Today’s daf TB Nazir 65 is the penultimate daf in our massekhet. Interestingly enough we move away from the world of nazir and learn about other topics. Nevertheless, today’s topics are tangential to a nazir.
The first Mishna
on our daf discusses the definition
of a cemetery. “MISHNA: One who finds a corpse for the first
time, i.e., he discovers a single corpse in a place that was not previously
established as a cemetery, if the corpse is lying in the usual manner
of Jewish burial, he removes it from there and also its
surrounding earth. It is assumed that this corpse was buried there alone.
There is no concern that this area is a cemetery and therefore the corpse may
not be moved, nor does one take into account the possibility that another
corpse may be buried in the vicinity.
“Similarly, if he found two corpses, he removes them and their surrounding earth. In a case where he found three corpses, if there is a space between this corpse and that corpse of four to eight cubits, in a standard design, this is a graveyard. There is a concern that this might be an ancient cemetery.
“One must therefore examine from that spot outward for twenty cubits. If one finds another corpse at the end of twenty cubits, he examines from that spot outward twenty cubits, as there is a basis for anticipating the matter. It is likely that he has stumbled upon an ancient gravesite. He is not permitted to relocate the corpses, despite the fact that if he had found the single corpse by itself at first he could have removed it and its surrounding earth.” (Sefria.org translation)
If one or two corpses are found buried outside a Jewish cemetery, we may reinter them in a Jewish cemetery. If three bodies are found, we are not allowed to disinter them. We must do a diligent search of 20 cubits in each direction for other bodies and ascertain whether we have stumbled upon an ancient Jewish cemetery.
The next Gemara teaches us forensic investigation to determine whether the bodies found were Jewish are not. From this text we can learn ancient Jewish burial practices.
“Rav
Yehuda said the following inferences from the mishna: The phrase: He found,
excludes a corpse that already had been found. If it was
known that there was one corpse buried in a certain place, the discovery of two
previously unknown corpses does not raise the concern that perhaps it is a
forgotten graveyard. Similarly, the term corpse [met] excludes a
killed [harug] person. Even if there were three corpses found, if
there are signs that these people were killed, the area is not assumed to be a
graveyard, as they may have been buried where they were found killed. Likewise,
the term lying excludes a sitting person, as Jews were not generally
buried in a seated position. The phrase: In the usual manner,
excludes one whose head was placed between his thighs, as that is
not the way Jews are buried.” (Sefaria.org translation)
What was the
reason behind reburying the deceased in a Jewish cemetery? Why not let him rest
in peace where he were found? I think the rabbis wanted to limit the area of
the Land of Israel that was considered tamei
for practical reasons. If a kohen was carrying his terumah and walked over such a grave, both he and the terumah would be tamei. He couldn’t officiate in the Temple and his terumah had to be burned. There goes his
food up in smoke. If a person wanted to offer up a sacrifice and walked over
such a grave, he could not enter the Temple because he became tamei. And we have already learned what
a nazir must do if he becomes tamei met. By reburying the dead in a Jewish cemetery, more of the land
of Israel would be tahor and a lot of
problems would be avoided
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