Moed Katan 26a — the Talmud in English

The Sages taught: ![](pamud.bmp "

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And these are the rents that are not sewn up:

One who rends for

the death of

his father, and for his mother, and for his teacher who taught him Torah, and for a nasi, and for the head of the court.

And

likewise one who rends

for evil tidings, and for

hearing

the blessing of

the Name [in the expression saggi nahor].

And

likewise one who rends

for [seeing]

увиденного

a Torah scroll that was burned.

And

likewise

for [seeing]

увиденных

the cities of Judah, and for the Temple, and for

Jerusalem

in their destruction.

And he rends for

seeing the

Temple, and adds

to his rent

for Jerusalem.

The Gemara explains the source of the laws in the beraita:

The mitzva of rending for

his father and mother, and

for

his teacher who taught him Torah—

from where do we know it?

From

as it is written [II Kings 2, concerning Elijah’s ascension to heaven]: “

И Элиша

And Elisha

saw and

cried out

at Elijah the prophet ascending to heaven.

And he cried out: ‘

My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen!’” “

My father, my father”—

this is his father and his mother. “

The chariot of Israel and its horsemen”—

this is his teacher who taught him Torah.

And he rent a rent for his departure.

The Gemara explains:

What is the implication—

from where do we know from this verse that one must rend also for his teacher?

As Rav Yosef translated

the verse:

“My teacher, my teacher, for he is better for Israel

for he is good for Israel

with his prayer

through his prayers on their behalf,

than chariots and horsemen

more than a chariot and horsemen can benefit them.

It follows that Scripture called him “my teacher,” and for this he rent.

The Gemara continues its explanation of the laws in the beraita:

And they are not sewn up

the rents—

from where do we know it?

As it is written

in the rent that Elisha rent for the departure of his teacher Elijah [II Kings 2]: “

And he grasped his garments, and rent them into two rents.”

From the implication of what is stated, “

and he rent them,”

and is it so that

I do not know that he

rent them

into two?

Rather, it teaches that

the garments must remain

rent and standing in two—

forever!

Said

[and] objected

Reish Lakish to Rabbi Yohanan:

But

Elijah

was still

alive,

so how did Elisha rend for him the rent that one rends for the dead!?

He said to him: Since it is written, “

And he did not see him again,”

then

with regard to him

of Elisha—he

is considered like the dead.

And the Gemara continues in explaining the laws of the beraita:

Rending for a nasi and the head of the court

who died,

and

rending for

evil tidings—

from where do we know it?

As it is written

in the rent that David rent when the report of Saul’s and Jonathan’s death arrived [II Samuel 1]: “

And David grasped his garments, and rent them; and all the men who were with him

rent their garments.

And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening—

for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the House of Israel, for they had fallen by the sword.”

Saul—

this is a nasi.

For he was a king, and his law is like that of a nasi.

Jonathan—

this is the head of the court.

For the people of the Lord and for the House of Israel—

these are evil tidings.

Rav bar Shaba said to Rav Kahana: But say

that they rend only

until all of them were [mentioned]!?

He said to him: “

For, for,”

the word stated in the verse for each matter separately—

separates the matter.

And we raised it: Do we indeed rend for evil tidings?

But they said to Samuel: “Shapur the king has killed

the king of Persia

twelve thousand Jews in Mezigat Kesari,”—

and he did not rend

Samuel for the evil report!?

And we answer:

They did not say

that one rends for evil tidings

except

when it occurred

to the majority of the community,

of Israel,

as was the incident that occurred

with Saul and Jonathan.

And therefore Samuel did not rend for the report that Shapur the king had killed twelve thousand Jews, because it had not occurred to the majority of the community of Israel.

And we challenge:

Did Shapur the king kill Jews?

But Shapur the king said to Samuel: “May it come to me,

may good come to me,

that I did not kill

since I never killed

a Jew.

And we answer:

There—

they themselves,

the Jews who were there,

caused their own deaths,

since they rebelled against him. And what Shapur the king said to Samuel, that he had never killed a Jew, means that he had never killed a Jew gratuitously.

For Rabbi Ami said: At the sound of the extra strings,

at the sound of the extra strings stretched over the harps

of

Mezigat Kesari,

with which the Jews proclaimed the rebellion—

the wall burst

its walls burst

of

the city

Lodkia.

This, that one rends

for

hearing “

the blessing of

the Name”—

from where do we know it?

As it is written [II Kings 18]: “

And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came to Hezekiah, with their garments rent.”

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They had rent their garments when they heard the blasphemy and reviling of Rabshakeh, the emissary of the king of Assyria, who besieged Jerusalem.

They rent their garments when they heard the blasphemy and abuse of Rabshakeh, the emissary of the king of Assyria, who had besieged Jerusalem.

The Sages taught: One who hears

“the blessing” of the Name from the mouth of the “one who blesses,”

and one who hears from the mouth of one who hears,

such as one who hears from the witnesses—

is obligated to rend.

And the witnesses

themselves

are not obligated to rend

when they hear themselves at the time of their testimony, because

they already rent at the time when they heard.

And we raised it: If they rent

at the time when they heard—

what has happened?

They hear it now,

again, when they hear themselves at the time of their testimony, and everyone who hears is obligated to rend!

And we answer:

No,

do not say as

it might have entered your mind

that the witnesses too must rend when they testify and hear again [their own testimony]. For

as it is written [II Kings 19]

«

“And it was, when King Hezekiah heard,

when they related to him the words of the blasphemy and reviling of Rabshakeh, the emissary of the king of Assyria, against the Lord—

he rent

the king

his garments.”

