Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 3:1:8

משנה: מִי שֶׁמֵּתוֹ מוּטָּל לְפָנָיו פָּטוּר מִקִּרְיַת שְׁמַע וּמִן הַתְּפִילִּין. נוֹשְׂאֵי הַמִּיטָּה וְחִילּוּפֵיהֶן וְחִילּוּפֵי חִילּוּפֵיהֶן אֶת שֶׁלִּפְנֵי הַמִּיטָּה וְאֶת שֶׁלְּאַחַר הַמִּיטָּה. אֶת שֶׁהַמִּיטָּה צוֹרֶךְ בָּהֶן פְּטוּרִין. וְאֶת שֶׁאֵין הַמִּיטָּה צוֹרֶךְ בָּהֶן חַייָבִין. אֵילּוּ וָאֵילּוּ פְטוּרִין מִן הַתְּפִילָּה. MISHNAH: Anyone whose dead is lying before him¹Any close relative who has to mourn for the dead and who has to organize the burial. is free from reciting Shema‘ and from tefillin.²This is the text of the Yerushalmi and the Mishnah manuscripts. Most sources of the Babylonian Talmud add “and from all obligations of the Torah”, but the commentary of Talmid Rabbenu Yonah to Alfassi declares that good manuscripts do not contain the addition and it also seems that the addition was not accepted by Tosaphot. The carriers of the bier, their substitutes, and the substitutes of their substitutes, in front of the bier or behind the bier, those that are needed by the bier are free, those that are not needed by the bier are obligated.³In the Babli: “Those behind the bier are obligated”. Rashi explains that those in front of the bier await their turn to carry the bier to the cemetary but that those behind the bier already did that; they follow only to honor the dead person, but not to actively render any more services. The Yerushalmi does not know of such an organization. All of them are free from the obligation to pray.⁴According to Maimonides, the obligation from the Torah is only to say some prayer every day; hence, even if the participants in the burial miss one prayer they still have two others to fulfill the Biblical requirement. According to Nachmanides, the obligation to prayer is entirely rabbinical and is eliminated before the Torah obligation to bury fellow Jew.

הלכה: תַּנִּי וּמִן הַתְּפִילִּין. אָבֵל בְּיוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן אֵינוֹ נוֹתֵן תְּפִילִּין. בַּיּוֹם הַשֵׁנִי הוּא נוֹתֵן תְּפִילִּין. וְאִם בָּאוּ פָּנִים חֲדָשׁוֹת הוּא חוֹלְצָן כָּל־שִׁבְעָה דִּבְרֵי רִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר. רִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה וּבַשֵּׁנִי אֵינוֹ נוֹתֵן תְּפִילִּין בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי הוּא נוֹתֵן תְּפִילִּין וְאִם בָּאוּ פָּנִים חֲדָשׁוֹת אֵינוֹ חוֹלְצָן. אִם בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁינִי אֵינוֹ נוֹתֵן תְּפִילִּין צוּרְכָה מֵימַר מִי שֶׁמֵּתוֹ מוּטָּל לְפָנָיו. אֶלָּא בְגִין דְּתַנָּא דָא תַנָּא דָא. HALAKHAH: It was stated⁵In the first sentence of our Mishnah.: “And from tefillin.”A⁶This is a baraita from Moëd Qaṭan (3:5); a similar baraita (with the names of Rebbis Eliezer and Joshua switched) is quoted in Babli Moëd Qaṭan 21a. All authorities in all sources agree that a mourner may not put on tefillin the entire first day of mourning, even if the burial was conducted in the preceding night. So there is no connection between tefillin and the necessity to attend to the burial. mourner may not put on tefillin on the first day; on the second day he puts on tefillin and when new faces appear during the seven days of mourning he takes them off; these are the words of Rebbi Eliezer. Rebbi Joshua says: On the first and second days he does not put on tefillin; on the third day he puts on tefillin and if new faces come he does not take them off. If he does not put on tefillin even on the second day, why is it necessary to mention “anyone whose dead is lying before him”? Because he stated the one he stated the other⁷Since it is necessary to mention that he is free from reciting Shema‘(and from prayer, whether that is stated in the Mishnah or not), the mention of tefillin is added as a memory aid. Since for a long time the Mishnah was transmitted by memory, it could not have been written down. Memory aids are an important part of Mishnah composition..

רִבִּי זְעִירָה רַב יִרְמְיָה בְשֵׁם רַב הֲלָכָה כְרִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בִּנְתִינָה וּכְרִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בַּחֲלִיצָה. רִבִּי זְעִירָא בָּעֵי נָתַן בְּיוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי כְּרִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר מַהוּ שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה רִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר כְּרִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ שֶׁלֹּא לַחְלוֹץ. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּירִבִּי בּוּן וְכֵינִי נָתָן בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי כְּרִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר נַעֲשֶׂה רִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר כְּרִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ שֶׁלֹּא לַחְלוֹץ וְאִין כֵינִי נֵימָא הֲלָכָה כְרִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר. Rebbi Zeïra, Rav Jeremiah in the name of Rav: Practice follows Rebbi Eliezer in putting on and Rebbi Joshua in taking off⁸The mourner puts on tefillin starting the second day after the funeral and does not take them off for a new visitor. In the Babli, this is a ruling of Ulla, one of the commuters between Babylonia and Galilee in the second generation of Amoraïm.. Rebbi Zeïra inquired: If he put them on on the second day, following Rebbi Eliezer, would Rebbi Eliezer act like Rebbi Joshua, not to take them off? Rebbi Yose bar Abun said: Is it so that Rebbi Eliezer would act like Rebbi Joshua, not to take them off? If it were so, we should say “practice follows Rebbi Eliezer.”⁹If on the second day, on which we follow Rebbi Eliezer, he takes off tefillin for new visitors, then the ruling should have been: Practice follows Rebbi Eliezer on the second day and Rebbi Joshua from the third day on. Since days are not mentioned, it is clear that Rebbi Joshua’s opinion, that one does not take off tefillin for visits of condolence, does not depend on the day. In the Babli, this is the ruling of Rava, of the generation following Rebbi Zeïra. The Babli quotes from the early Tanna Rebbi Jehudah ben Tema that one puts on tefillin and takes them off even a hundred times. Since R. Jehudah ben Tema, whose time cannot be determined, precedes Rav in any case, his opinion is not of much practical value.

אָמַר רִבִּי בּוּן כְּתִיב לְמַעַן תִּזְכּוֹר אֶת יוֹם צֵאתְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֵּיךָ. יָמִים שֶׁאַתְּ עוֹסֵק בָּהֶן בַּחַיִּים. וְלֹא יָמִים שֶׁאַתְּ עוֹסֵק בָּהֶן בַּמֵּתִים. Rebbi Abun said: It is written (Deut. 16:3) “So that you should remember the day of your exodus from Egypt the totality of the days of your living;” the days when you are occupied with the living, not the days that you are occupied with the dead¹⁰The verse deals with the celebration of Passover but is used to indicate that any obligation of remembrance, and tefillin is one of them, are only for living and are invalid once one has to care for the dead. Rebbi Abun here follows the opponents of Ben Zoma in the first chapter who read כֹל֩, “the entirety” and not “all”. The verse gives a complete justification for the Mishnah, viz., that the entire first day is not for tefillin, even after the burial..

