Commento su Mo'ed Qatan 3:15

אלו מגלחין. הבא ממדינת הים – During the Festival, for he did not have time to shave prior to the Festival. And this is a case of one who departed for business or to a thing that was necessary, if he didn’t depart other than to a mere walk/doing errands, it is prohibited [to shave].

Introduction Generally speaking one may not cut one’s hair/shave during the festival. This is not because cutting hair was a lot of work. Rather it was to encourage people to get a hair cut and shave before the festival, so that they would be properly groomed when the festival began. In other words, if you don’t prepare before the festival, you’re going to look disheveled the whole time. Our mishnah lists the exceptions to this rule those people who may get a haircut during the festival because they could not do so during the week before. When the mishnah speaks of cutting one’s hair, it also includes shaving (they would shave with scissors). There is no halakhic difference between the two. I have translated the verb that the mishnah uses as shaving.

והיוצא מבית האסורין – and even if he was imprisoned at the hand of an Israelite who would let him shave, because he was in pain.

And these may shave during the festival: one coming back from a trip abroad, or one coming out from a place of captivity, or coming out of prison, or one excommunicated whom the sages have released. The people in this section could not cut their hair the week before the festival for various practical reasons. 1) They came back from a trip abroad, from a place where shaving was not possible. 2) They came out of captivity, and while captives they couldn’t shave. 3) They came out of prison no cutting hair in prison. 4) They were excommunicated. A person excommunicated by the Jewish community may not shave or cut his hair until he is released from his excommunication. If any of these people did not have enough time to cut his hair before the festival, he may do so during the festival. On the other hand, if he had time to prepare for the festival and neglected to do so, then he is penalized for his lack of preparation.

ומנודה – who released him from his excommunication during the Festival, but prior to the Festival, he was not able to shave since someone who was excommunicated is prohibited to cut his hair.

And similarly one who asked a sage [to be released from a vow] and was released, and a nazirite or a leper on emerging from his state of impurity to his state of purification. The people in this section could not shave for religious reasons. 1) The person had taken a vow not to cut his hair. Only a sage can release someone from a vow. If the person could not find a sage who would release his vow before the festival and then found one during the festival, he is allowed to shave during the festival. When a nazirite completes his term of naziriteship and when a leper becomes pure from his leprosy they both undergo a ritual which includes cutting one’s hair and shaving. If the term of naziriteship is over during the festival or a leper’s period of impurity is completed during the festival they may shave and cut their hair then.

ומי שנדר – [vowed] not to shave, and he could not find a Sage that would release him from his vow prior to the Festival. Alternatively, he did not find an opening for regret other than during the Festival.

והנזיר – who completed his being a Nazirite vow during the Festival.

ה"ג והמצורע העולה מטומאתו לטהרתו – if his seventh day occurs during the Festival, he is permitted to take a haircut, as it is written (Leviticus 14:9): “On the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair [– of head, beard, and eye-brows…].” And the shaving of the bald spot [on the head or in the beard] is not considered, for it is not other than a small thing when he shaves around the bald spot. And there reason that it is prohibited to shave on the Festival outside of those who are taught in the Mishnah is in order that they should not intend to shave during the Festival when they are idle from work and the First Day of the Festival comes when they are disgraced, that is is the reason also that the they prohibited laundering on the Festival.

ומי שנשאל לחכם – that he vowed not to launder his clothes and he appeared before a Sage on the Festival and he released him from his vow.

Introduction For the same reason that it is prohibited to shave/cut hair during the festival, it is also prohibited to wash one’s clothes the prohibition during the festival encourages people to wash their clothes before the festival. As was the case with yesterday’s mishnah, today’s mishnah lists the exceptions, those people who may wash their clothes because they could not have done so before the festival began.

ומטפחות ידים – that they dry with the their hands at the time of eating.

These may launder [their clothes] during the festival: one coming back from a trip abroad, or one coming out from a place of captivity, or coming out of prison, or one excommunicated whom the sages have released. This is the same list that appeared in section one of yesterday’s mishnah.

ומטפחות ספרים – clothing/covering that the barbers give to those who get a haircut between his shoulders because of the hair. And when he comes to shave to those who are taught in the Mishnah who are permitted to shave on the Festival, it is necessary to always launder it.

