Moed Katan 11b (יא:) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

One who turned over his olives,

as is the manner of those who press olives: before crushing them in the olive press, they place them in a vessel called a ma'atan and turn them over there so that they will perspire and soften, and if he did so,

and mourning befell him

and he became prohibited from work and cannot press them in the olive press.

Or

if

an unavoidable circumstance befell him.

Or his workers deceived him

whom he had hired for work in the olive press before the intermediate days of the Festival, but they did not perform their work, and now he is prohibited from working because of the Festival.

They permitted him to

load

only

the first beam

because of the loss involved in leaving them without pressing: he may place them in the olive press and press them only once with the beam upon them,

and leave it there,

but he may not press a second time until

after the Festival; these are the words of Rabbi Yehuda.

Rabbi Yosei

disagrees and

says: He pours,

he pours the olives onto the olive press,

and completes

the pressing and extraction of the olives,

and seals

the oil barrels when he has completed his work,

in his usual manner.

Gemara:

And we raise an objection concerning that which we learned in our Mishna: “And mourning befell him, etc.; he loads the beam and leaves it until after the Festival.”

Apparently, he

began with mourning and concluded with the Festival,

and it was not explained what the law is for the mourner—whether he too was permitted to load the first beam, as during the Festival.

And we answer:

Rav Shisha, son of Rav Idi, said: That is to say,

that even

matters permitted

during the Festival are prohibited

for a mourner to perform

during his mourning,

and in truth a mourner is prohibited from loading even the first beam during his mourning.

Rav Ashi

disagreed and

said

that the inference from the Mishna teaches us the opposite, and

it states a “needless to say” formulation: It is needless to say that during his mourning, since it

is

, permitted

to load the first beam in the olive press;

rather, even during the Festival, when the prohibition against work is of Torah origin,

as we derive in tractate Hagiga, nevertheless

the Sages permitted it in a place of loss

to load the first beam in the meantime.

And the Gemara brought a proof:

It was taught in a beraita in accordance with the opinion of Rav Shisha, son of Rav Idi: These are the matters that others perform

for

a mourner during his mourning,

and they assist him with these tasks that he cannot perform during his mourning:

If his

olives had been turned over

in the ma'atan for pressing,

they load them for him

with the first beam in the olive press.

And

if his

barrel

was standing

to be sealed

with its lid, they seal it for him,

and

likewise, if

his flax

needs

to be removed

from the retting pool, and

his wool to be removed from the cauldron,

his colleagues remove it for him,

and they irrigate his field when its turn for water arrives,

that is, when it is the mourner’s turn to irrigate all the fields in the valley, another performs this in his place.

All these were permitted because of the loss caused to materials requiring the owners’ labor. And it is clear that all these are prohibited to a mourner, although they are permitted during the Festival, including loading the first beam of the olive press, in accordance with Rav Shisha bar Idi.

And the continuation of the beraita:

Rabbi Yehuda says: They may even sow for him a plowed field,

a field that has already been plowed,

and a field designated for flax,

since if it is not sown now, it will not afterward be fit for sowing flax.

They said to him,

the Sages: Even in a plowed field and a flax field they may not sow for him, since

if you do not sow

the plowed field

early

at the beginning of the season,

you may sow it late

—with a delay—and he will not suffer a loss. Likewise, he will not suffer a loss with regard to the flax field, since

if you do not sow flax, you may sow another species.

if he does not sow flax, he can sow another species .

Therefore, they may not sow for him during his mourning, even in these fields.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says:

If his

olives had been turned over and there is no craftsman there other than he,

the mourner; and likewise, if his

barrel is ready to be sealed and there is no craftsman there other than he,

or if

his flax must be removed from the retting pool, and his wool

must be removed from the cauldron, and there is no craftsman there other than he—

he may perform it,

the mourner himself,

in private!

They permitted him to perform the work where there is a loss, but they decreed that he do it inside his house.