תַּנִּי אִם רָצָה לְהַחֲמִיר עַל עַצְמוֹ אֵין שׁוֹמְעִין לוֹ. לָמָּה מִפְּנֵי כְבוֹדוֹ שֶׁל מֵת. אוֹ מִשּׁוּם שֶׁאֵין לוֹ מִי שֶׁיִּשָּׂא מַשּׂוֹאוֹ. מַה [נָפִיק] מִבֵּינֵיהֹן הָיָה לוֹ מִי שֶׁיִּשָּׂא מַשּׂוֹאוֹ. וְאִין תֵּימַר מִפְּנֵי כְבוֹדוֹ שֶׁל מֵת אָסוּר. וְאִם תֹּאמַר מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין לוֹ מִי שֶׁיִּשָּׂא מַשּׂוֹאוֹ הֲרֵי יֵשׁ לוֹ מִי שֶׁיִּשָּׂא מַשּׂוֹאוֹ. וְהָתַנִּי פָּטוּר מִנְּטִילַת לוּלָב. תִּיפְתַּר בְּחוֹל. וְהָתַנִּי פָּטוּר מִתְּקִיעַת שׁוֹפָר. אִית לָךְ מֵימַר בְּחוֹל לֹא בְיוֹם טוֹב. אָמַר רִבִּי חֲנִינָא מִכֵּיוָן שֶׁהוּא זָקוּק לוֹ לְהָבִיא לוֹ אָרוֹן וְתַכְרִיכִין כְּיַי דְּתַנִּינָן תַּמָּן מַחְשִׁיכִין עַל הַתְּחוּם לְפַקֵּחַ עַל עִיסְקֵי הַכַּלָּה וְעַל עִיסְקֵי הַמֵּת לְהָבִיא לוֹ אָרוֹן וְתַכְרִיכִין חֲלִילִים וּמְקוֹנְנוֹת כְּמִי שֶׁהוּא נוֹשֵׂא מַשָּׂאוֹ. It was stated: If he wants to be more stringent with himself¹⁰The verse deals with the celebration of Passover but is used to indicate that any obligation of remembrance, and tefillin is one of them, are only for living and are invalid once one has to care for the dead. Rebbi Abun here follows the opponents of Ben Zoma in the first chapter who read כֹל֩, “the entirety” and not “all”. The verse gives a complete justification for the Mishnah, viz., that the entire first day is not for tefillin, even after the burial. one does not listen to him¹¹He is forbidden to put on tefillin.. Why? Because of the honor of the deceased or because he has nobody to carry his load¹²In organizing the funeral.? What is the difference between them? If he has someone who is carrying his load; if you say because of the honor of the deceased it is forbidden, but if you say because he has nobody to carry his load, here he has somebody to carry his load. Has it not been stated: he is free from taking the lulab¹³The mourner whose deceased has not yet been buried may not weave the lulab on Tabernacles, nor may he blow the shofar on New Year’s Day. While the rule of lulab applies only to the intermediate days when burials are permitted, one never blows shofar as an obligation except on a holiday.? Explain that it refers to weekdays. But has it not been stated: he is free from blowing the shofar. Can you say on weekday? No, on holiday. Rebbi Ḥanina said¹⁴Even though it is forbidden to use the Sabbath to prepare for the next day, in these cases it is permitted to position oneself on the Sabbath so that one can start immediately fulfilling a miẓwah after the end of the Sabbath. The Sabbath domain extends 2000 cubits from the last house of one’s city; one may not move outside that domain on the Sabbath.: Because he is obliged to bring him a casket and burial shrouds as we have stated (Šabbat 23:4): “One waits for nightfall at the borders of the Šabbat¹⁵The Venice (and Leyden) text here, כפיטם, is unintelligible. The text given here is that of the Genizah fragments and the parallel in Śemaḥot. domain to oversee matters for a bride and matters for a deceased to bring for him a casket, burial shrouds, fifes, and women mourners;” it is as if someone was carrying his load.

מֵאֵימָתַי כוֹפִין אֶת הַמִּיטּוֹת מִשֶּׁיָּצָא הַמֵּת מִפֶּתַח הֶחָצֵר דִּבְרֵי רִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר. וְרִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר מִשֶּׁיִּסָּתֵם הַגּוֹלָל. וּכְשֶׁמֵּת רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל כֵּיוָן שֶׁיָּצָא מִפֶּתַח הֶחָצֵר אָמַר רִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר לְתַלְמִידָיו כְּפוּ אֶת הַמִּיטּוֹת. וּכְשֶׁנִּסְתַּם הַגּוֹלָל אָמַר רִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ כְּפוּ אֶת הַמִּיטּוֹת. אָמְרוּ לוֹ כְּבָר [כְּפִינוּם] עַל פִּי הַזָּקֵן. בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת הוּא זוֹקֵף אֶת מִיטָּתוֹ. וּבְמוֹצָאֵי שַׁבָּת הוּא כוֹפָן. When does one overturn the couches¹⁶The mourner is not allowed to eat reclining on a couch, but has to eat sitting upright on a chair as a sign of mourning. This duty applies to all those who are required to observe the week of mourning. The baraita is found in Massekhet Śemaḥot IX. The entire discussion is taken from Yerushalmi Moëd Qaṭan 3:5; the baraita is also found Babli Moëd Qaṭan 27a.? From the moment when the dead left the gate of the courtyard¹⁷In the Talmud it is assumed that a house has no door leading to the street outside. A number of houses was always clustered around a courtyard, the door of the house lead into the courtyard, and the courtyard had an exit gate. In that way, privacy was always assured. The statement asserts that the moment the funeral procession is on its way is not when the bier leaves the house but when it leaves the outer gate of the courtyard., the words of Rebbi Eliezer. But Rebbi Joshua says, from when the cover plate was laid on the grave¹⁸The dead was buried on a bier, not in a casket. Hence, the grave had to be covered by a large flat stone, the golal.. And when Rabban Gamliel died, after he left the gate of the courtyard, Rebbi Eliezer said to his students: Overturn the couches¹⁹When the head of the Synhedrion dies, all are mourners.. And when the cover plate was laid on the grave, Rebbi Joshua said: Overturn the couches. They said to him: We already did turn them over on the orders of the old man²⁰Even though Rebbi Eliezer was put in the ban since he did not agree with a majority ruling when he knew that the ruling contradicted tradition, it follows from here not only that he continued to lead his Yeshivah but also that in his lifetime, his authority in matters of religious practice remained supreme.. Friday evening he rights his couch, at the end of Sabbat he overturns them²¹Since any outward sign of mourning is forbidden on the Sabbath..

תַּנִּי דַּרְגֶּשׁ נִזְקֶפֶת וְאֵינָהּ נִכְפֵּית. רִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר שׁוֹמֵט קלבינטרין שֶׁלָּהּ וְדַיּוֹ. רִבִּי יוֹסָה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי הֲלָכָה כְּרִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר. רִבִּי יַעֲקֹב בַּר אָחָא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹסֵי מִיטָּה שֶׁנַּיקְלִיטֶיהָ עוֹלִין וְיוֹרְדִין בָּה שׁוֹמְטָן וְדַיּוֹ. It was stated: “A dargesh²²A kind of bed whose exact nature was unknown even in the time of the Talmud, as seen from the discussion that follows and in Babli Nedarim 56a. Maimonides, in his commentary to Nedarim, defines dargesh as a low couch (used for sitting only in the case of a mourner), much lower than a regular couch called miṭṭah. The Babli tentatively defines dargesh as a couch made of a frame onto which a leather mattress is attached by ropes. This definition may be compatible with the description given in the next section. is put upright²³Most commentators explain that the dargesh is lifted to stand either on its front end or its foot end. But already Rosh (Rabbenu Asher ben Yeḥiël, 14th Century in Mayence and Toledo) has shown in his commentary to Babli Nedarim that this explanation is impossible and that the statement must mean: it is left standing as is. The other commentators are influenced by the version of the Babli which instead of the passive form used here have an active “he stands them up”, which seems to imply an action by the mourner, not passive as is implied here. and is not turned over. Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar²⁴In all places where this is quoted in the Babli, the name is Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel, the father of Rebbi and son of Rabban Gamliel. Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar was a Tanna of the last generation who lived to see the start of the second generation of Amoraïm. says, he removes its qlbnṭryn²⁵The spelling and, therefore, the meaning of the word are uncertain. The spelling here is קלבינטרין, that of the Genizah texts and Śemaḥot is קלמנטרין, the corresponding word in the Babli is קרביטין. The last word, according to Z. Frankel, is Greek τὸ κραβάτιον, Byzantine Greek κραββατάριον, “accessories to the bed”; this seems to be correct but is not very instructive. [Cf. also κράββατος “couch, mattress”; Latin grabatus, from Macedonian κράβατος “low couch, camp bed” (E. G.).] and that is enough²⁶There is a question whether the anonymous Tanna requires more or less that Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar. The quote in Śemaḥot XI reads: דרגש המקפת אינה נכפת. רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר מוריד קלמנטרין שלה וּמניחה כמות שהיא A surrounding dargesh is not turned over. Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar says, he removes the accessories and leaves it as is.” In this formulation, Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar explains that while the dargesh is not turned over, some sign of mourning has to be made. It seems that this is also the explanation here, that Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar adds a certain requirement to the first statement..” Rebbi Yosa²⁷Rebbi Yasa. in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: practice follows Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Yose, a couch whose posts²⁸Τὰ ἀνάκλιτα, “things to lean on”; according to both Rashi and Arukh the two posts over which the mosquito screen was hung. are upright and removed together with it, he takes them off and that is enough.