And similarly one who asked a sage [to be released from a vow] and was released. This is the same as the beginning of the second section of yesterday’s mishnah.

מטפחות הספגין – that they dry with them when they leave from the bathhouse.

Hand-towels, barber’s towels and bath-towels [may be laundered]. Towels which are used on a daily basis and will quickly become dirty may be laundered. “Barber’s towels” is somewhat of a strange category, considering the fact that most people should not be getting a haircut on the festival. Either this refers to towels used in cutting the hair of those few people who can get a haircut or alternatively the word for “barber” really means “books” the words are spelled the same but pronounced differently in Hebrew (sapar=barber; sefer=book). The mishnah would then refer to coverings of books, i.e Torah scrolls, which become dirty due to frequent usage. However, it seems strange to me that book coverings need to be washed with such urgency.

וכל העולים מטומאה לטהרה – on the Festival, it is permitted to launder their clothes. And flax utensils, even of every person it is permitted to launder them on the Festival, for they need laundering frequently, and even that which was laundered on the eve of the Festival become soiled immediately and need laundering during the Festival, therefore, they did not make a decree concerning them. And whomever lacks other than one undershirt/garment, even if it is not made of flax is permitted to launder it on the Festival., and he who stands naked at the time of his laundering with only a girdle on his loins to cover the flesh of his nakedness for this proves that he lacks other than this undershirt/garment that he launders.

Zavim and zavot, menstruants, and women who have given birth, and anyone going from a state of purity to impurity, are permitted [to launder their clothes]. This section refers to various people who have some sort of genital emission and therefore need to wash their clothes frequently. Zavim and zavot have some sort of unusual genital emission which would dirty their clothes. They are allowed to wash their clothes because it would not be seemly to force them to go around in public with stained clothing. People who become pure on the festival need to wash their clothes (Leviticus 11:25, 28; 14: 5, 47; Numbers 19:19). They are allowed to do so during the festival since they could not control the timing of their becoming pure.

But everyone else is prohibited. The mishnah ends by emphasizing that other people may not launder their clothes on the festival. During the time of the mishnah laundering was heavy labor and was not done with great frequency. Hence, the festival should not be used as an opportunity to launder clothes.

קדושי אשה – He writes on paper or on earthenware, “You are betrothed to me,” and he betroths with it the woman even if it is not worth a Perutah/penny. And therefore, it is permitted to write [this formula on the Festival because he fears lest someone else precede him [in doing so] and it is for him a business which cannot be postponed without irretrievable loss.

They may write the following documents during the festival:
Betrothal of women [documents], divorce documents and receipts, wills of a dying person, bequests and prosbols; evaluation certificates and orders for support, documents of halitzah and of repudiation [of marriage] and arbitration records; decrees of the court and correspondence.
Writing was not nearly as common of a skill in the time of the mishnah as it is now. Indeed, most people could probably not write, and if they could, they could write only simple things. Since writing was not common it was considered a professional skill. Hence it was generally forbidden on the festival. Our mishnah lists exceptions. These were allowed because they were of immediate necessity. I will explain each type of document.
Betrothal of women [documents]: This refers to all sorts of documents connected to marriage, either arranging the betrothal and its economic elements (tannaim) or a document used to effect betrothal itself. In such a document the man would write, “Behold you (or your daughter) are betrothed to me.” Note that kiddushin (betrothal) can take place during the festival, but marriage may not. Therefore, ketubot, marriage documents, are not included in this list.
Divorce documents: Gittin. This is the document that a husband writes to his wife. Divorce is permitted on the festival.
And receipts: The creditor writes to the lender stating that he has received the money. This may also refer to a case of divorce, where a woman writes a receipt to her husband upon receiving the marriage settlement (her ketubah money).
The will of a dying person: Wills, which must be written and executed while the person is alive, are obviously not something that can be put off, especially when they are written by a dying person, the case to which our mishnah refers.
Bequests: A document transferring a present from one person to another.
Prozbuls: These documents allow a person’s loans to carry through the Sabbatical year. If they are not written, then the loan is annulled in the sabbatical year.
Evaluation certificates: Documents which evaluate a debtor’s possessions so that the appropriate amount may be collected by the creditor.
And orders for support: These documents allow a widow to sell her dead husband’s property in order to provide for herself.
Documents of halitzah: Halitzah is the refusal of levirate marriage. A woman might need this document to prove that she had been released and was free to marry another man.
And of repudiation [of marriage]: A minor girl whose father has died may be married off by her mother or brother. When she reaches majority age she may repudiate the marriage and have it annulled. She would need this document to prove that she had repudiated the marriage and was allowed to marry another man without having been divorced.
And arbitration records: Certain court cases would begin by the litigants choosing judges. These records would prove which judges had been chosen.
Decrees of the court: Documents recording their decision.
And correspondence: According to the Yerushalmi’s interpretation of this clause, it refers to simple letters of correspondence. In those days sending mail would have been quite difficult. It was not always easy to find someone going to the place where one wanted to send a letter. If such a person was found on the festival one was allowed to write a letter because the opportunity would be lost later. A different (and later interpretation) is that this clause refers to letters written to the government. Only such letters are permitted on the festival because they are of a greater need than simple letters of friendship.

