## Mishnah Arakhin Chapter 5

###### Mishnah Arakhin 5:1
[Mishnah Arakhin 5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/5:1)

הָאוֹמֵר, מִשְׁקָלִי עָלָי, נוֹתֵן מִשְׁקָלוֹ. אִם כֶּסֶף, כֶּסֶף. אִם זָהָב, זָהָב. מַעֲשֶׂה בְּאִמָּהּ שֶׁל יִרְמַטְיָה שֶׁאָמְרָה, מִשְׁקַל בִּתִּי עָלָי, וְעָלְתָה לִירוּשָׁלַיִם, וּשְׁקָלוּהָ וְנָתְנָה מִשְׁקָלָהּ זָהָב. מִשְׁקַל יָדִי עָלָי, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, מְמַלֵּא חָבִית מַיִם וּמַכְנִיסָהּ עַד מַרְפֵּקוֹ, וְשׁוֹקֵל בְּשַׂר חֲמוֹר וְגִידִין וַעֲצָמוֹת וְנוֹתֵן לְתוֹכָהּ עַד שֶׁתִּתְמַלֵּא. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי, וְכִי הֵיאַךְ אֶפְשָׁר לְכַוֵּן בָּשָׂר כְּנֶגֶד בָּשָׂר וַעֲצָמוֹת כְּנֶגֶד עֲצָמוֹת. אֶלָּא שָׁמִין אֶת הַיָּד כַּמָּה הִיא רְאוּיָה לִשְׁקֹל:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**One who says:** It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **my weight, gives his weight** to the Temple treasury; **if** he specified **silver** he donates **silver, and if** he specified **gold** he donates **gold.** There was **an incident involving the mother of Yirmatya, who said:** It is incumbent **upon me** to donate the **weight of my daughter, and she ascended to Jerusalem and paid her** daughter’s **weight** in **gold** to the Temple treasury. In the case of one who says: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate the **weight of my forearm,** how does he ascertain the weight of his forearm? **Rabbi Yehuda says: He fills a barrel** with **water and inserts** his arm **up to his elbow** into the water. **And** in order to measure the displacement, **he weighs donkey flesh, and bones, and sinews and places** it **into** the barrel **until it fills,** and the water level reaches the top of the barrel. He then donates the weight of the meat and the bones to the Temple treasury. **Rabbi Yosei said:** Displacement is according to volume not according to weight, **and how then is it possible to match** the amount of the donkey **flesh with the flesh** of a person **and** the volume of the donkey’s **bones with** his **bones? Rather,** the court **appraises how much the forearm is likely to weigh.**


###### Mishnah Arakhin 5:2
[Mishnah Arakhin 5:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/5:2)

דְּמֵי יָדִי עָלָי, שָׁמִין אוֹתוֹ, כַּמָּה הוּא שָׁוֶה בְּיָד, וְכַמָּה הוּא שָׁוֶה בְּלֹא יָד. זֶה חֹמֶר בַּנְּדָרִים מִבָּעֲרָכִין. וְחֹמֶר בָּעֲרָכִין מִבַּנְּדָרִים, כֵּיצַד. הָאוֹמֵר, עֶרְכִּי עָלָי, וָמֵת, יִתְּנוּ הַיּוֹרְשִׁין. דָּמַי עָלָי, וָמֵת, לֹא יִתְּנוּ הַיּוֹרְשִׁים, שֶׁאֵין דָּמִים לַמֵּתִים. עֵרֶךְ יָדִי וְעֵרֶךְ רַגְלִי עָלָי, לֹא אָמַר כְּלוּם. עֵרֶךְ רֹאשִׁי וְעֵרֶךְ כְּבֵדִי עָלָי, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ כֻּלּוֹ. זֶה הַכְּלָל, דָּבָר שֶׁהַנְּשָׁמָה תְלוּיָה בוֹ, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ כֻּלּוֹ:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If one vows: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate the **assessment of my forearm,** the court **appraises him** to determine **how much he is worth with a forearm and** how much he is worth **without a forearm,** and he pays the difference. **This is** a *halakha* that is more **stringent with regard to vows** of assessment **than with regard to valuations,** as one who says: It is incumbent upon me to donate the valuation of my forearm, is exempt from paying. There are *halakhot* that are more **stringent with regard to valuations than with regard to vows** of assessment. **How so?** In the case of **one who says:** It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **my valuation, and** then **dies,** his **heirs must give** his valuation to the Temple treasury. But one who says: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **my assessment, and** then **dies,** his **heirs** need **not give** his assessment to the Temple treasury, **as there is no monetary** value **for the dead.** One who says: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **the valuation of my forearm, or: The valuation of my leg, has not said anything,** as there are valuations in the Torah only for a complete person. But if one says: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **the valuation of my head, or: The valuation of my liver, he gives the valuation of his entire** self. **This is the principle:** One who valuates **an item upon which the soul is dependent,** i.e., without which one will die, **gives the valuation of his entire** self.