מְנַיִּין לִכְפִיַּית הַמִּיטָּה. רִבִּי קְרִיסְפָּא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן וַיֵּשְׁבוּ אִתּוֹ לָאָרֶץ. עַל הָאָרֶץ אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא וַיֵּשְׁבוּ אִתּוֹ לָאָרֶץ. דָּבָר שֶׁהוּא סָמוּךְ לָאָרֶץ. מִיכַּן שֶׁהָיוּ יְשֵׁנִין עַל גַּבֵּי מִיטּוֹת כְּפוּפוֹת. בַּר קַפָּרָא אָמַר אֵיקוֹנִין אַחַת טוֹבָה הָיָה לִי בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתָךְ וּגְרַמְתָּנִי לְכוֹפְפָהּ. אַף אַתְּ כְּפֵה מִיטָּתָךְ. וְאִית דְּמַפְקִין לִישְׁנָא וְיִכְפֶּה כְּפֵה הַסַּרְסוּר. רִבִּי יוֹנָה וְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי תְּרַוֵּיהוֹן בְּשֵׁם רִבִּי שְׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ חַד אָמַר מִפְּנֵי מַה הוּא יָשֵׁן בְּמִיטָּה כְפוּיָה שֶׁיְּהֵא נוֹעֵר בַּלַּיְלָה וְנִזְכַּר שֶׁהוּא אָבֵל. וְחָרָנָה אָמַר מִתּוֹךְ שֶׁהוּא יָשֵׁן עַל מִיטָּה כְפוּיָה הוּא נוֹעֵר בַּלַּיְלָה וְנִזְכַּר שֶׁהוּא אָבֵל. From where the overturning of beds³⁶Levi Ginzberg noted correctly that all the sermons here point only to the overturning of beds on which one sleeps, not couches on which one sits. The Yerushalmi does not address the question whether during the day the mourner has to sit on the ground or may sit on an overturned couch.? Rebbi Crispus³⁷“Curly haired” (Latin, a Roman surname). A student of Rebbi Joḥanan and R. Simeon ben Laqish, and teacher of Rebbis Jonah and Yose. in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: (Job 2:13) “They sat with him towards the ground.” It does not say here “on the ground” but “they sat with him towards the ground,” on something close to the ground. It follows that they were sleeping³⁸Since the friends were sitting with Job for seven days and seven nights, they must have slept “towards the ground”. on overturned couches. Bar Qappara said: A beautiful form³⁹Greek εἰκών “image”, also “phantom”. I had in your house and you caused me to overturn⁴⁰The parallel Megillah 3:5 has לכופתה “to overturn it” (Babylonian Talmudic Hebrew.) The form לכופפה has no parallel in the Yerushalmi and might be a scribal error.
Bar Qappara seems to think that persons die because of the sins of their relatives. This is appropriate only for children who cannot die for their own sins since nobody below the age of 20 is liable before the heavenly court. The following, alternate version also shows that Bar Qappara speaks about mourning for small children. it, you also overturn your bed! Some quote it by the expression “let him overturn; overturn⁴¹The imperative כפה “overturn!” is missing in the parallel Moëd Qaṭan 5:3. The agent is the bed on which one not only sleeps but also has sex. Hence, the couch is the agent which produces the birth of a new baby. the agent!” Rebbi Jonah and Rebbi Yose, both in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish. One said, why does he sleep on an overturned coach? So that he should wake up in the night and realize that he is a mourner. The other one said, since he sleeps on an overturned bed he wakes up in the night and realizes that he is a mourner.

אָבֵל כָּל־זְמָן שֶׁמֵּתוֹ מוּטָּל לְפָנָיו אוֹכֵל אֵצֶל חֲבֵירוֹ וְאִם אֵין לוֹ חָבֵר אוֹכֵל בְּבַיִת אַחֵר. וְאִם אֵין לוֹ בַיִת אַחֵר עוֹשֶׂה מְחִיצָה וְאוֹכֵל. וְאִם אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לַעֲשׂוֹת מְחִיצָה הוֹפֵךְ אֶת פָּנָיו לַכּוֹתֶל וְאוֹכֵל. וְלֹא מֵיסָב וְלֹא אוֹכֵל כָּל־צוֹרְכוֹ וְלֹא שׁוֹתֶה כָּל־צוֹרְכוֹ. וְלֹא אוֹכֵל בָּשָׂר וְלֹא שׁוֹתֶה יַיִן. וְאֵין מְזַמְּנִין עָלָיו. וְאִם בֵּירַךְ אֵין עוֹנִין אַחֲרָיו אָמֵן. וַאֲחֵרִים שֶׁבֵּירְכוּ אֵינוֹ עוֹנֶה אַחֲרֵיהֶן אָמֵן. הֲדָא דְתֵימַר בְּחוֹל. אֲבָל בְּשַׁבָּת מֵיסָב וְאוֹכֵל. וְאוֹכֵל בָּשָׂר וְשׁוֹתֶה יַיִן. וְאוֹכֵל כָּל־צוֹרְכוֹ וְשׁוֹתֶה כָּל־צוֹרְכוֹ. וּמְזַמְּנִין עָלָיו. וְאִם בֵּירַךְ עוֹנִין אַחֲרָיו אָמֵן. וַאֲחֵרִים שֶׁבֵּירְכוּ עוֹנֶה אַחֲרֵיהֶן אָמֵן. אָמַר רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הוֹאִיל וְהִתַּרְתִּי לוֹ אֶת כָּל־אֵילּוּ חַייְבֵהוּ בִשְׁאָר כָּל־הַמִצְוֹת שֶׁל תּוֹרָה. אִם חַיֵּי שָׁעָה הִתַּרְתָּ לוֹ חַיֵּי עוֹלָם לֹא כָּל־שֶׁכֵּן. רִבִּי יוֹדָה בֶּן פָּזִי בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי הֲלָכָה כְרַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל. ⁴²This baraita is found in almost identical form in Babli Berakhot 17b, Moëd Qaṭan 23b, and the Yerushalmi source Śemaḥot X. All the time that his deceased in lying before him, he eats at his neighbor’s, and if he has no neighbor, he eats in another room. If he has no other room, he makes a wall of separation and eats. If he is unable to make a wall of separation, he turns his face towards the wall and eats. He does not eat reclining; he does neither eat nor drink his fill. He eats neither meat nor drinks wine. One does not allow him to participate in a group to say Grace. If he recited Grace, one does not answer “amen” after him. If others recited Grace, he does not anwer “amen”. That is meant on weekdays. But on the Sabbath, he does eat reclining; he eats meat and drinks wine, eats and drinks his fill. One lets him participate in a group to say Grace. If he recited Grace, one does answer “amen” after him. If others recited Grace, he answers “amen”. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel⁴³In Babli sources, the author is Rabban Gamliel. The difference is essential since practice follows Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel even against a plurality of dissenters, but does not necessarily follow Rabban Gamliel. In the interpretation of the Babli, Rabban Gamliel obliges the married male mourner to fulfill his conjugal duties towards his wife. This is rejected as practice by the Babli which requires only that the enjoyment of Sabbath should not be diminished in any situation that is seen by others. The Yerushalmi makes no distinction between public and private obligations. said: Because I allowed all of these, oblige him for all other obligations of the Torah. If I permitted him temporary life, so much more eternal life⁴⁴And he who does not fulfill his conjugal duties towards his wife on Sabbath transgresses a positive commandment of the Torah. [The emphasis on this probably is anti-Sadducean; for the Sadducees, any sex act on the Sabbath was a Sabbath desecration punishable by death.]. Rebbi Judah ben Pazi in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Practice follows Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel.