גיטין – who wants to leave on a caravan, and if he doesn’t write it (i.e., the Jewish bill of divorce) now, this (woman) will remain tied to an absent husband.

ושוברים – for if the borrower would say: “I will not pay back your liability if I do not have a receipt from you,” we listen to him, and he (i.e., the borrower) goes on his way, and it is found that this one (i.e., the lender) loses his money.

דייתיקי - the gift of someone on his deathbed. And the explanation of the term דייתיקי /disposition of property, especially by will and testimony – this shall be fulfilled and will be, for the words of someone on his deathbed is as they are written and as delivered.

מתנה – the gift of a healthy individual, and if it was not written to them, the recipient would lose it, for perhaps the giver would retract [his decision].

ופרוזבולין – that the seventh year would not cause a remission of debt and he would lose his monies. The word פרוזבול/Prozbul (the declaration made in court, before the execution of a loan to the effect that the law of limitation by the entrance of the Sabbatical year shall not apply to the loan to be transacted) (see Gittin 36b-37a) before the rich and before the poor, that is, the enactment to thee rich that they should not transgress on what is written in the Torah (Deuteronomy 15:B): “Beware lest you harbor the base thought…,” and the enactment for the poor that they should be enabled to receive loans,. The senators of the Rich and the Poor/broken Ones. And Hillel established the Prozbul , a document in which they write: “I hand over to you so-and-so and so-and-so the judges, that every document that I have on so-and-so, I will collect whenever I want. And further, the seventh year does not cancel his loan.” It is as if the Jewish court collected his liability, and further, we don’t read concerning him (Deuteronomy 15:2): “he shall not dun his fellow or kinsman, [for the remission proclaimed is of the LORD].”

אגרות שום – for the Jewish court estimated the possessions of the borrower and gave it to the lender.

אגרות מזון – the Jewish court sold the property for the provision of food for [his] wife and the daughters, and they write the actions of the Jewish court on this. Alternatively, he who accepted upon himself to feed the daughter of his wife.

מיאונים – of a minor whose mother and her brothers married her off, she can refuse her husband and say: “ I don’t want so-and-so as my husband,” and she leaves it (i.e., the marriage/relationship) without a Jewish bill of divorce. And the document that they write for testimony in this matter is called the document of refusal.

שטרי ברורין – that they chose for them the judges. This one (i.e., litigant) chooses one judge and the other one chooses another [judge] (see Mishnah Sanhedrin, Chapter 3, Mishnah 1) , and they write a document that neither of the litigants will retract.

וגזירות ב"ד – the legal decision that the judges made.

אגרות של רשות – the commands of the ruler, such as (Tractate Avot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 10): “Don’t get friendly with the government.” “Be careful/wary with the government” ( Tractate Avot, Chapter 2, Mishnah 3). And there are those who explain it as letters of secular character (i.e., social correspondence) that they write between a person and his fellow.

אין כותבין שטרי חוב במועד – since one can write it after the Festival.

Introduction Most of this mishnah continues to deal with writing on the festival.

