of the study of Torah Sh’bikhtav (the Written Torah).[11]
From this analysis it should be evident that Rambam did not write his Mishneh Torah based on a simple opposition between halakhah as applicable in the exile and halakhah as applicable in y’mot hamoshiach (messianic times)—or, b’fnei habayit as opposed to shelo (not) b’fnei habayit.
Though a book written during and for the period of the exile, it should not be viewed purely through the lens of exile. The Mishneh Torah is visionary and optimistic—it presents a complete vision of halakhah, which is conscientious of the fact that it is the time of the exile, but is also not swept away by that fact. Halakhot related to y’mot ha-moshiach are not tucked away in some other section because of their lack of practical relevance in the here-and-now.
Conclusion
Each book of the Mishneh Torah was written with great literary artistry. Though not everything is a “perfect” fit nothing was included haphazardly or merely as an imitation of some previous organizational structure like the Mishnah.
From our analysis of the placement of Hilkhot Shekalim, we were reminded that the Mishneh Torah is not a simple manual teaching practical halakha. It is nothing less than Messianic in its outlook. As Rambam writes in the introduction to the Book of Commandments (Sefer HaMitzvot), "...it [the Mishneh Torah] would include all of the laws of the Law of Moses, including both that which is necessary to know during the exile and that which is not yet necessary."[12] Rambam wanted to paint a complete picture of the halakhic system. This, of course, was already pointed to in the crowning motto of the introduction to the Mishneh Torah [emphasis is my own]: Then I shall not be ashamed—when I gaze upon all your commandments.[13]
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[1] Twersky, Isadore, Introduction to the Code of Rambam (Mishneh Torah) (New York: Yale University Press, 1980) 262. Words in brackets have been added for clarification.
[2] “Classification of Law in the Mishneh Torah,” JQR, XXV (1935), 519-40.
[3] “The Structure of the Mishneh Torah,” in Traditions of Maimonideanism, ed. Carlos Fraenkel (The Netherlands: Brill, 2009), 67.
[4] Hilkhot Shekalim, chapter 1.
[5] On the first of Adar they would make an announcement for every man to prepare his half-shekel. On the fifteenth of Adar money-changers would set up in every city and would gently petition for the donation. On the twenty-fifth they would set up in the Temple to collect and from then on the court would compel anyone who had not given yet to give (paraphrased from Hilkhot Shekalim, chapter 1).
[6] While most printed editions that I have seen have “התמידין” the Oxford, MS. Huntingdon 80 has, “ותמידין.”
[7] See Hilkhot Shekalim, chapter 4, halakha 1.
[8] Introduction, 281-282.
[9] For example, in the Mishneh Torah: in the Hakdamah, in the description of the topic of each of the fourteen books, Rambam provides an explanation for including b’rit milah in Sefer Ahavah; in the register of mitzvot included in Hilkhot Eivel, an explanation is provided for why the laws of mourning were included in Sefer Shoftim; in Hilkhot Avodah Zarah, chapter 2, an explanation is provided for why the laws relating to the blasphemer are included in that section.
[10] This would also explain why he provides the scriptural derivation for the mitzvah of sippur yetziat mitzrayim on the night of Pesach (Hilkhot Chametz uMatzah, chapter 7, halakhah 1).
[11] See Hakdamah to the Mishneh Torah and Hilkhot Talmud Torah, chapter 1.
[12] Also see the end of the fourth chapter of Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah.
[13] Psalms 119:6.
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