נִמְסַר לָרַבִּים אוֹכֵל בָּשָׂר וְשׁוֹתֶה יַיִן. נִמְסַר לַכַּתָּפִים כְּמִי שֶׁנִּמְסַר לָרַבִּים. If he⁴⁵The deceased. The other “he” denotes the mourner. was handed over to the public⁴⁶The public body organizing funerals, the Ḥevrah Qadishah., he may eat meat and drink wine. If he was handed over to the carriers⁴⁷Paid carriers. it is as if he was handed to the public.

כַּד דָּמָךְ רִבִּי יָסָא קִבֵּיל רִבִּי חִייָא בַּר ווָה אֲבֵילוֹי וְאַייְכְלוּן בָּשָׂר וְאַשְׁקִיתוּן חֲמָר. כַּד דָּמָךְ רִבִּי חִייָא בַּר אַבָּא קִבֵּיל רִבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר רַב יִצְחָק אֲבֵילוֹי וְאַייְכְלוּן בָּשָׂר וְאַשְׁקִיתוּן חֲמָר. כַּד דָּמָךְ רִבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר רַב יִצְחָק קִבֵּיל רִבִּי זְעִירָא אֲבֵילוֹי וְאַייְכְלוּן טְלוֹפְחִין מֵימַר כְּמַה דְהוּא מִנְהָגָא. רִבִּי זְעִירָא מִידָמָךְ פָּקֵיד וָמַר לֹא תְקַבְּלוּן עָלַי יוֹמָא הֵן אֵבְלָא לְמָחָר מַזְרְחַייָא. When Rebbi Yassa died, Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba received his mourners⁴⁸I. e., Rebbi Yasa’s immediate family and possibly students. A mourner returning from the burial has to receive the first meal from others; the mourners were received with food so that they could go home and prepare the next meal themselves. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba did allow meat and wine for this first meal. (In Galilee, under the influence of late Greek, every ב was pronounced ν; ווה stands for בּא in Rebbi Ḥiyya’s name.) and gave them meat to eat and wine to drink. When Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba died, Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac received his mourners and gave them meat to eat and wine to drink. When Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac died, Rebbi Zeïra received his mourners and gave them lentils to eat, saying that this was the tradition⁴⁹It is quoted in Babli Baba batra16b as a Galilean tradition (transmitted by Rabba bar Mari, a student of Rebbi Joḥanan) that Jacob prepared a meal of lentils (Gen. 25:29) for his father Isaac as the first meal after the burial of Abraham. The same tradition is given anonymously in the Galilean Midrash Bereshit rabba 63:16. The substitution of eggs used today instead of lentils is Babylonian (Baba batra 16b). Even though Rebbi Zeïra was Babylonian, the practice might have been that of the city of Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac.. When Rebbi Zeïra was dying he commanded and said: “You should not accept mourning for me this day, tomorrow consolers.⁵⁰It is not very clear what Rebbi Zeïra was commanding to his students; also the text is quoted in very different forms by Nachmanides (Torat Haädam; ed. Chavel, p. 144) and those who quote from the latter. The only consistent interpretation is that of Levi Ginzberg: Rebbi Zeïra told his students not to be among the mourners the first day nor among those who arrange meals of consolation the next day. While he was a Babylonian by birth, he objected to the Babylonian practice that students mourn only one day for their teacher (Babli Moëd Qaṭan 25b) but wanted them to mourn for him the entire seven days (or not at all).
מרזחיּא are those who arrange the meal for the mourners, מַרְזֵחַ; as Levi Ginzberg points out, this meaning in Galilean (not Babylonian) Aramaic is clear from Targum Sheni on Esther 1:2, towards the end.”

רִבִּי יִצְחָק בְּרֵיהּ דְּרִבִּי [חִייָא] כָּתוֹבָה מָֽטְתֵיהּ אוֹנֵס. וְעָלוּן לְגַבֵּיהּ רִבִּי מָנָא וְרִבִּי יוּדָן וַהֲוָּה חֲמָר טָב וְאִישְׁתּוּן סַגִּין וְגָֽחְכִין. לְמָחָר אָתוּן בַּעְיָין מֵיעוּל גַּבֵּיהּ. אָמַר לוֹן רַבָּנָן אָכֵן בַּר נָשׁ עֲבֵיד לְחַבְרֵיהּ. לָא הֲוִינָן חֲסֵרִין אֶתְמֹל אֶלָּא מֵיקוּם וּמִירְקוֹד. Rebbi Isaac the son of Rebbi Ḥiyya the Scribe suffered an accident⁵²I. e., a close relative died.. Rebbis Mana and Yudan went to him. There was good wine, they drank a lot⁵³More than the 10 cups allowed. The entire story is an introduction to the following baraita about the cups to be drunk in a house of mourning. (A cup of wine consists of two thirds water and one third wine). and laughed. The next day they wanted to visit him again. He said to them: Rabbis, is that what a man does to his friend? Yesterday, the only thing that was missing for us was that we would get up and dance!

תַּנִּי עֲשָׂרָה כּוֹסוֹת שׁוֹתִין בְּבֵית הָאָבֵל שְׁנַיִם לִפְנֵי הַמָּזוֹן וַחֲמִשָּׁה בְתוֹךְ הַמָּזוֹן. וּשְׁלֹשָׁה לְאַחַר הַמָּזוֹן. אֵילּוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה שֶׁל אַחַר הַמָּזוֹן. אֶחָד לְבִרְכַת הַמָּזוֹן וְאֶחָד לִגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים. וְאֶחָד לְתַנְחוּמֵי אֲבֵילִים. וּכְשֶׁמֵּת רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הוֹסִיפוּ עֲלֵיהֶן עוֹד שְׁלֹשָׁה אֶחָד לְחַזַּן הַכְּנֶסֶת וְאֶחָד לְרֹאשׁ הַכְּנֶסֶת וְאֶחָד לְרַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁרָאוּ בֵּית דִּין שֶׁהָיוּ מִשְׁתַּכְּרִין וְהוֹלְכִין גָּֽזְרוּ עֲלֵיהֶן וְהֶחֱזִירוּם לִמְקוֹמָן. It is stated⁵⁴This is the Yerushalmi formulation, also found in Śemaḥot XIV. The Babli version, Ketubot 8b, has 3 cups before the meal, 3 during the meal, and 4 after the meal for the four benedictions of Grace.: Ten cups one drinks in the house of a mourner: two before the meal⁵⁵As an apéritif. The next five are regular drinks to go with the solid food., five during the meal, and three after the meal. These are the three after the meal: one for Grace⁵⁶The regular cup over which Grace is said, as explained in later chapters. Since one may not recite Grace together in the presence of the mourner, one cup is needed for each one of the participants., one for those who exercise charity⁵⁷In honor of those who gave their time and went out in the funeral procession., one for those who console mourners⁵⁸The outsiders who provided the meal and participate in it.. And when Rabban (Simeon ben)⁵⁹As is seen from the following and the parallel sources, “Simeon ben” is a scribal error. Gamliel died, they added another three: One for the Ḥazzan of the community⁶⁰The religious leader of the community who leads the services and all religious activities including the funerals. (A rabbi is only a religious judge; the ḥazzan was not only the reader but also the ritual slaughterer and general servant of the community.), one for the head of the community⁶¹The president of the congregation, who was responsible for the establishment and upkeep of the cemetery., and one for Rabban Gamliel⁶²He had himself buried in a simple linen shirt and in a plain unadorned wooden casket. Before his time, people were buried in elaborate clothing in expensive caskets. After him it became the Jewish standard that everybody has to be buried in Rabban Gamliel’s way.. But when the Rabbinical authorities saw that they regularly got drunk they decreed and returned it to the original status⁶³The preceding story, from later Galilean Amoras, shows that “the original way” are the prescribed 10 cups; there is no prohibition of wine at the funeral meal..

