The laws of Shiva and Sheloshim TB Moed Katan 19 and 20

 

 

Starting with daf TB Moed Katan 19 the Gemara pivots and discusses the laws a mourning. Since death visits every family and people want to know what they should do when they lose a loved one, rabbis are most frequently asked about the laws of mourning. Consequently, I shall share some of the sugiyot from both yesterday’s daf and today’s daf Moed Katan 20 and elucidate the halakhot.

Shiva in Hebrew means seven. The Gemara tells us the biblical source of sitting seven days of mourning. “It was related that Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, Rabbi Ami, and Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa were once sitting in the pavilion of Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Elazar and were conversing. A matter emerged from among them: From where is it derived that the rites of mourning are observed for seven days? As it is written: “And I will turn your Festivals into mourning” (Amos 8:10). Just as a Festival lasts for seven days, so too mourning lasts for seven days.” (daf 20a, Sefaria.org translation)

Tosefot ד"ה חג העצרת wonders why the Gemara doesn’t quote the verse in Genesis 50:10 “and he (Joseph) observed a mourning period of seven days for his father (Jacob)” because it explicitly mentions seven days of mourning. Wouldn’t this be a better source for the law of shiva then the prophet Amos?! They answer that this mourning period happened before the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The Talmud Yerushalmi teaches that one does not learn halakha from events that took place before Revelation on Mount Sinai. The Yerushalmi also provides many other supporting verses.

Sheloshim means 30 in Hebrew. If shiva is the deepest period of mourning, then the next stage is the first 30 days which includes the week of shiva. The Gemara tells us the biblical source of sheloshim. “The Gemara asks now about the thirty-day mourning period: From where do we derive the thirty-day period of mourning? The Gemara answers: It is learned by way of a verbal analogy between one instance of the word pera and a different instance of the word pera stated with regard to a nazirite. Here, in the instructions given to Aaron not to mourn the deaths of his sons, it is written: “Let the hair of your heads not grow loose [tifra’u]” (Leviticus 10:6), which indicates that ordinary mourners are required to grow their hair long. And there, with regard to a nazirite, it is written: “He shall let the hair of his head grow long [pera]” (Numbers 6:5). Just as there, in the case of the nazirite, he must grow his hair for thirty days, so too, here a mourner must grow his hair for thirty days.

“The Gemara asks: And there, with regard to a nazirite, from where do we derive that he must grow his hair for thirty days? Nowhere is this explicitly stated with regard to a nazirite. The Gemara answers: Rav Mattana said: An unspecified naziriteship, when one takes a vow of naziriteship without specifying for how long, extends for thirty days. What is the reason for this? The verse states: “He shall be sacred, and he shall let the hair of his head grow” (Numbers 6:5), and “He shall be [yihye],” which is written yod, heh, yod, heh, has a numerical value [gimatriyya] of thirty, as yod has a numerical value of ten and heh has a numerical value of five. This implies that an unspecified naziriteship extends for thirty days, and by way of the verbal analogy, this is applied to mourning as well.” (daf 19b, Sefaria.org translation)

What happens when Shabbat or a holiday intersects with the week of mourning? Since every week of mourning will have a Shabbat, the Shabbat is counted as one of the seven days, but does not nullify shiva. What about a holiday? “MISHNA: One who buries his deceased relative three days before a pilgrimage Festival has the decree of the seven-day period of mourning, i.e., the halakhot and prohibitions associated with that period, nullified for him by the Festival. He is not required to complete this seven-day mourning period after the Festival. If one buries his deceased relative eight days before a pilgrimage Festival, then the decree of thirty days is nullified for him. The restrictions that ordinarily apply during this thirty-day mourning period no longer apply after the Festival.” (Daf 19a, Sefaria.org translation)

The Mishnah represents Beit Shammai’s view but the halakha is according to Beit Hillel which is more lenient. If a person sat any amount of shiva before the holiday, the holiday nullifies the rest of shiva. “Ravina happened to come to the city of Sura on the banks of the Euphrates River. Rav Ḥaviva said to Ravina: What is the halakha with regard to this issue? He said to him: Even one day, and even one hour. (Meaning if a person sat any portion of shiva before the onset of the holiday, the rest of shiva is nullified-gg) ” (daf 20a, Sefaria.org translation) However, if the deceased is buried any time during the holiday, both shiva and sheloshim are postponed until after the holiday.

The last concept I wish to teach you is part of the day is considered like the entire day as the Gemara teaches, “Abba Shaul maintains that the legal status of part of the day is like that of an entire day, מִקְצָת הַיּוֹם כְּכוּלּוֹ…And the Sages of Neharde’a say: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Abba Shaul with regard to both the seventh day and the thirtieth day, for Shmuel said: The halakha follows the statement of the more lenient authority in matters relating to mourning (daf 19b, Sefaria.org translation)

People ask me when they may get up from shiva erev Shabbat or on the seventh day of shiva. Concerning erev Shabbat, one may get up any part of the day so that he has enough time to prepare appropriately for Shabbat. On the last day of shiva, the custom is to get up after the morning services. In both cases we say that the legal status of part of the day is like that of the entire day.

That’s enough halakha to wrap one’s head around for today. More laws tomorrow.