1,227. Shekalim That Were Lost

Shekalim 3:8

One whose half-shekel donation is lost is responsible for it until it reaches the Temple treasury. If the residents of a city send their donations with a messenger and they are stolen or lost, then the following rules apply. If the messenger was an unpaid watchman, he must take an oath for those who sent him and then he is absolved of responsibility, as is the case with any unpaid watchman. Those who sent him must then donate their half-shekels again. If the residents of the city want to pay their half-shekels again without requiring an oath of their agent, whom they trust, it is not permitted. This is because the Sages legislated that sanctified items are not released without an oath. If the original donations were recovered after the messenger took an oath, both sets of shekels are sanctified and the second set are not considered the next year’s donations. The first funds are to be included with the donations of the current year and the second funds are included with those of the previous year.

Shekalim 3:9

If the lost shekels were sent with a paid watchman, who is liable in cases of theft and loss, and the money was lost due to circumstances beyond his control, such as if they were taken by armed bandits, then the messenger is not responsible. In such a case, if the money was lost after the funds in the Temple treasury were withdrawn, then the messenger must take an oath for the Temple treasurer and those who sent the lost funds are no longer responsible to replace them. This is because the one who withdrew the funds in the Temple treasury did so on behalf of both those whose donations have been received and those whose donations have not yet been received. Accordingly, by entrusting the funds to the messenger, they are considered already in the hands of the Temple treasurers. Those who sent the money are not responsible because they did all they could: they gave their donations to a paid watchman, who is liable in cases of theft and loss. Circumstances beyond one’s control arising is an uncommon situation.

If the money was lost before the Temple funds were withdrawn, then they are considered to still be in the hands of the city residents. The messenger must take an oath for those who sent him and they must then donate again. If he took an oath and they donated again, and then the thieves returned the money, both sets of donations are sanctified and the second set is not credited toward the following year. Rather, the second set of donations are included with the shekels of the previous year. There is an opinion in the Talmud Yerushalmi that the “first” funds, which are to be included with the shekels of the current year, are the ones that had been stolen, lost or otherwise taken by forces beyond the messenger’s control, and subsequently returned. Another opinion is that the “first” shekalim are whichever reach the Temple treasurer first.