כֹּהֵן מַהוּ שֶׁיִּטָּמֵא לִכְבוֹד רַבּוֹ. רִבִּי יַנַּאִי זְעִירָא דָּמָךְ חָמוֹי. הוּא הֲוָה חָמוֹי וְהוּא הֲוָה רַבֵּיהּ. שָׁאַל לְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי וְאָסַר לֵיהּ. שָׁמַע רִבִּי אָחָא וָמַר יִטָּמֵאוּ לוֹ תַלְמִידָיו. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי נִטְמְאוּ לוֹ תַלְמִידָיו וְאָֽכְלוּ בָשָׂר וְשָׁתוּ יַיִן. אָמַר לוֹן רִבִּי מָנָא חָדָא מִן תַּרְתֵּי לָא פְלָטַת לְכוֹן. אִם אֲבֵילִים אַתֶּם לָמָּה אֲכַלְתֶּם בָּשָׂר וְלָמָּה שְׁתִיתֶם יַיִן. וְאִם אֵין אַתֶּם מִתְאַבְּלִין לָמָּה נִטְמֵאתֶם. May a Cohen defile himself⁶⁴By touching a dead body or carrying his casket (cf. Lev. 21). The main place of these discussions is in Yerushalmi Nazir 7:1. for the honor of his teacher? The father-in-law of Rebbi Yannai the younger⁶⁵An Amora of the fourth Galilean generation; so called to distinguish him from Rebbi Yannai, the teacher of Rebbi Joḥanan. It is implied that he was a Cohen. died. He was both his father-in-law⁶⁶A Cohen must defile himself for his wife but may not defile himself for any of her relatives. and his teacher. He asked Rebbi Yose who forbade it. Rebbi Aḥa heard it and said: His students should defile themselves for him. The students of Rebbi Yose defiled themselves for him but ate meat and drank wine⁶⁷Before the burial.. Rebbi Mana told them: One of two things you cannot escape. If you are mourners, why did you eat meat and drink wine; if you are not mourners, why did you defile yourselves?

מַהוּ שֶׁיִּטָּמֵא כֹהֵן לִכְבוֹד תּוֹרָה. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי הֲוָה יָתִיב מַתְנֵי וְאָעַל מִיתָא. מִן דְּנָפִיק לֵיהּ לֹא אָמַר לֵיהּ כְּלוּם. וּמָן דְּיָתִיב לֵיהּ לֹא אָמַר לֵיהּ כְּלוּם. May a Cohen defile himself for the honor of Torah? Rebbi Yose was sitting and teaching when a dead body was brought in⁶⁸To be eulogized in the Yeshivah.. He did not say anything either to those who left or to those who remained sitting⁶⁹He said nothing to those who were Cohanim and did not want to stay in the same house with the dead person even though they were missing some of Rebbi Yose’s lectures, nor to those Cohanim among his students who preferred to study even if it meant staying with the dead person in the same “tent”. Rebbi Yose was undecided whether a Cohen should stay or leave..

רִבִּי נְחוּמְיָה בְּרֵיהּ דְּרִבִּי חִייָא בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר אַבָּא לֹא הָיָה עָבוֹר תְּחוֹת כִּפְתָּה דְקֵיסַרִין. רִבִּי אַמִּי רִבִּי חִזְקִיָּה וְרִבִּי כֹהֵן וְרִבִּי יַעֲקֹב בַּר אָחָא הֲווּ מְטַיְּילִין בְּאִילֵּין פְּלָטיוּתָא דְצִיפּוֹרִי. הִגִּיעוּ לְכִיפָּה וּפִירֵשׁ רִבִּי כֹהֵן. הִגִּיעוּ לְמָקוֹם טַהֲרָה וְחָזַר אֶצְלָן. אָמַר לוֹן בְּמַה עַסְּקִין. אָמַר רִבִּי חִזְקִיָּה לְרִבִּי יַעֲקֹב בַּר אָחָא לֹא תֵימוֹר לֵיהּ כְּלוּם. אִין מִשּׁוּם דְּבָאִישׁ לֵיהּ דְּפָרַשׁ שֶׁמִּטָּמֵא לְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה לָא יָֽדְעִין. וְאִין מִשּׁוּם דַּהֲוָה [גּוּייְסָן] לָא יָֽדְעִין. Rebbi Nehemiah the son of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: My father did not walk under the arch of Caesarea⁷⁰R. Ḥiyya bar Abba was a Cohen, as is also clear from the later account of the visit of Diocletian. He did not pass under an arch attached to a building or archway under which there were graves. The Caesarea here is Caesarea Philippi, on the Jordan near Banias. Even though Caesarea Philippi was built by the Herodian family, it is unlikely that the arch belonged to a building containing a Jewish grave and it is accepted in the Babylonian Talmud (Yebamot 61a), following R. Simeon bar Yoḥai, that only Jewish graves defile “in a tent” but not Gentile ones. The problem is not mentioned in any of the surviving parts of the Yerushalmi; one might infer from the stories told here that the ruling of the Babli was not that accepted in Galilee. Nachmanides (ענין ההוצאה, תורת אדם ed. Chavel, vol. 2, p. קה) adds: “but R. Ammi (who also was a Cohen) did pass under them.” The rest of the paragraph supports the reading of Nachmanides.. Rebbi Ammi, Rebbi Ḥizqiah, Rebbi Cohen and Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa went walking on those streets⁷¹Latin platea, Greek πλατεῖα (scil. ὁδός), “street”. of Sepphoris. They came to the arch and Rebbi Cohen left⁷²Probably for the same reason that Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba did not pass under the arch of Caesarea.. They reached a place of purity and he returned to them. He asked them: “What were you discussing?” Rebbi Ḥizqiah said to Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa: “Do not tell him anything!” We do not know whether it was because he was angry that he left since one defiles oneself for words of Torah or whether it was because he⁷³Rebbi Cohen. (The first “he” refers to R. Ḥizqiah.) Since the problem is unresolved, it seems that in the opinion of the Yerushalmi, as a doubt in matters of Torah, he should not defile himself for Torah study. (This is the opinion of the Babli, Avodah zarah 13a, for all defilements that have a Biblical basis.) was haughty⁷⁴The reading is that of the Leyden manuscript; the editio princeps of Nachmanides has גייסן. The Venice print has טייסן, “a flyer” which makes no sense. The implication seems to be that Rebbi Ḥizqiah, the Rabbinic authority, was piqued by the fact that Rebbi Cohen, a very minor figure, did not ask his opinion whether he might pass under the arc..

