מצרפין שקלים לדרכונות – the people of the city that gathered together their Shekels can exchange them for Darics (i.e., a Persian gold coin) and this is a gold coin as it is written in Ezra (2:69): “[In accord with their means, they donated to the treasury of the work:] gold-6,100 drachmas, [silver -5,000 minas, and priestly robes – 100],” to ease from upon them the burden/weight of the way.

שופרות – chests whose openings from the top were narrow like a Shofar whose top is narrow from the top and continues to widen in order that people would not be able to take from them anything, as it is written regarding Jehoiada (II Chronicles 24:8): “[The king (Jehoash) ordered that] a chest be made and placed [outside of the gate of the House of the LORD],” (II Kings 12:10): “[And the priest Jehoiada took a chest] and bored a hole in its lid….” They were standing in the Temple courtyard, and everyone was bringing his Shekel and giving it.

כך היו במדינה – in Jerusalem, and according to the words of Maimonides, in the rest of the cities of Israel.

בני העיר ששלחו שקליהם – by the hand of an agent to bring them to the Temple treasury (for congregational sacrifices).

אם נתרמה התרומה – as they were accustomed to donate from the baskets for the needs of the sacrifices, they would donate on what was collected and what would in the future be collected, in order hat there would be a part of a the sacrifices, even for those who had yet not given their Shekels.

נשבעין – the messengers.

לגזברים – to the treasurers, for since the Terumah had been appropriated on these monies, before they were lost, they are made as if they were in the domain of the treasurers from the time that the Terumah had been appropriated, for if they were stolen or lost, they were stolen or lost while in the domain of the treasurers; therefore, the agents swear to the treasurers and they are exempted/dismissed, for even though they don’t take an oath on the sacred property of the Temple, it is a decree of the Sages in order that they not disregard the sacred property of the Temple.

ואם לאו – that at the time when they were lost, the Terumah had not yet been appropriated, and they had not removed the monies from the baskets for what would be collected in the future, it was in the domain of the owners that they were not, therefore, the agents swear to the men of the city and are exempted, and the men of the city go back and collect [for donation] other Shekels in their place, for the first Shekalim that were lost don’t count for them.

הנותן שקלו לחבירו לשקול על יד – for him, and the agent went and paid the Shekel (i.e., half-shekel) on his own behalf.

אם נתרמה התרומה – prior to his giving the Shekel to the treasurer.

מעל – he who paid it (i.e., the Shekel) in on his own behalf, for as soon as the Terumah was appropriated on that which would be collected in the future, that specific Shekel that his fellow gave him to pay on his behalf was [already] in the sacred domain [of the Temple] and when he gave on his behalf, he benefitted from the sacred donations, for if he had not given this Shekel on his behalf, they would have exacted a pledge from him, as is taught in the Mishnah above in the first chapter (Mishnah 3), for from when they sat in the Temple, they began to take pledges and it was found that he benefitted from what belonged to the Temple, and he is liable for a sacrifice of sacrilege.

השוקל שקלו מן ההקדש – the monies that were in his hand which were sanctified for the repair of the House, and when he thought that they were non-holy and donated his Shekel from them, and the Terumah had been appropriated, and they bought an animal with that Terumah and sacrificed it or obligated the person who made his donation a sacrifice of sacrilege but not before, because that which is sanctified [and belongs to the Temple] remains sanctified as it was in every place where he is and did not change. And when the animal was sacrificed, and he intended that it be from money, everyone who gave his Shekel in the Terumah of the Temple treasury is made as if he purchased the animal with those monies of Hekdesh/belonging to the Temple and sacrificed it and benefited because they did not have him take a pledge for his Shekel and he became liable for a sacrifice of sacrilege. But the first part of the Mishnah also as it is taught – when his fellow gave him his Shekel on his behalf and he gave the Shekel for himself that he committed sacrilege, that is, also when the animal was sacrificed after the Terumah had been appropriated, for if it had not been taught in the first part of the Mishnah because it relied upon the concluding part of the Mishnah which explains the sacrilege of both of them. And this is the reason that he doesn’t commit sacrilege immediately, even though he already benefitted, because there is no sacrilege other than removing from that which is sanctified [and belonging to the Temple] to that which is non-holy. But someone who removes [funds] from one sanctified area to [another] sanctified area, even though he benefitted, he does not commit sacrilege other than when something is done with the second sanctified [monies]. And this is proven in the Jerusalem Talmud.

יאכל כנגדן – He must bring a Shekel and state that every place which is Second Tithe or Seventh year produce will be redeemed by this Shekel, for the Seventh year – its additional worth is like that which is dedicated to the Temple and the produce purchased with that Shekel should be eaten in Jerusalem for the sake of Second Tithe or eat them in the holiness of the Seventh year if the produce that was redeemed was seventh year produce.

המכנס מעות – he collects/gathers bit by bit, penny by penny for his [one-half] shekel and states when he began to collect/gather that these are for his [one-half] shekel. But when he comes to consider what he has gathered and found that there was excess to his shekel.

ב"ש אומרים מותרן נדבה – they would fall to the horn-shaped chests in the Temple, that stand to offer with their monies burnt offerings of the summer for the altar. And the School of Shammai, according to the reasoning, hold that whatever is dedicated to the Temple property, in error, is called dedicated to Temple property.

ובה"א מותרן חולין – for they did not intend this to be sanctified, but only up to their [obligatory one-half] Shekel.

