Moed Katan

and that is [exactly] what is taught [in a Baraitha]: If one buries his dead three days before a festival his restrictions of the seven fall away;1 if eight days before a festival his restrictions of the thirty fall away;1 and he crops [his hair] on the day before the festival.2 If he had not cropped himself on the day before the festival, he is forbidden to crop himself after the festival.3 Abba Saul says, He is permitted to crop himself after the festival; for just as the ‘[observed] obligation4 of three’ [days] quashes the restriction of the seven’5 so does the ‘[observed] obligation of seven’ quash the ‘restrictions of thirty’.6 [You Say, ‘The observed obligation of] seven’? But we learned [in our Mishnah] ‘eight’ [days before the festival]! — Abba Saul maintains the view that part of a day is [reckoned] as an entire day and [here] the seventh day [of mourning] enters into the count both this way and that.7 R. Hisda, as citing Rabina son of Shela, said the halachah follows the opinion of Abba Saul;8 and the Sages concur with Abba Saul that when his eighth day comes on a Sabbath which is the day before a festival he is permitted to crop himself [even] in the Friday.9 Whose opinion is followed in the statement in which R. Amram, citing Rab, said: ‘[As to] the mourner, as soon as the comforters have risen to depart from his house, he is permitted to bathe’? Whose view [is it]? — It is Abba Saul's [view]. Said Abaye, The halachah follows Abba Saul's view in regard to the seventh day [of mourning] and the Sages concur with Abba Saul in regard to the thirtieth day [of mourning] that we say, part of the day is regarded as the whole day. Raba said, The halachah follows Abba Saul's view in regard to the thirtieth day, but in regard to the seventh day the halachah does not follow the view of Abba Saul. And the Nehardeans10 say the halachah follows Abba Sauls view in both instances, because Samuel stated that in matters appertaining to mourning the halachah is to follow the view of the more lenient authority. Whence [in Scripture] do we derive the term of thirty days [of mourning]? — It is obtained by an analogy11 between two texts which have in common the term pera’ used [in connection] with mourning12 and again used [in connection] with the Nazirite,13 [namely]: Here [in the law about mourning] it is written, Let not the hair of your heads grow long [tifra'u];12 an there [in the law of the Nazirite] it is written: He shall let the locks of the hair of his head [pera’] grow long.13 Just as the period there [for the Nazirite] is thirty days, so also here [for the mourner] it is thirty days. And whence do we derive it there? — Said R. Mattena: An unspecified Nazirite-vow is [binding] for thirty days. What is the reason? The text there reads: He shall be [Yihyeh] holy;14 the [consonant] letter value of Yihyeh being [ten + five + ten + five] thirty. Said R. Huna the son of R. Joshua,15 [Authorities] all accept the view that when the third day [of mourning] occurs on the day before the festival the mourner is forbidden to wash [his whole body]16 till the evening.17 Said R. Nehemiah the son of R. Joshua: I once found R. Pape and R. Papa sitting together and stating that the halachah is in accordance with the statement of R. Huna the son of Joshua. Some report it thus: R. Nehemiah the son of R. Joseph said, I once found R. Pape, R. Papa and R. Huna the son of R. Joshua sitting together and stating that all are agreed that when the third day occurs on the day before a festival, the mourner is forbidden to bathe till the evening. Abaye enquired of Rabbah: What if one buried his dead during the festival? Does the festival enter into his counting of the thirty days, or does the festival not enter into his counting of the thirty days?18 I am not asking about [counting the festival as part of] the seven days, because the ‘due observance of seven [days of mourning] does not obtain during the festival;19 but what I do ask is about the period of thirty days, because the ‘due observance of thirty days does [partly] obtain during the festival;20 what [is your view]? — He [Rabbah] replied, The [days of the] festival do not enter into the counting. [Thereupon] he put to him an objection from [the following]: If one buried his dead two days before the festival, he counts five [supplementary] days after the festival,21 and his work is done [for him] by others; his men-servants and maid-servants do [their domestic] work quietly indoors, privily; and the public do not [need to] condole formally22 with him departed, in contrast to the vrhzd , the restrictive aspect of mourning. regimen. Toledoth II, p. 919. go loose, i.e., not to grow freely or long. (part-inclusive) for lamenting with abstention from work and attention to the person; then (iii) down to the thirtieth day (part-inclusive) in slightly mitigated formal mourning. begun, there was as yet no part to be taker, into account.