תַּנִּי מִטָּמֵּא כֹּהֵן וְיוֹצֵא חוּצָה לָאָרֶץ לְדִינֵי מְמוֹנוֹת וּלְדִינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת וּלְקִידּוּשׁ הַחֹדֶשׁ וּלְעִיבּוּר שָׁנָה. לְהַצִּיל שָׂדֶה מִן הַגּוֹי וְאֲפִילוּ ליטור יוֹצֵא וְעוֹרֵר עָלֶיהָ. לִלְמוֹד תּוֹרָה וְלִישָּׂא אִשָּׁה. רִבִּי יוּדָה אוֹמֵר אִם יֵשּׁ לוֹ מֵאֵיכַן לִלְמוֹד אַל יִטָּמֵא. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר אֲפִילוּ יֵשּׁ לוֹ מֵאֵיכַן לִלְמוֹד תּוֹרָה יִטָּמֵא שֶׁלֹּא מִכָּל־אָדָם זוֹכֶה לִלְמוֹד. אָֽמְרוּ עָלָיו עַל יוֹסֵף הַכֹּהֵן שֶׁהָיָה מִטָּמֵּא וְיוֹצֵא אַחַר רַבּוֹ לְצִידָן. אֲבָל אָֽמְרוּ אַל יֵצֵא כֹּהֵן לְחוּץ לָאָרֶץ אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן הִבְטִיחוּ לוֹ אִשָּׁה. It is stated⁷⁶This baraita is in similar form in other Yerushalmi sources, Nazir 7:1, Śemaḥot IV:25,26, Tosephta Moëd qaṭan 1:12, Avodah zarah 1:8, and in materially different Babylonian tradition in Babli Avodah zarah 13a, Erubin 47a.: A Cohen may defile himself by leaving the Land⁷⁷It is not clear which verse of the Torah declares all land outside the Land of Israel ritually unclean but the fact that it is so, is obvious from Amos 7:17. (The Babli takes the impurity of the “land of Gentiles” to be rabbinic, but this refers to the time when no ashes of a red heifer were available anymore and every Cohen was impure from the start, whereas the Yerushalmi baraita might refer to earlier times, cf. Chapter 1, Note 3.) The prohibition for the Cohen to defile himself willingly derives from Lev. 21:1–15. for civil and criminal suits, for the consecration of the New Moon and intercalation of a year⁷⁸In the absence of a computed calendar, the last two activities may be exercised outside the Land of Israel only if political circumstances make the consecration in Israel impossible. (The statements up to this point are missing in the Babli parallels; see the preceding Note.), to save a field from a Gentile, and he even may leave and lodge a complaint about it⁷⁹“To lodge a complaint” about real estate usually means to claim ownership against a squatter, in particular if there are no written documents for either party., to study Torah and to marry a wife. Rebbi Judah says, if he has a place to study⁸⁰Any place to study in the Land of Israel., he should not defile himself. Rebbi Yose says, even if he has a place to study, he may defile himself, since a man may not have the luck to learn from every teacher. They said about Joseph the Cohen⁸¹Joseph (called Issi) ben Yehudah (or Aqabiah) from Huẓal in Babylonia who immigrated to Israel and was a student of Rebbis Eleazar ben Shamua and Yose ben Ḥalaphta. He is a Tanna of the last generation and known as the “last of the pious”. If such a holy man leaves Israel to follow his secondary teacher, the practice of leaving the Land for study purposes is well established. that he defiled himself and followed his teacher to Sidon⁸²Note the Talmudic vocalization Ṣīdān, in contrast to Biblical Ṣīdōn, close to modern Arabic Ṣaidā.. In truth⁸³As a rule, any tannaïtic statement label אבל “in truth”, represents established practice. The permission for a priest to leave the Land for marriage is only for an arranged marriage, not for a search for a possible bride., they said a priest should not go abroad unless one promised him a wife.

מַהוּ שֶׁיִּטָּמֵא כֹהֵן לִנְשִׂיאַת כַּפָּיִם. [גְּדִילָה] אַחֲוֵי דְרִבִּי אַבָּא בַּר כֹהֵן אָמַר קוֹמֵי רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אָחָא מִטָּמֵא כֹהֵן לִנְשִׂיאַת כַּפָּיִם. שָׁמַע רִבִּי אָחָא וָמַר אֲנָא לָא אֲמָרִית לֵיהּ כְּלוּם. חָזָר וְאָמַר אוֹ דִילְמָא לָא שָׁמַע מִינִּי אֶלָּא כְיַי דָמַר רִבִּי יוּדָה בֶּן פָּזִי בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר. כָּל־כֹּהֵן שֶׁהוּא עוֹמֵד בְּבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת וְאֵינוֹ נוֹשֵׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו עוֹבֵר בַּעֲשֵׂה. וְסָבַר מֵימַר שֶׁמִּצְוַת עֲשֵׂה דוֹחֶה לְמִצְוַת לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה. אֲנָא לָא אֲמָרִית לֵיהּ כְּלוּם. אַיְיתוּנֵיהּ וַאֲנָא אַלְקוּנֵיהּ. May a Cohen defile himself for the lifting of hands⁸⁴The priestly blessing (Num. 6:24–26) that the Cohen has to recite during morning prayers. Since the priest has to lift his hands for the blessing, in imitation of Aaron the High Priest (Lev. 9:22), the entire ceremony is called “the lifting of hands”.? Gedilah⁸⁵This is the reading of the Rome manuscript. The names given in other sources, מגבילה, גבילה, are not otherwise attested as Semitic names., the brother of Rebbi Abba bar Cohen⁸⁶An Amora of the fifth generation, student of the Amora Rebbi Yose, two generations after Rebbi Abba bar Kahana. said before Rebbi Yose in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: A Cohen defiles⁸⁷Implying that a Cohen must defile himself to fulfill the obligation of reciting the priestly blessing. himself for the lifting of hands. Rebbi Aḥa heard it and said: I never told him anything. On second thoughts he said, maybe he heard from me that which Rebbi Jehudah ben Pazi said in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: Every Cohen who stays in the synagogue and does not lift his hands transgresses a positive commandment, and he wanted to say that a positive commandment⁸⁸The obligation on the Cohen to recite the blessing. The negative commandment is the prohibition for the Cohen to defile himself without good cause. supersedes a negative commandment. I never told him anything⁸⁹The obligation to recite the priestly blessing is only on a Cohen who happens to be in the synagogue at the right time. But if a coffin is in the synagogue for an eulogy before the funeral, the Cohen cannot be in the synagogue when the priests are called and, hence, would have to enter the synagogue to be defiled at a moment when there is no positive commandment on him. The hypothetical argument of Rebbi Aḥa could only be resolved in favor of Gedilah in the unlikely event that someone in the synagogue dies suddenly while the priests already assemble for the priestly blessing.. Bring him in and I will cause him to be flogged!

רִבִּי אַבָּהוּ הֲוָא יָתִיב מַתְנֵי בִכְנִישְׁתָּא מֶרְדְּתָה בְּקֵיסַרִין וַהֲוָה תַמָּן מֵיתָא. אָתַת עָֽנְתָא דִנְשִׂיאוּת כַּפַּיִם וְלָא שָׁאֲלוּן לֵיהּ. אָתַת עָֽנְתָא דְמֵיכְלָא וְשָׁאֲלוּן לֵיהּ. אָמַר לוֹן עַל נְשִׂיאוּת כַּפַּיִם לָא שְׁאִילְתּוּן לִי וּלְמֵיכְלָא שָׁאֲלְתּוּן לִי. כֵּיוָן דְּשָֽׁמְעוּן כֵּן הֲוָה כָל חַד וְחַד שָׁבַק גַּרְמֵיהּ וְעָרַק. Rebbi Abbahu was sitting teaching in the fortified⁹⁰This is the reading of the Rome ms., from Syriac מרדא, “fortified”. Graetz’s translation “revolutionary” is phantasy. The word could be from Greek μερίς, -ίδος, ἡ “part, region, district”. In that case, the translation would be “regional synagogue” (E. G.). The reading of the Leyden ms. and the Venice print, מדדתא, “measuring” or “tripping”, does not make any sense. synagogue in Caesarea⁹¹It is not quite clear whether this was Caesarea on Sea or Caesarea Philippi; the former is usually assumed but it will become clear that the latter is in fact meant.; there was a coffin there. There came the time for lifting the hands and they⁹²The Cohanim among his students. They remained sitting for Rebbi Abbahu’s lecture. did not ask him. There came the time for eating and they asked him. He said to them: For the lifting of hands you did not ask me, for eating you are asking me⁹³Since Rebbi Abbahu did not deliver a ruling, it seems that he had not formed a definite opinion on the matter. Rebbi Yose was one of the last students of Rebbi Abahu; the discussion quoted in the preceding paragraph could not have taken place if a ruling was issued by Rebbi Abbahu.? When they heard this, each one was taking himself away and fled.

