Moed Katan 17b (יז:) — the Talmud in English

And one should sound them

and sound the blasts

at the graves,

because there are no people present in the cemetery.

And read it as

and sound in it

one thousand shofar blasts

one thousand shofar blasts

in forty days.

Go and do so.

The jug burst, and he died; evidently.

And the Gemara explains:

What are the shofar blasts

why do they sound shofarot at the time of the ban?

To teach

that they exact payment from him

for his deeds.

And

what are the broken blasts?

Why do they sound shevarim in addition to the blast?

Rav Yitzḥak, son of Rav Yehuda, said:

To teach that

they break lofty houses.

For the shamta has the power to break lofty and elevated houses.

As it was taught in a beraita, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Wherever the Sages cast their eyes,

such as in the case of a shamta, he brings

either

to

death or

to

poverty.

We learned in the Mishna: “And these are permitted to shave during the Festival”:

a nazirite

who became impure

and a leper,

who rose

from his impurity to his purity.

Rabbi Yirmeya asked Rabbi Zeira:

Did they permit them to shave during the Festival only

when they did not have time

to shave before the Festival?

Or perhaps

they permitted them during the Festival

even when they had time

to shave before the Festival.

He said to him,

Rabbi Zeira:

We have learned

the explicit resolution of your question in a beraita:

All those concerning whom the Sages said

that they are

permitted to shave during the Festival

this is specifically

when they did not have time

to shave before the Festival.

But

if

they had

time

before the Festival—

they are prohibited

from shaving during the Festival.

Except for

an impure nazirite

and

a leper,

who

even though they had time

to shave before the Festival—

are permitted

to shave during the Festival, so that

their sacrifices will not be delayed.

An impure nazirite and a leper must bring a sacrifice on the eighth day of their purification, and this is conditional upon their shaving. Consequently, if we prohibit them from shaving during the Festival [because they had time before the Festival], they will not bring the sacrifice during the Festival, since the sacrifice is brought only after the shaving. They will therefore delay bringing it until after the Festival.

Therefore, it is preferable not to penalize them for failing to shave during the time available to them before the Festival, so that they will bring their sacrifice for their purification as soon as possible, even though the appropriate time has already passed, namely, the eighth day of his purification.

The tanna

in a beraita stated:

A priest and a mourner are permitted to shave

during the Festival.

And we raise a difficulty concerning it:

This mourner—

what are the circumstances?

If you say that

the day

of his eighth

of mourning

fell on the eve of the Festival,

when he had already arisen from the seven-day mourning period and could have shaved on the eighth day in honor of the Festival, since the decree of thirty days had been annulled for him because he had observed one day of the thirty-day mourning period before the Festival,

this is difficult, for

he should have shaved on the eve of the Festival!

Since he should have shaved then but did not, why should we permit him to shave during the Festival!?

Rather,

if you will say that

his eighth day fell on Shabbat, the eve of the Festival,

and he could not shave on the eighth day because of the sanctity of Shabbat,

The difficulty still remains:

he should have

advanced it and

shaved on the eve of Shabbat!

Even though it was the seventh day of his mourning,

because

Rav Ḥisda said that Ravina bar Sheila said: The halakha is in accordance with Abba Shaul,

who said: One who buries his dead seven days before the Festival, the decree of thirty days is annulled for him.

And the Sages concede to Abba Shaul when

the day

of his eighth day falls on Shabbat, the eve of the Festival, that he is permitted to shave

already

on the eve of Shabbat,

even though it is the seventh day, since on Shabbat the seven-day mourning period would be completed and the conduct of the thirty-day period would begin, and the Festival would interrupt it. Since he is prevented against his will from shaving on Shabbat because of the sanctity of Shabbat, they permitted him to shave on the eve of Shabbat.

If so, he could have shaved on the seventh day. Why should we permit him to shave during the Festival?

And we answer:

No, it is necessary only for a case in which his seventh day falls on Shabbat, the eve of the Festival .

In this matter,

the external tanna

of the beraita, who says that he is permitted to shave during the Festival,

holds in accordance with Abba Shaul, who says that part of the day is like the whole of it, and

therefore

the seventh

day

counts for both purposes,

both as the end of the count of seven and as the beginning of the count of thirty. Since he began observing the thirty-day mourning period and the Festival came and interrupted it, he is now permitted to shave.

And since it is Shabbat

on the seventh day and he could not shave on it, they permitted him to shave during the Festival, since

he is prevented by circumstances,

as he cannot shave on the seventh day because it is Shabbat.

But

our tanna holds in accordance with the Rabbis

, who say: We do not say that part of the day is like the whole of it, and the seven-day mourning period has still not been completed

before the Festival. Therefore, he cannot shave during the Festival, since he has not yet begun observing the thirty-day mourning period, and the Festival did not interrupt the thirty-day period .

The Gemara now explains which priest is the one mentioned in the beraita as being permitted to shave during the Festival:

This priest—

what are the circumstances?

If you say that his watch ended on the eve of the Festival,

he should have shaved on the eve of the Festival!

No, it is necessary to teach the case in which

his watch ended during the Festival.

Our tanna holds that since we learned: “Three times

a year all the watches were equal in the offerings of the Festivals and in the division of the showbread”—it is considered as though his watch had not ended during the Festival.

But the external tanna holds

that

although he is included among these watches,

his watch has in any event ended for him .

The Sages taught: All those whom they said are permitted to shave

during the intermediate days—

are permitted to shave during their mourning.

And we challenged this:

But wasn’t it taught: They are prohibited!

Rav Hisda said that Rav Sheila said: When it was taught here that they are permitted

it was referring to one whose mourners followed one another.

And we challenged this:

If it is referring to one whose mourners followed one another, why specifically say “

all those whom they said”?

For

everyone

as well!

As it was taught: If one’s mourners followed one another, one after the other, and his hair became heavy,

he may trim it with a razor

, and he may launder his garment in water.

This was stated concerning it: Rav Hisda said: With a razor, but not with scissors; in water, but not with natron and not with ahal .

Rav Hisda said: This indicates that a mourner is prohibited from laundering .

The Sages taught: Just as they said “

It is prohibited to shave during the intermediate days”—

so too it is prohibited to cut one’s fingernails during the intermediate days; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda .

And Rabbi Yosei permits .

And just as they said “

a mourner is prohibited from shaving during his mourning” —

so too it is prohibited to cut one’s fingernails during his mourning,

this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda .

And Rabbi Yosei permits it . Ulla said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda with regard to mourning, and the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei with regard to the intermediate days of a Festival.

And Rabbi Yosei permits .

Ulla said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda with regard to mourning, and the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei with regard to the intermediate days.