Moed Katan 53

אם יכול למעט בעסקו ימעט ואם לאו יגלגל עמהן

if he can reduce his business affairs, he should do so, and if not, let him carry on with them [as best he may]. Our Rabbis taught: When do mourners overturn the beds?

תנו רבנן מאימתי כופין את המטות משיצא מפתח ביתו דברי ר' אליעזר רבי יהושע אומר משיסתם הגולל

From the moment [the corpse] is taken from the house: these are the words of R'Eliezer; R'Joshua Says, From the moment that the rolling slab<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' , a stone rolling in a groove to close a tomb.');">¹</span> closes the tomb.

מעשה שמת רבן גמליאל הזקן כיון שיצא מפתח ביתו אמר להם רבי אליעזר כפו מטותיכם וכיון שנסתם הגולל אמר להם רבי יהושע כפו מטותיכם אמרו לו כבר כפינו על פי זקן

It happened [when] Rabban Gamaliel the Elder<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Rightly omitted in J. Ber. and J.M.K. (loc. cit.) , as this could be only Rabban Gamaliel II (of Jabne) . R. Eliezer's brother-in-law. Cf. B.M. 59b');">²</span> died, as soon as he was taken out of the door of his house, R'Eliezer said to them,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To his wife Imma Shalom, Rabban Gamaliel's sister and others in the house. J. Ber. and J.M.K.: 'To his disciples'.');">³</span>

ת"ר מאימתי זוקפין את המטות בערב שבת מן המנחה ולמעלה אמר רבה בר הונא אף על פי כן אינו יושב עליה עד שתחשך ולמוצאי שבת אע"פ שאין לו לישב אלא יום אחד חוזר וכופה

Overturn your beds. And after the 'rolling slab' had been placed [to close the tomb] R'Joshua said to them:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To his wife Imma Shalom, Rabban Gamaliel's sister and others in the house. J. Ber. and J.M.K.: 'To his disciples'.');">³</span>

תנו רבנן הכופה מטתו לא מטתו בלבד הוא כופה אלא כל מטות שיש לו בתוך ביתו הוא כופה ואפילו יש לו עשר מטות בעשרה מקומות כופה את כולן ואפילו חמשה אחין ומת אחד כולן כופין

'Overturn your beds'. Said they to him, 'We have already overturned them by order of the Elder' [R'Eliezer].

ואם היתה מטה המיוחדת לכלים אין צריך לכפותה דרגש אין צריך לכפותו אלא זוקפו רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר דרגש מתיר את קרביטיו והוא נופל מאיליו

Our Rabbis taught: When do they place the beds in erect position on the [approaching] eve of the Sabbath? From the time of the evening offering<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., 3.30 p.m. The Minhah was a meal-offering which accompanied the 'daily offerings', morning and afternoon. Num. XXVIII, 5, 8.');">⁴</span>

מאי דרגש אמר עולא ערסא דגדא

onwards'. Said Rabbah son of Huna,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Asheri read, 'Rabba b. 'Ulla'.');">⁵</span>

אמר ליה רבה אלא מעתה גבי מלך דתנן כל העם מסובים על הארץ והוא מיסב על הדרגש מי איכא מידי דעד האידנא לא אותביניה והשתא מותבינן ליה

Nevertheless he [the mourner] does not sit down on it until it gets dark, and on the termination of the Sabbath, although he may have but one day [more] to sit [in mourning] he overturns it again.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To remind him that he is still a mourner within the seven days. J.M.K. III, 5.');">⁶</span> Our Rabbis taught: One who [has to] overturn his bed, over turns not his own bed alone, but all the beds he has in the house;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'His own as well as those of his wife and children, who observe mourning in the house out of deference to him, but not those of strangers staying in the house'. Raabad, cited in Asheri.');">⁷</span>

מתקיף לה רב אשי מאי קושיא מידי דהוה אאכילה ושתיה דעד האידנא לא אוכליניה ולא אשקיניה השתא אוכליניה ואשקיניה

even though he has ten beds in ten places, he overturns them all.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If he occupies any of those, even away from the place where the death had taken place (Asheri) . Cf. Sem. XI.');">⁸</span> And even if there be five brothers one of whom died, they all overturn [their beds].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If they sleep in their own homes.');">⁹</span>

אלא אי קשיא הא קשיא (דתנן) דרגש אינו צריך לכפותו אלא זוקפו ואי ערסא דגדא אמאי אינו צריך לכפותו הא (תנן) הכופה מטתו לא מטתו בלבד הוא כופה אלא כל מטות שיש לו בתוך ביתו כופה

If, however, it be a bed specially set apart fo vestments,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A kind of sofa or couch like our ottomans, for clothes or coverlets; i.e., one not used for sleeping.');">¹⁰</span> that one need not be overturned.