שאביא מהן שקלי שוין שמותר חולין – for it is like saying explicitly – that if I bring in more than a Shekel, I will bring from them a Shekel and the remainder will be non-holy produce.

אלו לחטאתי – and if he gathered/collected monies and said, “these are for my sin-offering,” the School of Hillel agrees that the remainder is a free-will offering.

מה בין שקלים לחטאת – what is the difference that regarding Shekalim when one collects/gathers monies and says, “these are for my [half-]Shekel, that the School of Hillel states that the excess is non-holy and that regarding Sin-offerings, that they agree with the School of Shammai that the excess is a free-will offering?

שקלים יש להן קצבה – as it is written (Exodus 30:15): “the rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less,” therefore, he definitely did not intend other than the [half-]shekel, and the excess is an errant dedication to the Temple, but the sin-offering has no limit. If he wants, he should bring a sin-offering of silver M’ah, and if he desires, he can bring greater sums. Therefore, the monies are seized but the excess is a donation.

היו שוקלים דרכונות – coinage of the Persian kingdom that came up with them from the Diaspora and it was of gold. It was worth two Selaim, and people were accustomed to do business with that coin, and like the time of the First Temple when their coin was the Shekel, they would give the one-half Shekel. So, now, when their coin was a Darkon/daric, they would give one-half daric.

חזרו לשקול סלעים – after the Kingdom of Persia passed on, the coinage of the daric was cancelled, they returned to do business with Selaim which was their first coinage that was in usage at the time of the First Temple and they gave one-half shekel as at the first.

חזרו לשקול טבעין – the coin in usage returned to be the Tevaim which is the one-half shekel that they desired to give was one-half of that coinage, that is one Dinar. For a Selah is four dinars and they did not accept it from them for they had to supplement to the Shekel of the Torah because they changed the going currency at that time but not to decrease from it. Therefore, we see that the Shekel also had no definite limit for sometimes the Shekels were large and at other times, the Shekels were small, for they would not give ever other than one-half shekel according to the currency in vogue at the time.

אעפ"כ יד כולן שוה – that is to say, that still the Shekalim are not similar to the sin-offerings, for in each and every time period, the one-half Shekel was equivalent for all. This [person] would donate according to that [person] – each individual one-half Shekel according to the going rate of that time period. But sin-offerings are not equivalent ever, for this one brings a Selah and the other brings two or three Selaim, and in this, the rationale of the School of Hillel agrees with that of the School of Shammai.

מותר שקלים חולין – The person who collects/gathers money and says, “these are for my [one-half] Shekel, and when he comes to calculate what he had gathered, he found that there was excess and what was left over was Hullin/non-holy, and the anonymous teaching is according to the School of Hillel.

עשירית האיפה – that the poorest of the poor offer, if he separated out money, and there was excess, they go for a free-will donation, for all excess of sin-offerings and guilt-offerings, the excess is a free-will offering, to purchase with them burnt-offering for the altar’s summer time (a time when the alter was unemployed for private offerings, and free-will burnt-offerings had to be supplied form the Temple fund – see Mishnah Shekalim, Chapter 4, Mishnah 4), according to the Midrash of Jehoiada the Priest, and the tenth of an Ephah was in place of a sin-offering.

מותר עולה עולה – if he separated monies to purchase a burnt-offering and there was excess, he should bring that excess for another burnt-offering.

מותר הפסח לשלמים – as it is written (Deuteronomy 16:2): “You shall slaughter the Passover sacrifice for the LORD your God from the flock and the herd,” but the Passover sacrifice comes from the herd, but the excess of the Passover sacrifice should come from the flock and herd, that is peace-offerings.

מותר נזירים – if they collected money for the Nazirite sacrifices and there was excess, they should preserve them until they purchase other Nazirite sacrifices. But if one Nazirite separated monies for his sacrifices, and there was excess, the excess should go as a free-will offering to the altar’s summer offerings.

מותר שבוים – if they collected tzedakah for the redemption of captives, and there was excess remaining, he should preserve them (i.e., the monies) until they redeem other captives, but if they explicitly did so for this captive, that captive takes possession of it.

מותר המתים למתים – if they collected for the needs of merely burying the dead, the excess is for the burial of other dead people, but, for this specific dead person, the excess goes to his inheritors, for the dead they forgive as it is a disgrace for his inheritors.

יהא מונח עד שיבא אליהו – he is doubtful if the dead pardons his disgrace to his inheritors or not. Therefore, it should like until Elijah comes.

בונים לו נפש על קברו – it is obvious to Rabbi Natan that he does not pardon. Therefore, we build for him a tombstone on his grave from that same excess that the dead person gained. But the Halakha is according to the first Teacher [of the Mishnah] and where they collect for the needs of the burial of the dead because they would think that he didn’t have [funds] and it was found that he did have [funds], we don’t say that in this case, the excess of the dead person goes to his inheritors, since the collection was done in error, and this is proved in the Jerusalem Talmud. And furthermore, it is proven in the Jerusalem Talmud and in our Gemara [i.e., the Babylonian Talmud) (Tractate Megillah 27a) that where there are seven representatives of the town or a town organization where all the business of the community is decided by his mouth, and it appears in his eyes to change [what is done with] the excess of [monies for] captives or the excess of [monies for] the poor or the excess of [monies for] the dead to what appears in his eyes he can change and remove what appears in his eyes for the needs of the hour and they cannot stop him from doing so. And similarly, we always teach practical Halakha.