Se uno seppellisce i suoi morti uno tre giorni prima del festival [cioè, se uno dei suoi parenti è morto prima del festival, e ha osservato il lutto tre giorni prima del festival, il decreto di Shivah ("i sette giorni") cade, [ma non quello di Shloshim ("i trenta giorni"), vale a dire l'interdetto di tagliarsi i capelli, così che dopo la festa conta (fino a) trenta giorni inclusi i tre che aveva già osservato. L'halachah è che se uno seppellisce i suoi morti anche solo un momento prima del festival, il decreto di Shivah cade.] (Se lo seppellisce) otto [giorni prima del festival], il decreto di Shloshim cade. [Poiché uno dei giorni della rasatura (interdetta) (degli shloshim) ha preceduto il festival, il festival arriva e annulla completamente gli altri.] Perché hanno detto: Shabbath è incluso [Lo Shabbath entro i giorni del suo lutto è incluso nel sette (di shivah)] e non interrompe [Non annulla il resto, ma siede in lutto dopo Shabbath.]; i festival si interrompono e non sono inclusi. [Se ha osservato il lutto prima del festival, il festival interrompe e annulla il decreto di Shloshim. E se non ha osservato il lutto prima del festival, ma ha iniziato il suo lutto durante il festival, i giorni del festival non sono inclusi nello shivah, ma sono inclusi negli shloshim. Il motivo per cui Shabbath è incluso nello shivah è che in esso si ottiene il lutto "privato", come l'interdetto contro la convivenza e contro la scoperta della testa (cioè, togliendo la fascia di chi piange) e facendo il bagno in acqua calda, essendo proibiti a Shabbath. Ma nel festival non si ottengono leggi sul lutto, per cui lo interrompe del tutto. E se nessun lutto è iniziato prima del festival, come quando ha seppellito il suo defunto nel mezzo del festival, non è incluso nello shivah, e inizia a contare lo shivah dopo il festival.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
הקובר את מתו – A death had occurred for him prior to the Festival. And he observed mourning for three days prior to the Festival.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
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.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
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.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
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.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
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.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
[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).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
שבת – [A Sabbath] during the days of his mourning counts towards the number of seven.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Moed Katan
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.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
ואינה מפסקת – but does not abrogate the remainder, but he sits and mourns after Shabbat.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Moed Katan
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.
