https://doi.org/10.26142/stgd-2024-004
The issue of the religious assessment of human value appears in Judaism particularly in the context of redemption from vows and is based on biblical law found in the twenty-seventh chapter of the Book of Leviticus. In this context, the Torah assigns values to people from infancy to old age as follows: a man aged 20–60 is valued at 50 silver shekels, while a woman of the same age is valued at 30 silver shekels; for those aged 5–20, a male youth is valued at 20 silver shekels, and a girl at 10; for children aged 1 month to 5 years, a boy is valued at 5 silver shekels, and a girl at 3; for the elderly, aged 60 and above, an elderly man is valued at 15 silver shekels, and an elderly woman at 10 silver shekels (Lev. 27:3–8).
This law applied during the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem and concerned situations where someone made a vow, dedicating to the Temple the "value" (Hebrew: erekh) of a person. In such cases, individuals were not assessed based on their personal qualities but according to a fixed tariff depending on their age and gender. This law is discussed in key ancient works of rabbinic literature (Mishnah, Tosefta, Gemara), particularly in the tractate Arakhin – Valuations (of redemption).
The purpose of this article is to familiarize Polish readers with issues related to the valuation of human worth as presented in the Torah, in the context of vows dedicating one’s own or another's value to the Temple, or redemption from such vows. These issues were addressed by Talmudic scholars, especially the authors of the Mishnah, which forms the essence of Judaism’s oral tradition. The article delves into these matters, supported by the testimony of the Mishnah.
This valuation does not reflect the actual value of human life, which in Judaism is of the highest value, nor the inherent dignity of life, which in Judaism is absolute and independent of gender or age. Rather, it is a symbolic and functional system designed to facilitate the practical fulfillment of obligations to the Temple.
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