ואם אינו מאמינו – and he doesn’t want to lend him without a document but if the borrower needs money, we write it [during the Intermediate Days of the Festival].

They may not write loan documents during the festival; but if he [the creditor] does not trust him or he does not have food to eat, he may write. Loan documents may not be written during the festival, because one can lend money without a document, using witnesses to secure the loan. The mishnah immediately lists two major exceptions. If the creditor does not trust the borrower enough to lend him money without a document, then they may write a document. The rabbis considered it important enough for the borrower to be able to secure the loan that they allowed the document to be written during the festival. The second exception is interpreted in two different ways. The Jerusalem Talmud interprets it to refer to the borrower if the borrower needs a loan so that he can afford to eat, the document can be written. The problem with this interpretation is that if the lender trusts the borrower, then he doesn’t need a document, and if he doesn’t trust him, then the mishnah has already stated that he may write the document. Due to these difficulties, the Babylonian Talmud interprets the clause to refer to the scribe. If he needs his wages in order to eat during the festival, they may have him write the document.

או שאין לו – for the scribes [lacks] for what to eat, he should write it and take his compensataion, for the fee for work for one who has no food to eat is permitted.

They may not write [Torah] scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot during the festival, nor may they correct [even] a single letter, even in the [ancient] Temple-scroll. We might have thought that since Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot are sacred objects, a scribe could write them during the festival. The mishnah rules otherwise even holy objects cannot be written on the festival. One cannot even fix one letter in a scroll, even in the “ancient Temple scroll,” the scroll which was kept in the Temple from which other scrolls were copied.

ואפילו בספר העזרה – The Torah scroll that the High Priest reads from on Yom Kippur, and even though it is necessary for the community.

Rabbi Judah says: a man may write tefillin and mezuzot for himself. Rabbi Judah allows one to write a personal set of tefillin or a mezuzah for personal use, but he agrees with the previous opinion that a scribe may not write these documents in order to sell them. The problem, according to Rabbi Judah, is not inherent in the writing itself. The problem with writing is when it becomes a “craft” done by a professional.

לעצמו – to fulfill the commandment, but not to see or rent out.

And one may spin on his thigh the blue-wool for his fringe. The mishnah allows one to spin tzitzit (fringes on the corner of one’s garment) but only for personal usage, while the garment is resting on one’s thigh. He may not put the threads onto a spinning wheel to spin the tzitzit, the way this is normally done. Again, in order to distinguish something from the way it is done normally, the rabbis demanded it be done differently on the festival.

ועווה על ירכו תכלת – that he places the cord on his thigh and rubs with his hand and it is spun by itself, but not by his hand between his fingers, nor by a spindle in the manner that he might do on a weekday. And the Halakha is that one a person spins tekhelet/the thread of blue for his clothing whether with a spindle or a stone.

הקובר את מתו – A death had occurred for him prior to the Festival. And he observed mourning for three days prior to the Festival.

Introduction From here until the end, Moed Katan deals with mourning practices. There is no separate tractate in the Mishnah concerning mourning so the few halakhot that the Mishnah does contain are placed here. There are probably several reasons for this. First of all, as we shall see below, the Mishnah deals with the question of mourning which occurs right before a festival. On a deeper level, the week of mourning (the shivah) and the week of the festival seem to be flipsides of the same coin. Both are seven days long, one of celebration and one of sadness. It is forbidden to do work during the festival because one is supposed to be celebrating. During shivah it is forbidden to do work because one is supposed to be mourning. Similarly, marriages are prohibited during the festival and during the shivah. There are other halakhot which are shared by both holidays. The two periods of mourning mentioned in our mishnah are shivah, seven days, and shloshim, thirty days. The first period is more intense and its restrictions are more numerous than the latter. The mishnah deals with the question of a person whose period of mourning is interrupted by a festival.

בטלה ממנו גזירת שבעה – but the thirty-day/Shloshim decree is not abrogated, that is the prohibition of cutting one’s hair, and one counts after the Festival thirty days with the three that passed already from the thirty. And the Halakhic decision is that one who buries his dead even one hour prior to the Festival, the decree of Shivah/seven days is abrogated for him.