אָמַר רִבִּי יַנּאַי מִטָּמֵא כֹהֵן לִרְאוֹת אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ. כַּד סְלִיק דִּוֹקְלֵטִייַנוֹס מַלְכָּא לְהָכָא חָמוּן לְרִבִּי חִייָא בַּר אַבָּא מִיפְסַע עַל קִיבְרֵיהּ דְּצוֹר בְּגִין מֵיחְמָינֵיהּ. רִבִּי חִזְקִיָּה וְרִבִּי יִרְמְיָה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִצְוָה לִרְאוֹת גְּדוֹלֵי מַלְכוּת לִכְשֶׁתָּבוֹא מַלְכוּת בֵּית דָּוִד יְהֵא יוֹדֵעַ לְהַפְרִישׁ בֵּין מַלְכוּת לְמַלְכוּת. Rebbi Yannai said: A Cohen defiles himself in order to see the king. When king Diocletian visited here, Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba was seen stepping over graves at Tyre in order to see him⁹⁴Since Diocletian changed the constitution of the Roman empire from a formally republican one to an absolute monarchy, it is not totally clear whether a Cohen may defile himself only for a ruler who also carries the formal title of “king” or whether he should be a ruler who has power over life and death. Since the rule appears here in the name of Rebbi Yannai who lived under the principate, the second alternative is the more likely one. In the Babli (Berakhot 19b), the ruling (and the statement of Rebbi Joḥanan) is not by an early Amora but by a very early Tanna, Rebbi Eleazar bar Ẓadoq, a Cohen who mentions having seen the late Herodian rulers before the destruction of the Temple.
It was reported before that Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba was a Cohen. We also saw before that the Yerushalmi does not seem to exclude Gentile graves from the defilement of a “tent”; hence, it is not proven that Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba stepped over Jewish graves at Tyre. (The Babli, loc. cit., notes that a Cohen is prohibited by Biblical commandment from stepping over a grave only if there is less than a hand-breadth of space between the corpse and the upper cover of the coffin, as explained in Mishnah Ahilot VII; in most cases stepping over a grave is only a rabbinical prohibition which may be lifted in special circumstances.). Rebbi Ḥizqiah and Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: There is an obligation to see great persons of government, so that when the kingdom of the dynasty of David will return one will know how to distinguish one government from the other.

מַהוּ שֶׁיִּטָּמֵא כֹּהֵן לִכְבוֹד הַנָּשִׂיא. כַּד דָּמָךְ רִבִּי יוּדָן נְשִׂיאָה אַכְרִיז רִבִּי יַנַּאי וָמַר אֵין כְּהוּנָּה הַיּוֹם. כַּד דָּמָךְ רִבִּי יוּדָה נְשִׂיאָה בַּר בְּרֵיהּ דְּרִבִּי יוּדָה נְשִׂיאָה דָּחַף רִבִּי חִייָא בַּר אַבָּא לְרִבִּי זְעִירָא בִכְנִישְׁתָּא דְגוּפְנָה דְצִיפּוֹרִין וּסְאָבֵיהּ. כַּד דָּֽמְכַת נְהוֹרַאי אַחְתֵּיהּ דְּרִבִּי יְהוּדָה נְשִׂיאָה שָׁלַח רִבִּי חֲנִינָה בָּתַר רִבִּי מָנָא וְלָא סְלִיק. אָמַר לֵיהּ אִם בְּחַיֵּיהֶן אֵין מִטַּמְּאִין לָהֶן כָּל־שֶׁכֵּן בְּמִיתָתָן. אָמַר רִבִּי נַסָּא בְּמִיתָתָן עָשׂוּ אוֹתָן כְּמֵת מִצְוָה. When Rebbi Judah the Prince⁹⁵Rebbi, the son of Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel and editor of the Mishnah. died, Rebbi Yannai proclaimed and said: “There is no priesthood today⁹⁶All priests are obliged to come to the eulogy and funeral..” When Rebbi Judah the Prince, grandson of Rebbi Judah the Prince, died, Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba did push Rebbi Zeïra⁹⁷Who also was a Cohen and did not want to defile himself. While the Prince Judah I was not only patriarch but also recognized as the greatest rabbinic authority of his day, Judah II was patriarch and a competent but not outstanding scholar. Rebbi Zeïra apparently felt that his scholarship did not merit that a Cohen should defile himself, whereas Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, who like Rebbi Zeïra was a greater scholar than Judah II, insisted that the office of patriarch alone deserved this recognition. in the Gufna synagogue of Sepphoris and defiled him. When Nahoraï⁹⁸Nahoraï is really a man’s name. In the parallel in Nazir she is called Yehudinaï, which seems to be the better tradition. She was the sister of Judah II., the sister of Rebbi Judah the prince, died, Rebbi Ḥanina⁹⁹Rebbi Ḥananiah from Sepphoris, a colleague of Rebbi Mana; see Chap. 2, Note 97. sent for Rebbi Mana but the latter did not come. He said to him, if one does not defile himself for them during their lifetime, so much less in their death. Rebbi Nassa¹⁰⁰A student of Rebbi Eleazar and others; a resident of Caesarea whose name is prominent in the part of the Yerushalmi that was edited in Caesarea (Neziqin.) said, in their death they made them like a corpse of obligation¹⁰¹A corpse of obligation is the body of a Jew who is not the known relative of anybody nearby and, therefore, has nobody who could organize his funeral. In such a situation, the first person who finds him must care for him; even the High Priest, who does not defile himself even for father and mother, must defile himself for a corpse of obligation.
It is not too clear who is meant. We may assume that Maimonides writes from tradition when he formulates (Hilkhot Evel, 3:10) ’’When a patriarch dies, everybody defiles himself for him, including Cohanim; they made him like a corpse of obligation for everybody because everybody is required to honor him and everybody is stunned by his death.” Hagahot Maimuniot (ad loc.) note that the sentence “they made him like a corpse of obligation” is the statement of Rebbi Nassa. The discussion goes as follows:
The sister of the patriarch Judah II died after him. Rebbi Ḥanina demanded that Rebbi Mana, a Cohen, should defile himself for her. Rebbi Mana retorted that, since he would not defile himself for her during the patriarch’s lifetime, when it would have constituted an honor for the patriarch, he might not do so after the patriarch’s death. Rebbi Nassa, in support of Rebbi Mana, explains that the defilement of Cohanim for the patriarch is because he is considered an obligation for all of Israel..

מַהוּ שֶׁיִּטָּמֵא כֹהֵן לִכְבוֹד אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ. רִבִּי יָסָא שָׁמַע דְּאָתַת אִימֵּיהּ לְבוֹצְרָה. אָתָא שָׁאַל לְרִבִּי יוֹחָנָן מַהוּ לָצֵאת. אָמַר לֵיהּ אִי מִפְּנֵי סַכָּנַת דְּרָכִים צֵא. אִי מִשּׁוּם כְּבוֹד אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ. אָמַר רִבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר רַב יִצְחָק עוֹד הִיא צְרִיכָה. אַטְרַח רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן עֲלוֹי וָמַר אִם גָּמַרְתָּ לָצֵאת תָּבֹא בְשָׁלוֹם. שָׁמַע רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר וָמַר אֵין רְשׁוּת גְּדוֹלָה מִזּוֹ. May a Cohen defile himself in honor of his father and mother¹⁰²As the sequel shows, the only question is whether a Cohen may leave the Holy Land doing something in honor of father or mother. The Biblical prohibitions cannot be violated for the honor of father and mother.? Rebbi Yasa heard that his mother had come to Bostra¹⁰³This city is South of the Hauran mountains, not far from Edreï, on the caravan route to Babylonia. It is not the Biblical Edomite Boṣra. The parallel in the Babli (Qiddushin 31b) is much more explicit, stating that Rebbi Assi’s (Yasa’s) mother was mentally disturbed and that it turned out that her coffin arrived at Bostra.. He went and asked Rebbi Yoḥanan, may I leave? He said to him, if it is because of danger on the road¹⁰⁴To accompany his mother because of the dangers of the road is clearly allowed since it is a matter of life and death., leave. If it is in order to honor father and mother, I do not know. Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac said, Rebbi Yoḥanan still needs to answer. He importuned him¹⁰⁵Rebbi Yasa did not accept Rebbi Joḥanan’s answer as final, insisting to have a definite yes or no., so he said: If you decided to go, return in peace¹⁰⁶Rebbi Joḥanan would not order any Cohen to leave the Holy Land in order to meet father or mother but neither would he hinder any one who very much wanted to go.. Rebbi Eleazar heard this and said: there is no greater permission than that.

