Moed Katan 26b — the Talmud in English

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and Alexandrian stitching,

which is good stitching, and the sewing is not discernible.

The Sages taught: One who tears from the knotting, from the basting, from the gathering, or from the ladder-stitches—

has not fulfilled his obligation.

But one who tears

from the stitching—

has fulfilled his obligation.

Rav Hisda said: And

what it says that one who tears from the stitching has fulfilled his obligation is

with Alexandrian stitching,

for since it is complete stitching, this is considered tearing.

The Sages taught: He may turn it

to the garment’s

lower side, and stitch it

the tear while it is turned downward.

Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar forbids stitching it

entirely, including turning it and stitching it on the lower side.

And just as the seller

who is a mourner

is forbidden to stitch it—

so

also

the buyer

from the mourner

is forbidden to stitch it. .

And therefore, a seller,

who is a mourner, when he sells his garment to another person,

must inform the buyer

that the tear in his garment is a tear for mourning, and that he is forbidden to stitch it.

The Sages taught: The beginning of tearing is a handbreadth, and the addition

of tearing, for an additional deceased person, is

three fingerbreadths, the words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yehuda says: The beginning of tearing is three fingerbreadths

, and the addition is any amount.

Ulla said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Meir regarding the tearing, and the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda regarding the addition.

It was likewise taught: Rabbi Yosei says: The beginning of tearing is a handbreadth, and the addition is any amount .

The Sages taught: They told him, “Your father died,” and he tore; “Your son died,” and he added

to it a tear. The

lower tear is stitched,

but the

upper

tear, which he tore for his father and mother,

is not stitched. .

His son died and he tore; his father died and he added,

the

upper tear is stitched, the lower is not stitched .

If his father died, his mother died, his brother died, and his sister died, he makes one tear for all of them .

Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: For all of them, one tear.

And likewise

for his father and mother

he makes another

single tear.

For one does not add to the tear for his father and mother,

but tears for them a tear of its own.

What is the reason?

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: Because one does not add to them,

out of respect, but must tear a separate tear for them.

Shmuel said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira.

And we challenge this:

Did Shmuel really say so?

But Shmuel said: The halakha is in accordance with the words of the lenient one in mourning!

And we answer:

Mourning is one matter; tearing is another .

How far does he tear?

He tears

to his navel. .

And some say: Until his heart.

Although there is no proof for the matter—

there is an allusion to the matter, as it is stated

in Joel 2:

“And tear your hearts and not your garments.”

If

the tear

reached his navel ,

and another deceased person died for him,

he moves three fingerbreadths away and tears .

If

his garment became filled with tears

in front—

he turns it

to the side of the torn garment

behind him, and from this point onward he tears the back side, which is now on the front side.

and from then on tears the back side, which is now on the front.

If

the garment became filled with tears

at the top—

he turns it from below.

And he stitches its lower side until it becomes a collar opening, and tears at the top.

But one who tears from below or from the sides has not fulfilled his obligation .

Except that the High Priest tears from below .

Rav Mattana and Mar Ukva disputed this, and both stated it in the name of Shmuel’s and Levi’s father.

One said:

If another deceased person died for him,

throughout the seven days he tears,

he is obligated to tear another tear for him; but if he died

after the seven days,

it is sufficient for him to

add

to the first tear.

And one said: Throughout the thirty days he tears; after thirty days he adds.

Rabbi Zeira challenged: According to the one who says, throughout the seven days he

tears—

why

is it not sufficient that he add to his tear for the additional deceased person?

This is because

it cannot be withdrawn

the tear during the seven days; therefore, if he adds to it for the second deceased person, the addition of the tearing is not recognizable, but everything appears as one tear. But after the seven days, after it has already been withdrawn, the addition is recognizable in the withdrawn tear.

But this is what the master said: “A woman stitches it closed”

to the tear

immediately—

Here too,

when another person dies for her, she can add to the tear that was stitched closed, and she does not need to make another tear; and why did they state categorically that within seven days one must tear, implying that even a woman must tear!?

And we answer:

There,

the fact that a woman stitches it closed immediately is not required by law, but only

because of the honor of a woman.

And there is another difficulty:

The one who says: Throughout all thirty days one tears

and does not add for another dead person,

why?

Is it not because

it may not be mended

the tear within thirty days?

But for his father and his mother, for whom it may never be mended—

Here too,

he must always tear for another dead person, and it is impossible to add to their tears; so why did we not make this distinction!?

And we answer:

There,

the fact that he does not mend the tear for his father and his mother forever is not required by law, but only

because of the honor of his father and his mother,

and therefore he may add to their tears after it has been stitched closed, since it is considered mended.

Our Rabbis taught:

A mourner who does not wish to spoil his garment,

who goes out before the dead person wearing a torn garment,

and deceives the onlookers, who think that his torn garment is the garment that he tore in honor of the dead person—

behold, this one robs the dead

for he did not tear for them,

and the living

for he deceived them.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: One who says to his fellow: “Lend me your cloak, and I will go and visit my father, who is ill,”

thereby hinting to him that he might tear it if he dies; therefore, if his fellow lent him the garment

and he went and found him dead—

he tears it and mends it.

And when he comes to his house, he returns his cloak to him and gives him the value of its tear.

But if he did not inform him—

behold, he must not touch it.

Our Rabbis taught: A sick person whose relative has died—

he is not informed that he has died,

his relative,

lest his mind become deranged because of it.

And

likewise

they do not make the relatives of the dead tear

their garments

in his presence, and they silence the

weeping

of the women before him.

And they tear for a minor

whose relative has died, even though he is not obligated to tear,

because of distress,

so that the onlookers will cry upon seeing this, and the honor of the dead person will increase.

And they tear for his father-in-law and his mother-in-law

who died

because of the honor of his wife.

And Rav Pappa said: A tanna in

the tractate called “

Avel Rabbati”:

A mourner

during his mourning

must not place a baby in his lap, because this brings him to laughter, and he is thereby disgraced before people.

We learned in the Mishna:

“And they do not provide the mourning meal on upright beds.”

Our Rabbis taught: One who goes to the house of a mourner, if his heart was close to him,

for he knew him and was his friend,

they provide him with the mourning meal,

for one who knows him and is his friend,

on overturned beds,

overturned.

But if not,

if he is not his friend and acquaintance—

they provide him with the mourning meal on upright beds.

An incident occurred to Rava,

he became a mourner and sat in mourning for seven days.

Aba bar Marta entered to him,

he came up to him to comfort him,

who was Aba bar Manyumi.

Rava—

stood the bed upright

in order to provide Aba bar Marta with the mourning meal upon it, since his heart was not close to him.

But

Aba bar Marta,

who had come to comfort him and considered himself Rava’s friend,

accordingly,

overturned the bed so that they would provide him with the mourning meal as they do for a friend.

Said

Rava:

How lacking in understanding is this Torah scholar,

for I do not consider him one to whom my heart is close, yet he does not sense this and acts contrary to my intention.