One who buries his dead three days before a festival, the decrees of shiva are annulled from him; If one of a person’s close relatives dies at least three days before the start of a festival, the festival annuls the shivah (the seven day period of mourning). When the festival is over he will not need to complete the shivah. Today, the halakhah is that if the person’s relative dies and is buried right right before the festival, even an hour before the festival, the shivah is cancelled. However, the mishnah and earlier halakhah held that at least three days of the shivah had to be observed. If three days were not observed than the shivah continues after the festival. These three days seem to be the essential period of mourning, more critical than the rest of the shivah.

שמונה – [eight] days prior to the Festival, for since one of the days of shaving entered prior to the Festival, the Festival comes and abrogates the rest altogether.

[One he buries his dead] eight days before a festival, the decrees of the shloshim [thirty days] are annulled from him. If he buries a close relative eight days before the festival, he has begun to observe “shloshim,” the second stage of mourning when the festival begins and the festival annuls the remainder of shloshim. This would mean that after the festival there is no more mourning at all (except in the case of a dead parent).

שבת – [A Sabbath] during the days of his mourning counts towards the number of seven.

Because they [the sages] said that Shabbat counts but does not interrupt, while festivals interrupt and do not count. This section explains the rationale of the previous two sections. Shabbat counts as part of the shivah and shloshim and does not interrupt either of them. The festivals, in contrast, do not count. This means that if someone dies on the festival, the mourners do not begin mourning until after the festival, when they will have a full period of shivah and shloshim. However, the festival does interrupt, such that if someone begins mourning three days before the festival the festival will annul shivah; eight days will annul shloshim.

ואינה מפסקת – but does not abrogate the remainder, but he sits and mourns after Shabbat.

הרגלים מפסיקים ואינם עולים – if he practiced [the rituals of] mourning prior the Festival, the Festival interrupts and abrogates the decree of thirty [days]. But if he did not practice [the rituals of] mourning prior to the Festival, but began his mourning during the Festival, the Festivals do not count to the number seven, but count towards the number thirty. And the reason that Shabbat counts to the total of seven days of mourning , because things that are done in private are practiced on it, such as [the prohibition of] sexual relations and removing the mourner’s wrap, for it is prohibited to be with an uncovered heat, and washing in hot water, for the mourner is forbidden [to engage] with them on Shabbat. But on the Festivals, none of the laws of the mourning are practiced/observed on it. Therefore, [the mourning] stops completely. But if mourning did not occur at all prior to the [onset of the] Festival, like the dead was buried during the Festival, it does not count towards the number seven, and one begins to count seven after the Festival.

משחרב בית המקדש – For Shavuot/Atzeret has no payment of indemnity all seven days of the sacrifice, the laws of the Festival are abrogated, and it is a Shabbat which does not interrupt it, but at the time of the Temple, he who did not make the Festival offering on the First Day of Shavuot would offer it throughout the seven days, like the Festival of Matzot; Azeret was like the Festival of Matzot even as regards mourning. And the final result of this matter regarding the Halakhic decision is that Atzeret in this time is like the Festivals, and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are like the festivals. He who suffered a loss prior to one of these, even one hour, the decree of [sitting] Shivah is abrogated. And if [the person] died prior to one of these Holy Days, the decree of thirty days is abrogated from him, as we have stated; and the seven days of the Festival count towards the number thirty, which is fourteen days. And Shemini Atzeret/The Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly is a festival unto itself, and is considered as if it is seven days, that makes twenty-one days. We count another nine days until the thirty and that is enough. And the decree of seven as we have stated is that he that was a mourner all seven days is prohibited in washing in hot water, even for part of his body, and in cold [water] all of his body, and he is prohibited from laundering his clothing, and in anointing and in wearing leather [shoes] and in doing work and in greeting others. And he is obligated in wrapping his head in mourning garb , and in turning over his bed, so that all of the beds that are in his house would be turned over on the ground and he should sleep on them, but not upon a bed standing upright. And it is prohibited to cut his nails with a utensil nor the hair of his mustache, even if it prevents him from eating. And it is prohibited to read from the Torah, whether from the Written Torah or from the Oral Torah. And he cannot re-stitch the tear that is upon him. And the decree of thirty is that from the seventh day until the completion of the thirtieth [day], it is prohibited to wear new clothing, or a white ironed garment, and it is prohibited to cut one’s hair, and to enjoy an optional banquet and to go shopping with one’s friends, and to marry another woman, if he has a wife and children, and he cannot sew together the tear that is upon him.

