Vayeishev 37:28 · unit 3

Parashas Vayeishev · Passuk 37:28

The Complete Passuk

וַיַּֽעַבְרוּ֩ אֲנָשִׁ֨ים מִדְיָנִ֜ים סֹֽחֲרִ֗ים וַֽיִּמְשְׁכוּ֙ וַיַּֽעֲל֤וּ אֶת־יוֹסֵף֙ מִן־הַבּ֔וֹר וַיִּמְכְּר֧וּ אֶת־יוֹסֵ֛ף לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֖ים בְּעֶשְׂרִ֣ים כָּ֑סֶף וַיָּבִ֥יאוּ אֶת־יוֹסֵ֖ף מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃

And there passed by Midyanite merchants; and they drew and lifted up Yosef out of the pit, and sold Yosef to the Yishmaelim for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Yosef into Egypt.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to the same Yerushalmi / midrashic cluster linking the twenty silver to the half-shekel (taba).

Sefaria — Yerushalmi Shekalim 2:3

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי: כַּמָּה נָפַל לְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מֵהֶם טַבְעָה, לְפִיכָךְ צִוְּתָה תּוֹרָה שֶׁיְּהֵא כָּל אֶחָד נוֹתֵן שִׁקְלוֹ טַבְעָה.

English: Rabbi Levi said: How much fell to the share of each of them? A taba (half-shekel). Therefore the Torah commanded that each person give his shekel as a taba.

On the daf / in context: The twenty pieces of silver, divided among the brothers, yield a half-shekel per person, which becomes the measure of the annual half-shekel contribution.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Yerushalmi / midrashic sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The division of the sale price supplies the amount later fixed for the half-shekel.

What Is Learned

Each brother’s share of the twenty silver was a half-shekel (taba). This becomes the basis for the mitzvah that every person give a half-shekel.