מַהוּ שֶׁיִּטָּמֵא כֹהֵן לִכְבוֹד הָרַבִּים. תַּנִּי הָיוּ שָׁם שְׁתֵּי דְרָכִים מַתְאִימוֹת אַחַת רְחוֹקָה וּטְהוֹרָה וְאַחַת קְרוֹבָה וּטְמֵאָה. אִם הָיוּ הָרַבִּים הוֹלְכִין בָּֽרְחוֹקָה הוֹלֵךְ בָּֽרְחוֹקָה אִם לָאו הוֹלֵךְ בַּקְּרוֹבָה מִפְּנֵי כְבוֹד הָרַבִּים. עַד כְּדוֹן בְּטוּמְאָה שֶׁל דִּבְרֵיהֶם אֲפִילוּ טוּמְאָה שֶׁהִיא מִדִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה. מִן מַה דָמַר רִבִּי זְעִירָא גָּדוֹל הוּא כְבוֹד הָרַבִּים שֶׁהוּא דוֹחֶה מִצְוָה בְלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה שָׁעָה אַחַת. אָדָא אָֽמְרָה אֲפִילוּ בְּטוּמְאָה שֶׁהִיא מִדְּבַר תוֹרָה. May a Cohen defile himself in honor of the public? It is stated: When there are two acceptable roads, one long and pure, the other one short and impure: If the public was walking¹⁰⁷In a funeral procession. The baraita is from Semaḥot 4:14. Since the following baraita 15 speaks about digging the grave, the text here speaks of the procession preceding the actual burial. A similar but different baraita in the Babli (Berakhot 19b) deals with people returning after the burial. on the long one, he goes on the long one; otherwise, he goes on the short one in honor of the public. That refers to impurity by their words¹⁰⁸If the impurity is not certain but only possible, the prohibition of passage for the Cohen is only rabbinical, not biblical.; also for impurity that is from the words of the Torah? From what Rebbi Zeïra said, so great is the honor of the public that it temporarily pushes aside a prohibition¹⁰⁹It is explained in Kilaim 9:2 that if somebody notices that his clothing is forbidden as shaätnez, he may keep his clothes on until he gets home and does not have to stand naked or in his underwear in public., that means even impurity that is from the words of the Torah¹¹⁰The Babli comes to the opposite conclusion but, as noted before, it deals with people returning from the funeral, not a funeral procession as here..

רִבִּי יוֹנָה רִבִּי יוֹסֵי גְלִילִיָּא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יָסָא בָּר חֲנִינָא אֵין שׁוֹאֲלִין הֲלָכָה לִפְנֵי מִיטָּתוֹ שֶׁל מֵת. וְהָא רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן שָׁאַל לְרִבִּי יַנַּאי קוֹמֵי עַרְסֵיהּ דְּרִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹצָדָק הִקְדִּישׁ עוֹלָתוֹ לְבֶדֶק הַבַּיִת וַהֲוָּה מְגִיב לֵיהּ. נֵימַר כַּד הֲוָה רָחִיק אוֹ כַד הֲווּן מַסְקִין לֵיהּ לְסִדְרָה. וְהָא רִבִּי יִרְמְיָה שָׁאַל לְרִבִּי זְעִירָא קוֹמֵי עַרְסֵיהּ דְּרִבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר רַב יִצְחָק. נֵימַר כַּד הֲוָה רָחִיק הֲוָה מְגִיב לֵיהּ. כַּד הֲוָה קָרִיב לָא הֲוָה מְגִיב לֵיהּ. Rebbi Jonah, Rebbi Yose the Galilean¹¹¹A Galilean Amora of the third generation, teacher of Rebbi Jonah., Rebbi Yasa bar Ḥanina: One does not ask rulings on practice before the bier of a deceased¹¹²In the Babli (Berakhot 3b) it is stated more generally, in the name of R. Joshua ben Levi, that words of Torah are forbidden in presence of a coffin. According to Rashi, the reason is (Prov. 17:5): “He who scoffs at the poor blasphemes his Maker.” Since the dead person can no longer study Torah, he is poor in this respect.. But Rebbi Yoḥanan asked Rebbi Yannai before the bier of Rebbi Simeon ben Yoẓadaq¹¹³This is the correct reading of the Rome ms. R. Simeon bar Yoẓadaq was an Amora of the first generation, one of the teachers of Rebbi Yoḥanan. The Leyden ms. has שמואל בר יוצדק by a scribal error. about him who dedicated his holocaust sacrifice for the upkeep of the Temple, and he answered him¹¹⁴The Mishnah (Temurah 32a) states that a forbidden substitution is valid only from lesser to higher sanctity. The highest sanctity of a sacrifice is the עוֹלָה, the holocaust, which is totally burnt on the altar, whereas gifts for the upkeep of the Temple are only a monetary obligation. So it should be impossible to dedicate an ‘olah for the upkeep of the Temple. However, a baraita (Babli Temurah 32b) states that a holocaust which afterwards was dedicated for the upkeep of the Temple cannot be slaughtered unless redeemed first and the money given to the Temple. The answer given there (presumably by Rebbi Yannai) is that the obligation of redemption is purely rabbinical, a kind of fine, but that from the Torah the second dedication is invalid.! Let us say when he was far away¹¹⁵So that the deceased could not have heard them even were he still alive. or when they were bringing him to the study hall¹¹⁶Most commentators explain that Rebbis Yoḥanan and Yannai were outside the Bet-Hamidrash. However, that would be the same as “being far away”. Therefore, it seems that the correct interpretation is given by R. Zacariah Frankel, that a eulogy of a Torah teacher in his own school by necessity must involve words of Torah.. But Rebbi Jeremiah asked Rebbi Zeïra before the bier of Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac! Let us say that he answered him when he was far away; when he was close he did not answer him.

תַּנִּי הַכַּתָּפִים אֲסוּרִין בִּנְעִילַת הַסַּנְדָּל שֶׁמָּא יִפְסוֹק סַנְדָּלוֹ שֶׁל אֶחָד מֵהֶן וְנִמְצָא מִתְעַכֵּב מִן הַמִּצְוָה. It is stated: The carriers¹¹⁷The carriers of the bier in the funeral procession, members of the “holy society”. may not wear sandals¹¹⁸According to Ṭure Zahav on Shulḥan Arukh Yore Dea 358:3, this applies only to professional carriers, or members of a society that monopolizes the mitzvah of carrying the bier, who will have to walk barefooted. However, it seems that shoes without laces would be permitted by the Yerushalmi. lest a shoelace of one of them break so he would be eliminated from the good deed.

רִבִּי זְעִירָא שְׁרָע בְּדִיבּוּרָא אָתוּן בְעַייָן מִיזְקְפָנֵיהּ וְאַשְׁכְּחוּנֵיהּ אִיעָנֵי. אָֽמְרוּ לֵיהּ מַהוּ כֵן אָמַר לוֹן לָכֵן דְּאָתִינָן עַל שֵׁם וְהַחַי יִתֵּן אֶל לִבּוֹ. Rebbi Zeïra bent down¹¹⁹Most commentators explain that Rebbi Zeïra fell down. But the parallels quoted in Levy’s dictionary show that Aramaic שרע is the parallel of biblical Hebrew סרח, “overhanging”. The speaker was leaning down over the railing of his pulpit. during a eulogy. They wanted to straighten him up and found that he tarried¹²⁰The Aramaic עני may mean 1) to become poor, 2) to take one’s time, tarry, 3) to empty oneself. In Yerushalmi sources, the form איעני is found only in meaning 2). The verse quoted reads in full: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a wedding. Since that is the end of all humanity, let the one who is alive take it to heart.”. They said to him, what is this? He said to them, because we will go there, following (Eccl. 7:2): “Let the one who is alive take it to heart.”