Introduction The festivals which most clearly put an end to shivah and shloshim are Pesah and Sukkot since they are both seven or if you include Shmini Atzeret (the last day of Sukkot), eight days long. In contrast, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur last only one day. Further complicating the matter, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are holidays, but not actually festivals. “Festival” in Hebrew (regel) refers only to the three pilgrimage holidays Pesah, Shavuot and Sukkot, when one was supposed to visit the Temple. Due to these complications, our mishnah contains a debate over where these one day holidays are treated like Shabbat or like Pesah and Sukkot.

Rabbi Eliezer says: From the time the Temple was destroyed, Atzeret ( is like Shabbat. Atzeret is the word used in the Mishnah to refer to Shavuot. When the Temple still stood, Atzeret was similar to the other festivals. One who did not bring the appropriate sacrifice on Atzeret itself could bring it for the following six days. Hence, in a sense Atzeret was a seven day holiday, even though it was only fully observed for one day. When the Temple still stood, it would interrupt mourning. Once the Temple was destroyed and sacrifices could no longer be brought, Atzeret ceased being a seven day holiday and hence is treated like Shabbat when it comes to mourning.

Rabban Gamaliel says: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are like festivals. According to Rabban Gamaliel Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are like festivals. Assumedly, his reasoning is that anything that is not Shabbat counts as a festival. He would therefore disagree with Rabbi Eliezer. Today the halakhah follows Rabban Gamaliel. Only Shabbat does not interrupt mourning.

The sages say: [the rule is] not according to the words of this one nor that one, rather Atzeret is like the festivals and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are like Shabbat. The other sages disagree with both Rabban Gamaliel and Rabbi Eliezer. The category of festivals includes all pilgrimage holidays, and even Atzeret after the destruction of the Temple. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are not “festivals” and hence they function like Shabbat. The sages’ opinion seems to be a literal interpretation of the last clause of yesterday’s mishnah which stated that festivals interrupt. The sages interpret this to mean only festivals and not other holidays.

אין קורעין – on the Festival (i.e., during Hol HaMoed/The Intermediate Days of the Festival), other than the relatives of the deceased – for his mother and his father and for his son and his daughter and for his brother and his sister and for his wife – for these seven deceased individuals that one is obliged to mourn over them. But on the rest of the relations that one is not obligated to mourn over them, one does not tear [clothing] over them during the Festival, and we don’t say this other than over someone who is not a Sage or a worthy person or an individual who was [filled] with good deeds. But a Sage that died, everyone is his relative, and everyone tears [their clothing] upon him even during the Festival. And similarly regarding a person who is known for his worthiness and piety. And all who stand at the time of the departure of the soul of every person from the Jews is obligated to tear [his clothing] even during the Festival. And the tearing on [hearing of the passing of] one’s father and mother is with his entire garment until he reveals his heart, and he tears with his hand and separates the upper border of the garment, and he tears from the outside, for he does not bring his hand inside underneath his garment while he is tearing it, and stitches it after thirty days, and he does not mend the garment torn in mourning ever. And similarly, regarding his Rabbi who taught him Torah. But on all the rest of he relatives, you tear a handbreadth only from the upper part of the garment, and one tears it with a utensil if one desires, and one does not have to separate the border, and he has to bring in his hand under his garment when he is tearing it and he can re-stitch it after seven [days], and sew together the the tear after thirty [days]. And tearing of the clothing is done only while standing.

