Berakhot

THOSE WHO STAND IN A ROW etc. Our Rabbis taught: The row which can see inside  is exempt, but one which cannot see inside is not exempt. R. Judah said: Those who come on account of the mourner are exempt, but those who come for their own purposes  are not exempt. R. Judah said in the name of Rab: If one finds mixed kinds  in his garment, he takes it off even in the street. What is the reason? [It says]: There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord;  wherever a profanation of God's name is involved no respect is paid to a teacher. An objection was raised: If they have buried the body and are returning, and there are two ways open to them, one clean and the other unclean,  if [the mourner] goes by the clean one they go with him by the clean one, and if he goes by the unclean one they go with him by the unclean one, out of respect for him. Why so? Let us say, There is no wisdom nor understanding against the Lord? — R. Abba explained the statement to refer to a beth ha-peras,  which is declared unclean only by the Rabbis;  for Rab Judah has said in the name of Samuel: A man may blow in front of him  in a beth ha-peras and proceed. And Rab Judah b. Ashi also said in the name of Rab: A beth ha-peras which has been well trodden is clean.  — Come and hear; for R. Eleazar b. Zadok  said: We used to leap over coffins containing bodies to see the Israelite kings.  Nor did they mean this to apply only to Israelite kings, but also to heathen kings, so that if he should be privileged [to live to the time of the Messiah], he should be able to distinguish between the Israelite and the heathen kings. Why so? Let us say, 'There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel before the Lord'? — [It is in accord with the dictum of Raba; for Raba said: It is a rule of the Torah  that a 'tent'  which has a hollow space of a handbreadth  forms a partition against uncleanness, but if it has not a hollow space of a handbreadth it forms no partition against uncleanness.  Now most coffins have a space of a handbreadth, and [the Rabbis] decreed that those which had such a space [should form no partition] for fear they should be confused with those which had no space, but where respect to kings was involved they did not enforce the decree. Come and hear. 'Great is human dignity, since it overrides a negative precept of the Torah'.  Why should it? Let us apply the rule, 'There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord? — Rab b. Shaba explained the dictum in the presence of R. Kahana to refer to the negative precept of 'thou shalt not turn aside'.  They laughed at him. The negative precept of 'thou shalt not turn aside' is also from the Torah!  Said R. Kahana: If a great man makes a statement, you should not laugh at him. All the ordinances of the Rabbis were based by them on the prohibition of 'thou shalt not turn aside'  but where the question of [human] dignity is concerned the Rabbis allowed the act. Come and hear.  And hide thyself from them.  There are times when thou mayest hide thyself from them and times when thou mayest not hide thyself from them. How so? If the man [who sees the animal] is a priest and it [the animal] is in a graveyard, or if he is an elder and it is not in accordance with his dignity [to raise it], or if his own work was of more importance than that of his fellow.  Therefore it is said, And thou shalt hide. But why so? Let us apply the rule, 'There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord'? — The case is different there, because it says expressly, And thou shalt hide thyself from them. Let us then derive from this [the rule for mixed kinds]?  — We do not derive a ritual ruling from a ruling relating to property.  Come and hear:  Or for his sister.  What does this teach us? Suppose he  was going to kill his paschal lamb or to circumcise his son, and he heard that a near relative of his had died, am I to say that he should go back and defile himself? You say, he should not defile himself.  Shall I say that just as he does not defile himself for them, so he should not defile himself for a meth mizwah?  It says significantly, 'And for his sister': for his sister he does not defile himself,