Moed Katan 24a (כד.) — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Yohanan asked Shmuel:

whether

there is mourning on Shabbat or there is no mourning on Shabbat?

He said to him—

Shmuel:

There is no mourning on Shabbat . .

The Sages were sitting before Rav Pappa, and they were saying in the name of Shmuel: A mourner who engaged in marital relations during his mourning—

is liable to death

at the hands of Heaven .

Rav Pappa said to them:

a. “

It is prohibited

merely to engage in marital relations”;

that is what was stated,

and not that one is liable to death if he engaged in marital relations .

b.

And

this halakha

was stated in the name of Rabbi Yohanan,

and not in the name of Shmuel.

c.

And if you heard it in the name of Shmuel—

this is what you heard:

Rav Tahlifa bar Avimi said in the name of Shmuel: A mourner who did not uncover

the hair of his head

and did not rend

his garment—

is liable to death.

As it is stated

regarding the sons of Aaron, who were commanded not to mourn the death of Nadav and Avihu [Leviticus 10]: “

Do not let the hair of your heads grow wild, and do not rend your garments—

lest you die!”

And from here one may infer:

however,

a

different mourner who did not uncover his hair and did not rend his garment—

is liable to death . .

Rafram bar Pappa said: It was taught in

the tractate

Mourning Rabbati: A mourner is prohibited from engaging in marital relations during his mourning.

And there was an incident involving someone who engaged in marital relations during his mourning, and pigs tore away his body.

Shmuel said:

This is how the laws of mourning on Shabbat apply:

Peh-het-zadi—

obligatory; nun-tet-resh—

optional.

As will be explained immediately.

Peh-het-zadi obligatory—this means:

uncovering the head,

revealing the face covering that he wears during mourning on a weekday .

Returning the tear to the back

on Shabbat, so that the tear will not be visible on Shabbat.

Uprighting the bed

by turning it over on a weekday.

All these are

obligatory

when Shabbat arrives.

Nun-tet-resh optional—this means:

Wearing shoes,

to wear them on Shabbat rather than walk barefoot.

Marital relations

on Shabbat.

Washing the hands and feet in hot water in the evening,

before the onset of Shabbat .

These practices are

optional.

And Rav said: Uncovering the head as well

on Shabbat is

optional.

And

we challenged

Shmuel: What is different about wearing shoes

on Shabbat

that

it is

optional

in his opinion, rather than obligatory? It is because the failure to wear shoes does not make his mourning recognizable, since

not everyone is accustomed to wearing shoes,

and his mourning is not recognizable when he does not wear shoes on Shabbat .

If so,

uncovering the head likewise

should not be obligatory on Shabbat, for his mourning is not recognizable through covering his head on Shabbat, since

not everyone is accustomed to uncovering his head!

And we answer:

Shmuel

follows

his own view.

For Shmuel said:

a.

Any rending that is not performed at the time of intense grief,

close to the death, at the beginning of the grief

is not rending.

b.

And any covering that is not like the covering of the Ishmaelites—

is not a covering.

He demonstrated

by demonstrating

Rav Nahman

and showed how the covering is performed: One covers his entire head all around,

down to the furrows of the beard,

the hollows of the cheek beneath his mouth, from which the beard grows.

Since only mourners cover their heads in this manner—for ordinary people who cover their heads do not wrap them in such a fashion—if the mourner were to continue this covering on Shabbat, it would be apparent that he was observing mourning on Shabbat. Therefore, Shmuel said that he is obligated to uncover this distinctive covering before Shabbat .

Rabbi Yaakov said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: They taught

that he must uncover his head, so that he exposes his mouth and nose, which are covered during his mourning,

only

in the case of one

who has no shoes on his feet,

for then, if he does not uncover his covering, he appears to be a mourner.

But if he has shoes on his feet—

his shoes demonstrate about him

that he is not observing mourning on Shabbat, since a mourner removes his shoes; therefore, he need not uncover his head .

The Gemara now explains what Shmuel said: “

Any rending that is not performed at the time of intense grief is not rending” .