They do not rend [their clothes] or bare [their shoulders], or provide a meal [for the mourners] except for the relatives of the dead.
And they do not provide a meal except on an upright couch.
They do not bring [food] to the house of mourning on an [ornamental] tray, platter, or flat basket, but in plain baskets.
And they do not say the mourners’ blessing during the festival.
But they may stand in a row and comfort [the mourners] and [the mourners] may formally dismiss the community. Section one: When one heard that a close relative had died, one would rend whatever clothes they were wearing. Baring the shoulder was also a sign of mourning. The mourner was provided by the community with the first meal after the funeral. On Hol Hamoed only a close relative would perform these practices. Others would not. I should note that today only close relatives do these actions in any case. The circle of mourners was bigger in the Talmudic period. Section two: It was customary to overturn the bed during mourning and then sit on the bed as a sign of mourning. But one does not overturn the bed during Hol Hamoed. This practice fell into disuse sometime after the Talmudic period. Section three: This halakhah is true in all cases. When bringing food to the mourner, they should bring it in plain baskets. A source in the Talmud relates that originally people would use fancy silver and gold vessels, but poor people would be embarrassed that they could not afford such fancy funerals and mourning homes. As a response the rabbis decreed that everyone must bring in a simple vessel. The mourning home is not a place where one should be showing off one’s wealth. Section four: The mourners’ blessing was stated on return from burial. They would stand in a line and comfort the mourner with this blessing. It may have also been recited at other points as well. But it is a public sign of mourning and should not be done on Hol Hamoed. Section five: While the blessing is not recited on Hol Hamoed, burial is. Along with the burial, they may have the formal line of comforters that would accompany the mourners on their way home. The same goes true for the official words that the mourner seems to have said to the comforters, to allow them to go home without accompanying the mourner all the way home.
Today’s Mishnah discusses mourning practices not observed during Hol Hamoed. It is interesting to note that this Mishnah is one of the main sources of the laws of mourning. It seems, at least to me, that the Mishnah did not feel it was necessary to teach people how to mourn. People just knew what to do. The only reason they are mentioned is to let people know when not to observe these practices.

ולא חולצין במועד – the untying of the shoulder where their arms and shoulders are revealed.

ולא מברין – the first meal, for a mourner is prohibited to eat of his own and it is customary to provide the meal to him in the street of the city, but on the Festival we don’t provide the meal of consolation other than his relatives inside his house.

ואין מברין אלא על מטות זקופות – and even within the house we don’t provide him with the meal of consolation on mattresses on or near the floor, for it is customary in he rest of the days of the year for all of his relatives and he whose heart is haughty to eat with him while his mattress is on or near the ground, and during the Festivals, we do not serve the meal of consolation other than on raised beds.

ואין מוליכין – the meal to the house of the mourner.

לא בטבלא – the manner of honor.

ולא באסקוטלא – flipping a small table of silver or of gold or of glass. But I heard a bowl of silver, for in the foreign tongue, they call the bowl “Shekudila.”

אלא בסלין – of peeled willow twigs, in order not to embarrass the poor that come to serve a condolence meal and lack a collection of bells or a small table.

ופוטרין את הרבים – give them the permission to go immediately.

אין מניחין את המטה – [bier] of the dead person.

Introduction This mishnah continues to deal with mourning practices during the festival.

ברחוב – [in the street] during the Festival (i.e., the Intermediate Days of the Festival/Hol HaMoed).

They do not place the bier on the thruway [during the festival] so as not to encourage eulogizing. Normally, the bier, a stretcher with the body on it, would be placed on the thruway, the central road that passes through the town, so that people would have the opportunity to offer up public eulogies. Since eulogies are forbidden on the festival, the bier is not placed on the thruway.

לעולם – even during the weekdays, as it is written (Numbers 20:1): “Miriam died there and was buried there.” The burial is juxtaposed to the death.

And the bier of women is never [set down on the thruway] for the sake of propriety. The body of the dead person was covered only with a shroud while it was on the bier. It could become exposed. Due to the rabbis’ concerns of modesty, they did not wish the woman’s bier to be placed on the thruway even on non-festival occasions.

מטפחות – clap palm to palm

Women may raise a wail during the festival, but not clap [their hands in grief]. Rabbi Ishmael says: those that are close to the bier clap [their hands in grief]. Women played a significant role at funerals. A common role attributed to them is that of professional wailers (people who cry out loud, not those who hunt big animals in the sea). The mishnah allows them to wail during the festival, but they may not clap their hands. This seems to have been a common funerary practice. Others explain that this doesn’t refer to clapping one’s hands or slapping one’s hands on thigh but beating one’s breast. Rabbi Ishmael is more lenient and allows the women closest to the bier to also clap their hands.

