Use of the Shofar as Receptacle of Funds to Purchase Sacrifices During the Times of the Holy Temple

Use of the Shofar as Receptacle of Funds to Purchase Sacrifices During the Times of the Holy Temple

Arthur L. Finkle


In describing the term “Bet Din shel Kohanim,” Daniel Topper contributes to another Shofar use as a receptacle for funds to buy sacrifices. Such sacrifices occurred, of course, during the period of the Temple, indicated that the Bet Din shel Kohanim (probably a council composed of priests) remained in session each day until the funds in the Shofrot (attested to in Mishnah Shekalim 6:5) which were used as money containers were consumed for the necessary sacrificial purposes.


Indeed, the seventh takana (statute) provides:

7. The Temple treasury must pay for the purchase of a new fowl if a bird purchased from the funds of the shofrot (Temple money boxes) is discovered to be unfit for ritual purposes. (Mishnah Shekalim 7:5-7)

• Daniel Tropper, Bet Din shel Kohanim, The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series, Vol. 63, No. 3 (Jan., 1973), pp. 204-221. Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press

For more information about Shofar and other Holy Temple instruments, we have written extensively on the Shofar and have three websites

1) Shofar Sounders WebPage


2) Joint Effort with Michael Chusid, an expert Shofar sounder and commentator


30 http://shofar-sounders.com