Berakhot 17b (יז:) — the Talmud in English

“There shall be no breach” –

that our community should not be like David’s community, from which Ahitophel emerged

who caused a breach in the kingdom of the House of David.

“And there shall be no one going forth” –

that our community should not be like Saul’s community, from which Doeg the Edomite emerged

to a life of wrongdoing.

“And there shall be no outcry” –

that our community should not be like Elisha’s community, from which Gehazi emerged,

who was a leper. And it is written concerning a leper: “Unclean, unclean, shall he call”; and this is “outcry.”

“In our open spaces” –

that we should not have a son or student who spoils his dish in public,

like Jesus the Nazarene, who expounded heretical interpretations and led the masses astray.

And the Gemara brings another dispute between those same amoraim concerning the interpretation of a verse in the Book of Isaiah

“Listen to Me, mighty of heart, who are far from righteousness”

(Isaiah 46:12).

Rav and Shmuel—and some say Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Elazar

disagreed about its interpretation:

One said:

This verse refers to righteous people who are “mighty of heart,” strong in their service of God. Therefore, although

the entire world is sustained through charity

through the righteousness of the Holy One, blessed be He, and not through their own merit,

they,

the righteous, do not wish to accept charity; rather,

they are sustained by the arm,

through their own merit. They are called “far from righteousness” because they do not require the righteousness of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And one said: The entire world is sustained through their merit

that of the righteous.

But they themselves are not sustained even through their own merit.

They do not have enough for their needs and make their livelihoods with difficulty. And “far from righteousness” means far from the righteousness of their deeds, for they serve without intending to receive reward.

This is in accordance with what Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav.

For Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Every day a Divine voice emerges from Mount Horeb and says: The entire world is sustained for the sake of Hanina, My son,

and Hanina, My son, suffices with a kav of carobs from one Shabbat eve to the next.

And

all the amoraim who explained above that the verse refers to righteous people

disagree

with

Rav Yehuda,

who interprets the verse as referring to the wicked.

For Rav Yehuda said: Who are the “mighty of heart”? –

The Gubbaei fools.

This was the name of a nation in Babylonia.

Rav Yosef said: You can know

that this is so,

for no convert converted from among them.

And this is proof of their foolishness and wickedness.

Rav Ashi said: The inhabitants of Mata Mehasya

the gentiles who lived there,

are mighty of heart,

since

they see the glory of Torah twice a year,

for they saw the great honor accorded to Torah when the Jews gathered there twice a year to hear Rav Ashi’s discourse: in Adar they gathered to hear the laws of Passover, and in Elul, the laws of the Festival. Nevertheless, they were not moved by this,

and no convert converted from among them.

We learned in the Mishna:

A groom, if he wishes, may recite.

The Gemara raises an objection:

Is that to say that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is concerned about arrogance,

and therefore said, “Not everyone who wishes to assume the name may assume it”? For if he has not been publicly established as a scholar and pious person, this is merely arrogance, as he presents himself as capable of directing his intention,

while the Sages are not concerned about arrogance?

But we have heard the opposite of their positions!

For we learned: In a place where the custom is to work on Tisha Be-Av, one works. In a place where the custom is not to work, one does not work. And everywhere,

whether in a place where the custom is to work or in a place where the custom is not to work,

Torah scholars abstain

from work on Tisha Be-Av because of mourning.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: A person should always present himself as a Torah scholar.

And if he wishes to abstain from work, he is permitted to do so. This indicates that he is not concerned about arrogance.

Apparently,

there is a difficulty between one statement of the Sages and another statement of the Sages,

for with regard to a groom they said that anyone may say that he is capable of directing his intention during the recitation of the Shema, whereas with regard to Tisha Be-Av they said that not everyone may present himself as a Torah scholar.

And likewise,

there is a difficulty between one statement of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel and another statement of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel,

for with regard to abstaining from work on Tisha Be-Av, he is not concerned about arrogance, and anyone may present himself as a Torah scholar, whereas with regard to reciting the Shema, he maintains that a groom who is not pious should not recite it because of arrogance.

The Gemara answers:

Rabbi Yohanan said: The formulation has been reversed!