Moreover, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: If there was an artisan

who was needed

by the public, and

likewise, if there was

a barber or launderer needed by the public, and the festival season arrived

when the public needed him during those days,

and there was no other artisan besides him—

he may perform the work .

the Tur (Yoreh De'ah Sha"p) explains that the reason for the permissive ruling is because of the needs of the many. Rashi and Minchat Shlomo (vol. ) wrote that it seems [according to the Rashba's view] that the mourner may take payment for this, for he is not obligated to do the work free of charge for the sake of the many. And in any case, if he is a physician, he cannot take payment for the healing itself, since in principle it is forbidden to take payment for healing, rather he takes it because of the idleness [i.e., for the time lost]; and if so, it follows that he does additional work during his mourning days besides the healing. And the Ra'avad wrote that the law follows the Rashba in this matter, and he proved likewise from what is learned below (fol. ), that if many needed the mourner to teach them Torah, we have [here] that the prohibitions of mourning were relaxed for the sake of the needs of the many. However, the Rosh rejected the inference that one may learn Torah for other communal needs. And even though at the outset, regarding a lost object, the Rosh ruled like the Rashba, concerning the needs of the many he was stringent like the Rabbis who expounded the Rashba's view.

Sharecroppers,

who receive fields to sow and cultivate for several years in return for half, a third, or a quarter of the increase,

and tenant farmers

who receive fields to guard and work in return for a specified quantity of produce that they will receive as payment,

and contractors

who receive a field to guard for a specified period in return for a fixed payment that is not dependent on the field's yield—all of these, during their mourning,

may have others perform the work on their behalf .

Donkey-drivers, camel-drivers,

those who transport loads by donkey and camel,

and sailors

who operate ships,

these

during their mourning

may not perform work,

meaning that they may not undertake work and begin it, transporting merchandise, since transporting goods is their profession .

And if they were leased or rented out to others,

so that the failure to perform their work would cause the owners a loss—

these may perform the work

even during their mourning, and they may earn payment for work performed for the benefit of the owners. Both they and their animals, which were leased or rented to another, are permitted to work during the mourning of the person who rented them .

A day laborer,

who hires himself out anew each day,

even if he is

located

in another city

where it is not known that he is a mourner—

he may not perform

his work, since he can withdraw from his employment in the middle of the day .

And if

the work of others was in his possession,

the mourner's, in his house—for example, they gave him a garment to weave—since it is dependent on his choice when to complete it, he may not complete it during his mourning,

even though it is a fixed-price contract, he may not perform it.

The reason given here—that a fixed-price contract is a basis for leniency—was not understood by the Gemara. Therefore, it asks: What is the meaning of

“even though it is a fixed-price contract,”

which implies

“and it goes without saying that if it is not a fixed-price contract”

he may not perform it?

But

on the contrary, a fixed-price contract

is a reason to prohibit performing it during his mourning, since

it is considered his own,

whereas when it is not a fixed-price contract, and he works for the owners and on their behalf, it should be permitted.

We explain:

Rather, say

that the work of others is in his possession

whether it is a fixed-price contract or not, he may not perform it.

The novelty is that even when it is not a fixed-price contract, he may not perform it during his mourning, since he can complete it after his mourning .

If his work

of the mourner was being performed

by others,

and they were

in his house,

the mourner's—

they may not perform it, even the others, because of suspicion: People may say that the mourner is assisting them in the work, or they may say that he hired them initially, during his mourning, to perform his work; and this is prohibited, as stated above .

even the others, because of suspicion: people might say that the mourner is assisting them in the work, or that he hired them initially during his mourning to perform his work; and this is prohibited, as stated above.

But if the mourner's work was in the hands of others who were working for him

in another house, they may perform it.

Marion, son of Ravin, and Mar, son of Rav Aha, son of Rava, had a pair of oxen

that they jointly owned

together.

Something happened to him,

and he became a mourner,

to Mar, son of Rav Aha, son of Rava, and he detached his ox from the team,

taking his ox out of the team so that it would not plow the field during his mourning, since a mourner is prohibited from work and is rabbinically obligated to have his animal rest from work .

He was astonished, and

Rav Ashi said:

And is it possible that

a great man such as Mar, son of Rav Aha, would act this way!?

After all,

granted that he is unconcerned about his own loss

when he causes his ox to rest because of his mourning, but

the

loss

of others,

how

could he not be concerned!?

By taking his ox out of the team, Marion also suffers a loss, since he cannot plow. And since work to which one is obligated toward others is permitted, he wondered how Mar caused his animal to rest.

But it was taught in a beraita

that work to which one is obligated toward others is permitted:

“If they were rented or leased to others, these may perform the work!”

Thus, both the mourner and his animal are permitted to work during his mourning when this prevents a loss to others.

We explain the reason for Mar, son of Rav Aha's conduct:

And he held that a distinguished person is different,

for even work performed for others is prohibited .