## Mishnah Arakhin Chapter 4

###### Mishnah Arakhin 4:1
[Mishnah Arakhin 4:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/4:1)

הֶשֵּׂג יָד, בַּנּוֹדֵר. וְהַשָּׁנִים, בַּנִּדָּר. וְהָעֲרָכִים, בַּנֶּעֱרָךְ, וְהָעֵרֶךְ, בִּזְמַן הָעֵרֶךְ. הֶשֵּׂג יָד בַּנּוֹדֵר, כֵּיצַד. עָנִי שֶׁהֶעֱרִיךְ אֶת הֶעָשִׁיר, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ עָנִי. וְעָשִׁיר שֶׁהֶעֱרִיךְ אֶת הֶעָנִי, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ עָשִׁיר:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Affordability,** which is written in the Torah: “According to the means of him who vowed shall the priest valuate him” (Leviticus 27:8), is determined **in accordance with** the means of the **one taking the vow, and** the sum fixed by the Torah based on **the years** of age is **in accordance with** the age of **the subject of the vow. And the** distinction based on sex that is written in the *halakhot* of **valuations** is stated **with regard to the one valuated, and the** different **valuation** based on the age of the one valuated is determined **at the time** one takes **the** vow of **valuation.** The mishna elaborates: **Affordability** is **in accordance with** the means of the **one taking the vow; how** so? **A destitute person who valuated a wealthy person gives** the **valuation** in accordance with the means **of a destitute person,** as determined by the priest. **And a wealthy person who valuated a destitute person gives** the **valuation** in accordance with the means **of a wealthy person,** the sum of which is fixed in the Torah.


###### Mishnah Arakhin 4:2
[Mishnah Arakhin 4:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/4:2)

אֲבָל בַּקָּרְבָּנוֹת אֵינוֹ כֵן. הֲרֵי שֶׁאָמַר, קָרְבָּנוֹ שֶׁל מְצֹרָע זֶה עָלָי. אִם הָיָה מְצֹרָע עָנִי, מֵבִיא קָרְבַּן עָנִי. עָשִׁיר, מֵבִיא קָרְבַּן עָשִׁיר. רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, אוֹמֵר אֲנִי אַף בָּעֲרָכִין כֵּן. וְכִי מִפְּנֵי מָה עָנִי שֶׁהֶעֱרִיךְ אֶת הֶעָשִׁיר נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ עָנִי, שֶׁאֵין הֶעָשִׁיר חַיָּב כְּלוּם. אֲבָל הֶעָשִׁיר שֶׁאָמַר עֶרְכִּי עָלָי, וְשָׁמַע הֶעָנִי וְאָמַר, מַה שֶּׁאָמַר זֶה עָלָי, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ עָשִׁיר. הָיָה עָנִי וְהֶעֱשִׁיר אוֹ עָשִׁיר וְהֶעֱנִי, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ עָשִׁיר. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אֲפִלּוּ עָנִי וְהֶעֱשִׁיר וְחָזַר וְהֶעֱנִי, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ עָשִׁיר:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**But with regard to offerings that is not so, as** one **who** took a vow and **said:** It is incumbent **upon me** to provide **the offering of this leper,** to a leper who requires it for his purification; if the one undergoing purification **was a destitute leper,** the one who took the vow **brings the offering of a destitute** leper, which is one male sheep, a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, and two doves or two pigeons (see Leviticus 14:21–22). If the one undergoing purification **was a wealthy** leper, the one who took the vow **brings the offering of a wealthy** leper, which is two male sheep, a ewe, and three-tenths of a ephah of fine flour (see Leviticus 14:10). **Rabbi** Yehuda HaNasi **says: I say: Even with regard to valuations** it is **so.** He explains: **For what** reason **does a destitute person who valuated a wealthy person give** the **valuation** in accordance with the means **of a destitute person?** It is due to the fact **that the wealthy person is not obligated** to pay **anything,** as the debt was generated by the destitute person who vowed to donate the valuation of a wealthy individual. **But** in a case similar to that of the offerings of a leper, in the case of **a wealthy person who said:** It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **my valuation, and a destitute person heard** him **and said:** It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **that which he said,** the destitute person **gives the valuation of a wealthy person.** If when one took a vow of valuation **he was destitute and he became wealthy,** or if **he was wealthy and became destitute, he gives the valuation** in accordance with the means of **a wealthy person. Rabbi Yehuda says:** This is the *halakha* not only in a case where one was wealthy either at the time he took the vow or at the time of payment; even if when one took a vow of valuation **he was destitute and he became wealthy and again became destitute, he gives** the **valuation** in accordance with the means of **a wealthy person.**


###### Mishnah Arakhin 4:3
[Mishnah Arakhin 4:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/4:3)

אֲבָל בַּקָּרְבָּנוֹת אֵינוֹ כֵן, אֲפִלּוּ אָבִיו מֵת וְהִנִּיחַ לוֹ רִבּוֹא, סְפִינָתוֹ בַיָּם וּבָאוּ בְרִבּוֹאוֹת, אֵין לַהֶקְדֵּשׁ בָּהֶן כְּלוּם:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**But with regard to** the **offerings** of a leper **that is not so,** as the offerings that one brings are determined by his status at the time he brings them. **Even** if it is common knowledge that **his father died and left him** an inheritance of **ten thousand** dinars, **or** that **his ship is at sea and** merchandise valued at **ten thousand** dinars **is coming into his** possession, **the Temple** treasury **has no** share **in it.** His payment is determined solely by his present situation.


