We [keep] no less than six inspected lambs in the Chamber of the Lambs, sufficient for the Sabbath and for the two festive days of Rosh Hashanah. And we may add any number. We [take] no less than two trumpets, and we may add any number. We [take] no less than nine harps, and we may add any number, but there is only one cymbal.

We have no fewer than twelve Levites standing on the platform, and we may add any number. A minor may not enter the Temple Court for the service except when the Levites are standing in song. And they would not join in the song with lyre and harp but by mouth, in order to add harmony to the melody. R’ Eliezer ben Yaakov says: They do not count in the number, and they do not stand on the platform, but they would stand on the ground, with their heads between the legs of the Levites, and they were called the Levites’ tormentors.

There is to [the law of] arachin an [element of] leniency, as well as an [element of] stringency; [there is] to [the law of] the ancestral field an [element of] leniency, as well as an [element of] stringency; [there is] to [the law of] the muad bull that killed a slave an [element of] leniency, as well as an [element of] stringency; [and there are] to [the laws of] the violator, the seducer, and the defamer [elements of] leniency, as well as [elements of] stringency. There is to [the law of] arachin an [element of] leniency, as well as an [element of] stringency. How so? Whether he vowed the erech of the handsomest in Israel or the ugliest in Israel, he gives fifty selaim. But if he said, ‘I take upon myself [to give] his worth’ — he must give his worth.

There is to [the law of] the ancestral land an [element of] leniency, as well as an [element of] stringency. How so? Whether one consecrates [a field] in the environs of a town, or whether one consecrates [a field] in the orchards of Sebaste — he gives for the [area of land in which a] chomer of barley may be sown,[1] fifty silver shekels; and for an acquired field, he gives its worth. R’ Eliezer says: It is the same for the ancestral field and for the acquired field. What [then] is the difference between the ancestral field and the acquired field? Only that for the ancestral field he gives a fifth, but for an acquired field he does not give a fifth.

[There is] to the [law of the] muad bull that killed a slave an [element of] leniency, as well as an [element of] stringency. How so? Whether it killed thehandsomest slave or the ugliest slave, he gives thirty selaim. [If] it killed a freeman, he gives his worth. [If] it wounded either this one or that one, he pays a full damage.

[There are] to [the laws of] the violator and the seducer [elements of] leniency, as well as [elements of] stringency. How so? Whether he violated or seduced [the daughter of] the most prominent [family] of Kohanim or [of] the humblest [family] of Israel, he gives fifty selaim. But as for [the payments for] disgrace and debasement, all depends upon [the status of] the one who disgraced and the one who was disgraced.

[There is] to [the law of] the defamer an [element of] leniency, as well as an [element of] stringency. How so? Whether he defamed [the daughter of] the most prominent [family] of Kohanim or [of] the humblest [family] in Israel, he gives one hundred selaim. It emerges that the one who speaks with his mouth is [treated] more [severely] than one who commits a deed. For so we find that the decree was sealed against our forefathers in the desert only because of evil speech; as it is stated: ‘And they tested Me these ten times and did not hearken to My voice’ (Numbers 14:22).

The ability to pay [depends] on the vower, the age [category] upon the subject of the vow, the arachin upon the subject of the erech, and the erech upon the time of the erech. The ability to pay [depends] upon the vower. How so? A poor man who vowed the erech of a rich man gives the erech of a poor man, and a rich man who vowed the erech of a poor man gives the erech of a rich man.

But with sacrificial offerings it is not so. Should one say, ‘I take upon myself [to give] the offering of this metzora’ — if the metzora was poor, he brings the offering of a poor man; [if he was] rich, he brings the offering of a rich man. Rabbi says: I say that even in the case of arachin it is so. For why is it that a poor man who vowed the erech of a rich man gives the erech of a poor man? Because the rich man is not at all obligated. But [if] the rich man said, ‘I take upon myself [to give] my erech,’ and the poor man overheard [him] and said, ‘I take upon myself [to give] what this man said’ — he gives the erech of a rich man. [If] he was poor and became rich, or [he was] rich and became poor — he gives the erech of a rich man. R’ Yehudah says: Even a poor man who became rich and then became poor again gives the erech of a rich man.

But with sacrificial offerings, it is not so. Even if his father died and left him ten thousand [zuz], [or] his ship was at sea, and they came with tens of thousands, the Temple treasury has no claim on them.

‘The age [category depends] upon the subject of the vow.’ How so? A young man who vowed the erech of an old man gives the erech of an old man, and an old man who vowed the erech of a young man gives the erech of a young man. ‘The arachin [depends] upon the subject of the erech.’ How so? A man who vowed the erech of a woman gives the erech of a woman, and a woman who vowed the erech of a man gives the erech of a man. ‘The erech [depends] upon the time of the erech.’ How so? [If] he vowed someone’s erech when he was less than five years of age, and he [then] became older than five; [or] less than twenty years of age and he [then] became older than twenty — he gives according to the time of the erech. The thirtieth day [is judged] as below this age; the fifth year and the twentieth year [are judged] as below this age; as it is said: And if from sixty years of age and up, if a male . . . (Lev. 27:7). We derive all of them from the sixtieth year. Just as the sixtieth year [is judged] as below this age, so too, the fifth year and the twentieth year are [judged] as below this age. Is this [indeed] so? If [Scripture] made the sixtieth year as below it, to be stringent, shall we [then] make the fifth year and the twentieth year as below it, to be lenient? To teach [us this,] it is said, years, years, for a gezeirah shavah. Just as [the] years mentioned in [regard to] the sixtieth year are [judged] as below it, so too [the] years mentioned in [regard to] the fifth year and the twentieth year [are judged] as below it, whether to be lenient or to be stringent. R’ Elazar says: Until they are over the years [by] one month and a day.

[If] one says: ‘I take upon myself [to give] my weight,’ he gives his weight. If [he specified] silver, [he is required to give] silver; if [he specified] gold, [he is required to give] gold. [There was] an incident concerning the mother of Yirmatia, who said, ‘I take upon myself [to give] my daughter’s weight,’ and she went up to Jerusalem and they weighed her, and she gave her weight [in] gold. [If one says,] ‘I take upon myself [to give] the weight of my arm’ — R’ Yehudah says: He fills a cask [with] water and inserts [his arm] up to his elbow, and he takes donkey meat, sinews, and bones, and he adds to it until it fills up. R’ Yose said: Now how is it possible to determine precisely flesh against flesh and bones against bones? Rather, we estimate how much the arm is likely to weigh.