בשלשה פרקים בשנה תורמין את הלשכה – all of the Shekalim would be placed into one chamber in the Temple and three times a year they would take from it and place them into three baskets/funds, for each basket was from three Se’ah in order to purchase from them the community offerings and they would not take all of it at one time for the needs of the entire year, for those who lived far way had not yet brought all of their Shekalim.

בפרוס הפסח – fifteen days before the Festival [of Passover] is called “half the period of preparation,” because thirty days prior to the Festival they would ask and expound upon the laws of the Festival. And the word "פרוס" is the language of a piece, meaning one-half.

והן גרנות של מעשר – these three periods are the fixed seasons for the tithing of cattle, and these times were fixed by the Sages to tithe the cattle that had been borne, and just as the harvesting season establishes for the tithing of grain, so too, these time periods establish prohibiting eating the cattle that were born until they are tithed, but prior to this period, it is permitted to eat them, even though they haven’t been tithed, but the Sages established these three times for the tithing of cattle, in order that they would be found for those who come up making pilgrimage for the Festivals, for even though it is permitted to sell and to slaughter and to eat all the time that the harvesting season had not yet arrived, even so, people would not slaughter them until they were tithed, for it is pleasant for people to fulfill a Mitzvah with their monies in which they are not lacking anything, such as the tithing of cattle, which of itself brings tithes and they eat it as a peace-offering. If they would not tithe at these three periods, many would be prevented from selling them, because they were not tithed, and there wouldn’t be cattle available for those coming up on pilgrimage.

בן עזאי אומר בכ"ט באדר – his reason is that all of these are a condition, and their disputes are explained in the last chapter of [Tractate] Bekhorot (Chapter 9, Mishnayot 5-6).

תורמין את הלשכה – they would separate the Shekalim from the chamber/compartment for the Shekalim were placed there and they would take from them in three funds; each fund of them was three Se’ah. But Maimonides wrote that we first fill the three large baskets of twenty-seven Se’ah and from them donate to three small baskets of nine Se’ah, and freely, he pressed to state this.

וכתוב עליהן א' ב' ג' – to know which one was separated out first, and from it, they would purchase the community offerings first. And after that from the second one, and after that from the third one.

יונית כתוב עליהן – they were accustomed to do it in Greek because it is written (Genesis 9:27): “May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem.” The beauty of Japheth will dwell in the tents of Shem [Megillah 9a], and the language of “beauty” in the children of Japheth does not exist other than in the Greek language.

פרגוד חפות – the clothing was long and we fold it from the bottom. That double rim is called a פרגוד חפות/hem in his cloak; cloak with sleeves. The person donating [Terumah]/making appropriation does not enter with the double rim in his cloak so that people would not suspect him that he placed into it from the monies of the compartment/chamber.

ולא בתפילין ולא בקמיע – so that people don’t say that he loosened the seam and placed into it money.

וזורקו לפני התורם – they intended that their Shekels would be spread out into the basket, and they would purchase from them the community offerings, and they would not come from the remnants of the compartment.

שלש פעמים – on each occasion, he would say, “shall I remove them?,” and they say to him: “Remove.” For it was the manner of the Sages that something should be done thrice, and an example of this we found in the Omer ceremony (see Tractate Menahot, Chapter 10, Mishnah 3): “this sickle, this sickle, this sickle. Shall I reap, Shall I reap, Shall I reap?” and similarly in the removal of the shoe (see Tractate Yevamot, Chapter 12, Mishnah 6) – “Remove the Shoe? Remove the Shoe? Remove the Shoe? = three times.

תרם את הראשונים ומחפה בקטבלאות – the first appropriation/Terumah that was on the fifteenth day before Passover – after he appropriated it, he would cover all the remaining Shekalim with קטבלאות/leather spreads that are smooth leather in order that they can put upon it the Shekalim that they will bring from the countries that surround the land of Israel, who wouldn’t bring [it] prior to Passover but they bring it from Passover until Atzeret/Shavuot and give them on top of the [leather] spread in order that they may appropriate from them in the two weeks before Atzeret/Shavuot and not appropriate from the thing that was appropriated from already during the two weeks before Passover, and after he has appropriated during the two weeks before Atzeret, he went back and covered all the monies in the compartment with leather spreads and placed on them all the Shekelim that are brought from Babylonia and Media and from the far-away countries, and appropriate from them in the two weeks before the Holiday/Sukkot. But there was no cover for there is no Terumah/appropriation after that.

הראשונה לשם ארץ ישראל – for they sent their Shekalim first and the others had not yet brought them.

לשם כרכין המוקפים – that are close by like Ammon and Moab and those similar to that, and its example was not to appropriate from that which is surrounded, nor do they surround those with an abscess. But nevertheless, every single time, they appropriate in the name of all Israel on what was collected and what stands to be collected in the future. But our Tanna/Teacher did not mention the divisions of these places other than to inform them that they established these three periods because then, they will gather all the Shekalim of Israel/the Jewish people.