###### Mishnah Arakhin 4:4
[Mishnah Arakhin 4:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/4:4)

שָׁנִים בַּנִּדָּר כֵּיצַד, יֶלֶד שֶׁהֶעֱרִיךְ אֶת הַזָּקֵן, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ זָקֵן. וְזָקֵן שֶׁהֶעֱרִיךְ אֶת הַיֶּלֶד, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ יֶלֶד. וַעֲרָכִים בַּנֶּעֱרָךְ כֵּיצַד, אִישׁ שֶׁהֶעֱרִיךְ אֶת הָאִשָּׁה, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ אִשָּׁה. וְאִשָּׁה שֶׁהֶעֱרִיכָה אֶת הָאִישׁ, נוֹתֶנֶת עֵרֶךְ אִישׁ. וְהָעֵרֶךְ בִּזְמַן הָעֵרֶךְ כֵּיצַד, הֶעֱרִיכוֹ פָּחוּת מִבֶּן חָמֵשׁ וְנַעֲשָׂה יוֹתֵר עַל בֶּן חָמֵשׁ, פָּחוּת מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים וְנַעֲשָׂה יוֹתֵר עַל בֶּן עֶשְׂרִים, נוֹתֵן כִּזְמַן הָעֵרֶךְ. יוֹם שְׁלֹשִׁים, כִּלְמַטָּה מִמֶּנּוּ. שְׁנַת חָמֵשׁ וּשְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים, כִּלְמַטָּה מִמֶּנּוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כז), וְאִם מִבֶּן שִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה אִם זָכָר, הֲרֵי אָנוּ לְמֵדִים בְּכֻלָּם מִשְּׁנַת שִׁשִּׁים. מַה שְּׁנַת שִׁשִּׁים כִּלְמַטָּה מִמֶּנָּה, אַף שְׁנַת חָמֵשׁ וּשְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים כִּלְמַטָּה מִמֶּנָּה. הֵן. אִם עָשָׂה שְׁנַת שִׁשִּׁים כִּלְמַטָּה מִמֶּנָּה לְהַחֲמִיר, נַעֲשֶׂה שְׁנַת חָמֵשׁ וּשְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים כִּלְמַטָּה מִמֶּנָּה לְהָקֵל. תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר, שָׁנָה שָׁנָה, לִגְזֵרָה שָׁוָה. מַה שָּׁנָה הָאֲמוּרָה בִשְׁנַת שִׁשִּׁים, כִּלְמַטָּה מִמֶּנָּה, אַף שָׁנָה הָאֲמוּרָה בִשְׁנַת חָמֵשׁ וּשְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים, כִּלְמַטָּה מִמֶּנָּה, בֵּין לְהָקֵל בֵּין לְהַחֲמִיר. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר, עַד שֶׁיִּהְיוּ יְתֵרוֹת עַל הַשָּׁנִים חֹדֶשׁ וְיוֹם אֶחָד:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The sum fixed by the Torah based on **the years** of age is **in accordance with** the age of **the subject of the vow; how** so? **A youth who valuated an elder gives the valuation of an elder, and an elder who valuated a youth gives the valuation of a youth. And the** distinction based on sex that is written in the *halakhot* of **valuations** is stated **with regard to the one valuated; how** so? **A man who valuated a woman gives the valuation of a woman, and a woman who valuated a man gives the valuation of a man.** **And the** different **valuation** based on the age of the one valuated is determined **at the time** one takes **the** vow of **valuation; how** so? If **one valuated** another when he was **less than five years old,** when his valuation is five shekels, **and** before payment to the Temple treasury the subject of the vow **became more than five years old,** when his valuation is ten shekels; or if **one valuated** another when he was **less than twenty years old,** when his valuation is ten shekels, **and** before payment to the Temple treasury the subject of the vow **became more than twenty years old,** when his valuation is fifty shekels, in all these cases **he gives** payment according to the age of the subject of the valuation **at the time of the valuation.** The Torah provides three age categories that determine the amount of the valuation: From the age of one month until age five, from age five until age twenty, and from age twenty until age sixty. For anyone less than one month old there is no valuation. The halakhic status of the **thirtieth day** is **like** that of the period **preceding** thirty days, and therefore the one who took the vow is exempt. Likewise, the halakhic status of the **fifth year and** the **twentieth year** is **like** that of the period **preceding them. As it is stated: “And if it is from sixty years old and upward”** (Leviticus 27:7), and **we derive all** the other age categories **from** the **sixtieth year: Just as** the halakhic status of the **sixtieth year,** where upward is written, is **like** that of the period **preceding it, so too,** the halakhic status of the **fifth year and** the **twentieth year** is **like** that of the period **preceding them.** The mishna asks: Is that **so?** Can one derive a *halakha* in this manner? **If** the Torah **rendered** the halakhic status of the **sixtieth year like** that of the period **preceding it** in order **to be stringent** and require one who valuated a sixty-year-old person to pay his valuation to the Temple treasury, **shall we render** the halakhic status of the **fifth year and** the **twentieth year like** that of the period **preceding** them in order **to be lenient** and pay a lower sum? Therefore, **the verse states “year”** with regard to the fifth and twentieth years (see Leviticus 27:3–6), and **“year”** with regard to the sixtieth year (Leviticus 27:7), **for a verbal analogy. Just as** the halakhic status of the **year stated with regard to** the **sixtieth year** is **like** that of the period **preceding** it, **so too,** the halakhic status of the **year stated with regard to** the **fifth year and** the **twentieth year** is **like** that of the period **preceding** them, **both** in order **to be lenient and** in order **to be stringent. Rabbi Eliezer says:** Their halakhic status remains like that of the period preceding it, **until they will be** aged one **month and one day beyond the** fifth, twentieth, and sixtieth **years.**