ור"ש אומר כו' – But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.

ואשה רעותה קינה – and since it is written (Jeremiah 9:19): “And teach [your daughter wailing, and one another lamentation],” so we see that one speaks and her neighbor responds.

On Rosh Hodesh, on Hannukah and on Purim they may wail and clap [their hands in grief].
Neither on the former nor on the latter occasions may they offer a lamentation.
After the dead has been buried they neither wail nor clap [their hands in grief].
What is meant by wailing? When all wail in unison.
What is meant by a lament? When one speaks and all respond after her, as it is said: “And teach your daughters wailing and one another [each] lamentation” (Jeremiah 9:19).
But as to the future, it says: “He will destroy death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:9).
The last mishnah in Moed Katan continues to discuss womens’ mourning practices during the festival. It concludes with a note of hope for the future, for a messianic age when God will conquer death.
Section one: Rosh Hodesh, Hannukah and Purim are semi-holidays. There are special prayers and Torah readings for all three of them, but work is not prohibited. Two of them (Hannukah and Purim) are not mentioned in the Torah and hence, their importance is less than that of the other holidays. Due to their diminished status, the women may even clap their hands in grief at a funeral. This was prohibited during the festival.
Section two: Lamenting (explained below) is forbidden on all holidays, both those mentioned in section one of this mishnah and the festivals discussed in yesterday’s mishnah.
Section three: The women are permitted to wail or clap only as long as the dead body has not been buried. Once the body is buried, both practices become forbidden.
Section four: The mishnah now defines, at least partially, wailing and lamenting. Wailing is done by all of the women simultaneously. Lamenting is done responsively, one woman speaking and the others answering after her. This is hinted at in Jeremiah who says that one woman teaches another lamentation, interpreted to mean that one woman recites the lamentation and the others repeat after her.
Section five: All of this talk about death can be depressing and scary. Indeed, it was often considered forbidden for young men to learn the third chapter of Moed Katan because all of this talk about death could bring on bad luck (the evil eye). To alleviate this distress, the tractate ends on a positive note. The current stage of humanity, where we must face the distressing possibility of mourning in the middle of the joy of a festival, will be alleviated in the messianic period, when God will conquer death.
Congratulations! We have finished Megillah.
[You probably already know what I’m going to say but I’ll say it anyway].
It is a tradition at this point to thank God for helping us finish learning the tractate and to commit ourselves to going back and relearning it, so that we may not forget it and so that its lessons will stay with us for all of our lives.
Most of Moed Katan was about the laws of the festival. These laws are fascinating (at least to me) because they are grayer, more ambiguous, than the prohibitions in effect on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Some activities are generally prohibited but are allowed under extenuating circumstances, unlike Shabbat where any given labor is basically always prohibited. When I think of the laws of the Moed (the festival), I think of a sort of mathematical equation which we would need to perform before determining whether a labor is permitted or forbidden. There are several factors that might lead to something being permitted/forbidden. For instance, will not doing the work cause a significant financial loss? Could the work have been done before the festival? Is it strenuous? Did the person plan on working on the festival? Is it being done in the normal fashion? Only when we know the answers to these questions can we decide whether the work is permitted.
Today, many of these laws are neglected. In our busy modern economies it is hard enough to take off of work for Yom Tov (the first and last days of the festival), let alone for the rest of the festival. Many of these halakhot are basically no longer observed because any cessation of work causes a “grave financial loss.” While this may be to a certain extent true, I think we should keep in mind that the rabbis wanted to preserve the character of the festival by turning it into a celebratory vacation. Rejoicing is one of the main obligations on the festival and its much easier to party when you’re not working.
As always, congratulations on learning another tractate of Mishnah. One more tractate to go and we’ll have finished Moed, and half of the Mishnah! Hard to believe. Tomorrow we start Hagigah.

אבל לעתיד לבא אומר בלע המות לנצח – that the Holy One Blessed be He should consume death, and all of them respond with a song that there should be no death and no dears, and we take this Biblical verse here because we should not stand/end with a bad thing [and therefore, he saw to conclude with a good thing/word].