(a) I do not understand the concept of mashkon regarding the
giving of shekels. Please refer to your comment pertain-
ing to Rambam 3:10 where he says "one paid with his friend's
shekel in order that they should not take a collateral
from him..."
Could you please explain the principle of mashkon here,
why it might apply, and to whom it would be given?
(b) By the way, I often print Thoughts on the Daily Daf
for more convenient study or for study on Shabbos. Is
it necessary to keep them until they can be buried with
Shamos?
Many thanks,
Itzchak Coffer, Thornhill, Canada
(a) When a person did not send his obligatory Shekel to the Beis ha'Mikdash, the Gizbar (treasurer) of Hekdesh, or an official representative, would come to a person's home and take some of his property as a lien against his debt to Hekdesh. If, though, the person decided to give the Shekel to the Gizbar at that point, then the Gizbar took it and of course did not take any lien.
The Rambam is discussing the case of a person who pays a Shekel for his friend , so that a lien shall not be taken from his friend's property for the Shekel owed by his friend.
(b) Rabbi Pinchas Winston compiled the following summary of the Halachah. We thank him for sharing it with us. This summary is based on consultation with the Posek and Moreh Tzedek of Mishmeres Stam of Yerushalayim, and the Rosh Kollel of Kollel Nechamas Yerushalayim, HARAV MORDECHAI FRIEDLANDER, shilt'a:
1. Words of Torah in English must also be treated with due respect. However, even if they contain translated verses from the Torah they merely need to be placed into a clean bag, and then into a regular garbage container. [Note: This is in line with Rav Moshe Feinstein's ruling that printed matter which was not printed for regular viewing but only for temporary use may be discarded, albeit in the respectful way described here. -M.K.)
2. This holds true even if the name G-d is spelled out in full, i.e., without the dash.
3. However, this does not hold true for transliterations of actual names of G-d that we know cannot be erased, and which require burial instead. Therefore, any page that consists of a transliteration of one of these names must be placed in a container for Sheimos to be disposed of as per the Halacha (or the name can be cut out and placed in Sheimos, while the rest of the sheet be dealt with as per #1).
4. Pages of Torah in Hebrew that contain no actual names of G-d, or quotations from the Torah that consist of more than two consecutive words from the verse, can be disposed of as per point #1. Otherwise, they must be placed in the correct Sheimos container.
Best wishes,
-Mordecai Kornfeld and Y. Shaw