And from here it is proven that only

the king

Hezekiah alone

rent

then, when he heard these words from their mouths

, and

if

they,

the witnesses who came to testify before him,

had not rent.

And

this, that

the rents are not sewn up

the rents for such tidings forever—

from where do we know it?

It is derived

by a gzera shava: “

rending, rending.”

We derive the law of the “rending” stated here for Rabshakeh’s reviling from the “rending” stated concerning Elisha for Elijah’s departure, which is forever.

The obligation of rending for

a Torah scroll that was burned—

from where do we know it?

As it is written [Jeremiah 36]: “

And it was, when Jehudi read

the words of the laments in the scroll of Lamentations before King Jehoiakim,

three doors and four

three or four verses—

he would cut it

King Jehoiakim

with the scribe’s knife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth.” And so forth.

The Gemara explains:

What is “

three doors and four”?

They said to Jehoiakim

the king:

Jeremiah wrote a scroll of laments

concerning the destruction, which he prophesies will occur.

He said to them

Jehoiakim:

What is written in it,

in the scroll of laments?

They told him the first verse [Lamentations 1]: “

How does she sit alone.”

He said to them

Jehoiakim:

I am the king,

I am the king, and nothing adverse concerning me is stated in the scroll.

They said to him

the second verse: It is written in it, “

She weeps bitterly in the night.”

He said to them:

I am the king,

and the words do not refer to me.

They told him the third verse: It is written in it, “

Judah has gone into exile because of affliction.”

He said to them:

I am the king.

They told him the fourth verse: It is written in it, “

The roads of Zion mourn.”

He said to them:

I am the king.

And when they reached the fifth verse and told him that it is written in it, “

Her enemies have become—

the head!”

and this verse indicates that Jehoiakim’s kingship was destined to pass away, and the enemies would become the head in his place, then

he said to them

Jehoiakim:

Who said it?

In whose name did Jeremiah say this verse?

They said to him: “

For the Lord has afflicted her because of the multitude of her transgressions.”

Immediately he cut

Jehoiakim

all the mentions of

the Lord

that were in it,

in the scroll of Lamentations,

and burned them in the fire.

And this is what is written [Jeremiah 36]: “

And they were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments.”

By implication,

from here we learn

that they needed to rend,

that they should have rent upon seeing the mentions being burned in the fire.

He said to him

and objected

Rav Pappa to Abaye:

From where was it that they should have rent upon seeing the mentions being burned?

Say

that they should have rent

because of the evil tidings

in the scroll of Lamentations!?

He said

[and] answered

him

Abaye: But

evil tidings—

did they exist at that time!?

It was still before the destruction, and these are not tidings concerning events that had already occurred, but only a description of what would occur in the future, and for this one is not obligated to rend.

Rabbi Helbo said in the name of Rav Huna: One who sees a Torah scroll that was torn is obligated to make two rents.

He made

one rent on the parchment, and

a rent

one on the writing.

As it is stated [Jeremiah 36]: “

After the king had burned the scroll,

the parchment,

and the words,

the writing.”

Rabbi Abba and Rav Huna bar Hiyya were sitting before Rabbi Abba. He wished

Rav Huna bar Hiyya [according to Rav Hai Gaon]

to relieve himself,

to attend to his needs.

He took off his phylactery,

he took the phylacteries,

and placed them on the avi sadya,

and placed them outside the lavatory, on something called “bei sadya.”

The daughter of the ostrich came,

the ostrich,

and wanted to swallow them.

He said: Now,

if it were to take and swallow the phylacteries,

I would become obligated in two rents,

one on the parchment and one on the writing, since the ostrich’s swallowing of the phylacteries together with their mentions is like burning!

He said to him

Rabbi Abba:

From where do you have this?

But there was an incident with me,

a similar incident occurred to me,

and I came before

him,

Rav Mattana

to ask him how to act,

and he did not have it in his possession.

And afterward

I came before Rav Judah, and he said to me: Thus said Samuel: They did not say

that one must rend for the swallowing of phylacteries

except

when the matter occurred

by

the force of the

arm,

when there is no possibility of saving them,

as was the incident that occurred

with King Jehoiakim, when those who saw had no possibility of saving them. But if there is a possibility of saving and preventing it, one is not obligated to rend.

Concerning

the cities of Judea—

from where do we know

that they tear?

As it is written [Jeremiah 41] "

Иеремия 41]: «

And there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, with shaven beards and torn garments, and gashing themselves.

And a meal-offering and frankincense were in their hands, to bring to the House of the Lord."

and so on

he says .

Rabbi Helbo said that Ulla of Beira said that Rabbi Elazar said: One who sees the cities of Judea in their destruction says: [Isaiah 64] "

Исаия 64] «

Your holy cities have become a wilderness."

And he tears.

One who sees

Jerusalem in its destruction—

says: [there] "

там же] «

Zion was a wilderness; Jerusalem a desolation."

And he tears .

One who sees

the Temple in its destruction—

says [there] "

там же]: «

Our holy and glorious House, where our fathers praised You, has become a burning of fire, and all our precious things have become a ruin."

And he tears.

He tears over the Temple, and adds to the tear for Jerusalem.

And we raise an objection: Both one who hears

and one who sees, once he has reached Tzofim —

tears, and tears over the Temple separately, and over Jerusalem separately.

It is not difficult.

This—

where he encountered the Temple first .

This—

where he encountered Jerusalem first .

The Sages taught: And all of them are permitted to make them into loose stitches, to roll them,

to gather them, and to make them like ladders,

[types of mending that are not complete mending],

but not to mend them completely .