Commentary for Moed Katan 44:2

על כל המתים כולן רצה חולץ רצה אינו חולץ על אביו ועל אמו חולץ

It happened once with a certain 'great man of the generation' whose father had died, that he desired to bare [his shoulder],<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For a Hakam (doyen) , the (shoulder and) right hand are bared; for the president of the Beth din, the (shoulder and) left hand are bared; for the Nasi both (shoulders and) hands are bared. It happened, when R. Eliezer died, that R. Akiba bared 'both his hands' (arms) and beat his breast till it was bleeding and he said: my father, my father, the chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. (II Kings, II, 12) . Sem. IX. Cf. infra 22b.');">³</span> and [another] 'great man of the generation' that was with him desired to bare his too, and on that account he [the mourner] refrained and did not bare [his shoulder].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Here the series of citations from Sem. IX is interrupted by an observation of historical interest.');">⁴</span>

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