And we inquire:

But they said to Shmuel: “Rav has died,”

he has passed away! And nevertheless

Shmuel rent

over him,

over Rav,

twelve garments,

even though he did so over the course of several days .

Shmuel said

about Rav’s death:

The man whom I feared has gone,

whom I used to fear

from him.

Shmuel feared Rav’s questions and challenges directed at him.

And something similar occurred when

they said to Rabbi Yohanan: “Rabbi Hanina has died.” He rent thirteen silk garments over him.

Silk garments.

He said: “The man whom I feared has gone.”

And we answer:

Torah scholars are different, since whenever their teachings are recalled

they are remembered

their teachings

among the Sages at all times, even after a long period

it is considered like a time of intense grief.

He said to him—

asked

Ravin bar Adda to Rava

about Shmuel’s statement:

Your student Rav Amram taught: A mourner, throughout all seven days—

rends it

his rending

in front of him,

for the tear must be visible when it is in front of him.

And if he wishes to change

his garment—

he changes it and rends

the garment that he put on in its place, even though the time of intense grief has already passed.

And

on Shabbat—

he rends it

the tear must be located

behind him

, and if he wishes to change

a garment in honor of Shabbat,

he changes it but does not rend

it!

It is proven from this beraita, which states that one rends when changing his garment, contrary to Shmuel, who said that one rends only at the time of intense grief! And we answer:

The Gemara now discusses whether

When that beraita was taught,

that one rends when changing his garment even though it is not a time of intense grief, it was

with regard to honoring one’s father and mother . .

after the mourning period ends, or may not be mended? The father of Rav Oshaya and bar Kappara disagreed about this. One said that they may not be mended, and one said that they may be mended . And the Gemara proves: It can be established and proven that the father of Rav Oshaya said that they may not be mended.

The Gemara now discusses whether

those tears

that are made over the dead not at the time of intense grief

may be sewn up

after the period of mourning ends,

or may not be sewn up?

Avuha of Rav Oshaya and bar Kappara disputed this matter.

One said that they may not be sewn up, and one said that they may be sewn up .

And the Gemara proves:

It may be determined

and demonstrated

that it was Avuha of Rav Oshaya who said that they may not be sewn up.

For Rav Oshaya said: They may not join them.

From whom did he hear it

this ruling from Rav Oshaya—did he

not hear it from his father

—surely he heard it from his father?

And the Gemara rejects this:

No,

he did not hear it from his father; rather,

he heard it from Bar Kappara, his teacher,

his teacher,

he heard it from him.

Rava said: A mourner may walk

on Shabbat

in an unkeli,

his torn robe,

inside his house,

because inside his house this is considered something done privately, and it is permitted to observe mourning privately on Shabbat.

Abaye found

Rab Yosef

during his mourning

on Shabbat,

with a scarf spread over his head

for he had wrapped his head like a mourner,

and he was going back and forth in his house,

walking back and forth inside his house.

He said to him,

Abaye said to Rav Yosef rhetorically: Is it

not

the case that

the Master holds

the halakha that

there is no mourning on Shabbat!?

He said to him,

Rav Yosef

said: This is what Rabbi Yohanan said: One observes matters that are done privately.

And what I am observing inside my house is something done privately.

We learned in the Mishna:

Rabbi Eliezer says: Since the Temple was destroyed, Shemini Atzeret is like Shabbat.

Rabban Gamliel says: Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur are like Festivals.

Rav Giddel bar Menashya said that Shmuel said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabban Gamliel .

And there are those who teach this statement of Rav Giddel bar Menashya with regard to the following:

A child

throughout the first thirty days

from his birth is not treated like an adult; rather, “

a child is carried in one's arms.”

That is, a child who dies within thirty days is not carried in a coffin; rather, he is carried in one's arms to the cemetery.

And

if only a few men and women go out to bury him, one must avoid the prohibition of seclusion, since the cemetery is outside the city, in a place where there are no other people. Therefore, he is

buried in

the presence of

one woman and two men,

as this does not constitute seclusion.

But

he is

not

buried

in

the presence of

one man and two women.

For this is prohibited because of seclusion.