###### Mishnah Arakhin 5:3
[Mishnah Arakhin 5:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/5:3)

חֲצִי עֶרְכִּי עָלָי, נוֹתֵן חֲצִי עֶרְכּוֹ. עֵרֶךְ חֶצְיִי עָלָי, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ כֻּלּוֹ. חֲצִי דָמַי עָלָי, נוֹתֵן חֲצִי דָמָיו. דְּמֵי חֶצְיִי עָלָי, נוֹתֵן דְּמֵי כֻלּוֹ. זֶה הַכְּלָל, דָּבָר שֶׁהַנְּשָׁמָה תְלוּיָה בוֹ, נוֹתֵן עֵרֶךְ כֻּלּוֹ:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
One who says: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **half of my valuation, gives half of his valuation.** But one who says: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **the valuation of half of me, gives the valuation of his entire** self. Likewise, one who says: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **half of my assessment, gives half of his assessment;** one who says: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **the assessment of half of me, gives the assessment of his entire** self. **This is the principle:** One who takes a vow with regard to **an item upon which the soul is dependent gives the assessment of his entire** self.


###### Mishnah Arakhin 5:4
[Mishnah Arakhin 5:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/5:4)

הָאוֹמֵר, עֶרְכּוֹ שֶׁל פְּלוֹנִי עָלָי, מֵת הַנּוֹדֵר וְהַנִּדָּר, יִתְּנוּ הַיּוֹרְשִׁין. דָּמָיו שֶׁל פְּלוֹנִי עָלָי, מֵת הַנּוֹדֵר, יִתְּנוּ הַיּוֹרְשִׁין. מֵת הַנִּדָּר, לֹא יִתְּנוּ הַיּוֹרְשִׁין, שֶׁאֵין דָּמִים לַמֵּתִים:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
With regard to **one who says:** It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **the valuation of so-and-so,** and both **the one who vowed and the object of the vow die,** the **heirs** of the one who vowed **must give** the valuation of the object of the vow to the Temple treasury. With regard to one who says: It is incumbent **upon me** to donate **the assessment of so-and-so, and the one who vowed dies,** his **heirs must give** his assessment to the Temple treasury. If **the object of the vow dies,** the **heirs** of the one who vowed need **not give** his assessment to the Temple treasury, **as there is no monetary** value **for the dead.**


###### Mishnah Arakhin 5:5
[Mishnah Arakhin 5:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/5:5)

שׁוֹר זֶה עוֹלָה, בַּיִת זֶה קָרְבָּן, מֵת הַשּׁוֹר וְנָפַל הַבַּיִת, אֵינוֹ חַיָּב לְשַׁלֵּם. דְּמֵי שׁוֹר זֶה עָלָי עוֹלָה, אוֹ דְּמֵי בַיִת זֶה עָלָי קָרְבָּן, מֵת הַשּׁוֹר וְנָפַל הַבַּיִת, חַיָּב לְשַׁלֵּם:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
In the case of one who says: **This bull** is consecrated as **a burnt offering, or: This house** is consecrated as **an offering, and the bull died or the house collapsed,** he **is exempt from paying** his commitment. But in the case of one who says: It is incumbent **upon me** to give **this bull as a burnt offering, or:** It is incumbent **upon me** to give **this house** as **an offering,** if **the bull died or the house collapsed,** he is **obligated to pay** its value.


###### Mishnah Arakhin 5:6
[Mishnah Arakhin 5:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Mishnah%20Arakhin/r/5:6)

חַיָּבֵי עֲרָכִים, מְמַשְׁכְּנִין אוֹתָן. חַיָּבֵי חַטָּאוֹת וַאֲשָׁמוֹת, אֵין מְמַשְׁכְּנִין אוֹתָן. חַיָּבֵי עוֹלוֹת וּשְׁלָמִים, מְמַשְׁכְּנִין אוֹתָן אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין מִתְכַּפֵּר לוֹ עַד שֶׁיִּתְרַצֶּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא א), לִרְצוֹנוֹ, כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ עַד שֶׁיֹּאמַר, רוֹצֶה אָנִי. וְכֵן אַתָּה אוֹמֵר בְּגִטֵּי נָשִׁים, כּוֹפִין אוֹתוֹ עַד שֶׁיֹּאמַר, רוֹצֶה אָנִי:

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
With regard to those **obligated** to pay **valuations,** the court **repossesses their** property to pay their debt to the Temple treasury. With regard to those **obligated** to bring **sin offerings and guilt offerings,** the court **does not repossess their** property; since one is obligated to bring them for atonement he would not delay bringing them. But with regard to those **obligated** to bring **burnt offerings and peace offerings,** the court **repossesses their** property;since these offerings are not obligatory for atonement, one might delay bringing them. **Although** one obligated to bring burnt offerings and peace offerings **does not achieve atonement until he** brings the offering **of his own volition, as it is stated:** “He shall bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting **of his volition”** (Leviticus 1:3), nevertheless the court **coerces him until he says: I want** to do so. **And likewise, you say** the same **with regard to women’s bills of divorce.** Although one divorces his wife only of his own volition, in any case where the Sages obligated a husband to divorce his wife the court **coerces him until he says: I want** to do so.