The tanna who arranged them made an error in one of the Mishnayot, and reversed the attributions. In fact, the one who prohibits a groom from reciting also prohibits someone who is not a scholar from abstaining from work on Tisha Be-Av.

Rav Shisha, son of Rav Idi, said: Never

reverse the formulation,

but distinguish between the cases as follows:

There is no difficulty between one statement of the Sages and another statement of the Sages.

For

with regard to reciting the Shema, since everyone recites it, and he

the groom

also recites it, it does not appear to be arrogance,

since he is acting like everyone else.

But there,

with regard to Tisha Be-Av,

since everyone works and he does not work, it appears to be arrogance,

and therefore the Sages required him to work.

There is no difficulty between one statement of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel and another statement of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel.

Here,

with regard to reciting the Shema,

the matter depends on concentration, and we can testify that he is unable to direct his mind.

Therefore, when a groom recites, he appears arrogant.

But there,

with regard to abstaining from work on Tisha Be-Av,

one who sees

him not working does not understand that he is abstaining because of Tisha Be-Av. Rather,

he says: He has no work; go out and see how many unemployed people there are in the marketplace

even on ordinary working days. Therefore, there is no concern about arrogance, for people will say that he is idle because he found no work to engage in.

We shall return to you, chapter “One who was reciting.”

Mishna:

a.

One whose dead lies before him,

meaning that one of his close relatives, for whom he is obligated to mourn, has died, and he is obligated to bury him, is

exempt from reciting the Shema, from prayer, and from tefillin,

and from all mitzvot

[positive]

stated in the Torah.

This is because he is preoccupied with thoughts of the burial, and this is a preoccupation with a mitzva, which exempts him from reciting the Shema.

b.

Those carrying the bier and their replacements

[for it was customary for the bearers to exchange places, because they all wished to gain the merit of the mitzva],

and

those designated to be

the replacements of their replacements, and

[those] bearers

who are before the bier,

who have not yet carried it,

and

those bearers

who are after the bier,

who have already carried it, differ in their laws with regard to reciting the Shema and prayer, as follows:

Those

who are

before the bier,

if there is

a need for them

to carry the bier,

are exempt

from reciting the Shema, because they have not yet performed the mitzva and are preoccupied with performing it.

And those

who are

after the bier,

even if there is still

a need for them, are obligated

to recite, since they have already fulfilled their obligation with regard to the mitzva of carrying the deceased and are not so preoccupied with the mitzva.

And

both

these

who are before the bier

and

both

these

who are after it—

are exempt from prayer.

For its obligation is only rabbinic and not by Torah law; therefore, a slight degree of preoccupation is sufficient to exempt them from prayer.

They buried the deceased and returned

from the cemetery to the place where they would offer consolation—

if the consolers can

who are offering consolation

begin and finish

even the first verse of the Shema

before

the mourners

reach the line

in which they would console the mourner, by forming a line around him when they returned from the grave,

they should begin

reciting.

But if not,

meaning that they cannot finish even the first verse—

they should not begin.

For consoling mourners is a mitzva of kindness, and its obligation is by Torah law.

Those standing in the line, the inner ones,

who see the mourner’s face,

are exempt

from reciting the Shema, because they must speak with him and console him,

while the outer ones,

who do not see the mourner’s face and stand there only to honor him,

are obligated

to recite the Shema, because nothing prevents them from doing so.

Gemara:

The Gemara infers: If the deceased was

lying before him,

in the same room,

then

he is exempt from all mitzvot.

And

if, however, he is like one

whose deceased is not lying before him,

for example, he is in one house and the deceased is in another,

then

he is not exempt.

And we raise a contradiction

to this from what we learned in a beraita:

One whose dead lies before him eats in another house,

because if he were to eat before him, he would appear to mock the poor.

And if he has no other house

in which to eat,

he eats in his fellow’s house. And if he has no fellow’s house,

for example, he lives among gentiles,

he makes a partition

between himself and the deceased

and eats. And if he has nothing with which to make a partition,

he turns his face away and eats.

And he does not recline and eat

in the manner of important diners, reclining on his left side.

And he does not eat meat, and he does not drink wine

. And he does not recite a blessing,

he is not obligated to recite the blessing over bread, [but if he wishes, he may recite it].

And he does not join for a zimun,

he is not required to recite Grace after Meals.