ומאי קשיא מידי דהוה אמטה המיוחדת לכלים דתניא אם היתה מטה המיוחדת לכלים אינו צריך לכפותה

A dargesh<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' An elaborate couch, explained and discussed below at length.');">¹¹</span> [couch] need not be overturned, but should be tilted up;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To make it uncomfortable for sleeping or sitting on it.');">¹²</span>

אלא אי קשיא הא קשיא רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר דרגש מתיר קרביטיו והוא נופל מאיליו ואי סלקא דעתך ערסא דגדא מאי קרביטין אית ליה

Rabban Simeon B'Gamaliel says, [In the case of] a dargesh [it is enough if] he loosens the bolster-frame and lets it drop [down] of its own accord. What is a dargesh? - Said 'Ulla, It is a Couch of Fortune.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Among non-Jews. Among the Romans the lectus genialis was a symbolical, ornamental marriage-bed placed on the day of marriage in the front hall, the atrium, (as the bride's domain) . 'Genialis lectus, qui nuptiis sternitur in honorem genii' quoted by Becker, Gallus, Excursus I (on Woman and Roman Marriage) p. 166. Cf. ibid. p. 154.');">¹³</span>

כי אתא רבין אמר ליה ההוא מרבנן ורב תחליפא בר מערבא שמיה דהוה שכיח בשוקא דגילדאי מאי דרגש ערסא דצלא

Said Rabbah to him: But then [how does that] meaning fit the ruling in reference to a king, for we learned:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sanh. 20a.');">¹⁴</span> '[And when they provide for him the mourner's repast] all the people recline [at the repast ] on the ground while the king sits on the dargesh'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that the king does not go down to the level of the people and sit with them.');">¹⁵</span>

איתמר נמי אמר ר' ירמיה דרגש סירוגו מתוכו מטה סירוגה על גבה

Is there any reason why he should now be seated on [a special couch] which he had hitherto not been able to sit on?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., how call dargesh possibly mean a 'Couch of Fortune'? It can only mean a couch other than the ordinary, for the king.');">¹⁶</span> To this question R'Ashi demurred, [saying]: What is this difficulty?

אמר רבי יעקב בר אחא אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי הלכה כרבן שמעון בן גמליאל (איתמר נמי) אמר רבי יעקב בר אחא אמר רבי אסי מטה שנקליטיה יוצאין זוקפה ודיו

It may be just as exceptional as eating and drinking [with the king], because heretofore they [the people] did not provide for him food and drink, whereas now [in his mourning] they do provide for him food and drink! But, if difficulty there be [in the offered explanation] it arises from what is taught: 'There is no need to overturn a dargesh, but he [merely] tilts it up'. Now if dargesh be a 'Couch of Fortune' why is there no need to overturn it, surely it is taught: 'One who [has to] overturn his bed overturns not his own bed alone but all the beds he has in his house! And what is this difficulty?

תנו רבנן ישן על גבי כסא על גבי אודייני גדולה על גבי קרקע לא יצא ידי חובתו אמר רבי יוחנן שלא קיים כפיית המטה

Why, a dargesh is similar to a bed specially set apart for vestments,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Not for sleeping.');">¹⁷</span> as it is taught [there]: 'If it be a bed specially set apar vestments, that need not be overturned'.

תנו רבנן מכבדין ומרביצין בבית האבל ומדיחין קערות וכוסות וצלוחיות וקיתוניות בבית האבל ואין מביאין את המוגמר ואת הבשמים לבית האבל

But if difficulty there be [in the explanation] it is this [from what i taught there]: 'Rabban Simeon B'Gamaliel says, [In the case of] a dargesh [it is enough if] he unfastens the inner bolster-frame and lets it drop [down]'. Now if you suppose that dargesh means a 'Couch of Fortune' , what bolster-frame is there [at all]?

איני והא תני בר קפרא אין מברכין לא על המוגמר ולא על הבשמים בבית האבל ברוכי הוא דלא מברכין הא אתויי מייתי'

When Rabin came [home from Palestine] he said, One of the Rabbis whose name is R'Tahlifa the Palestinian, who used to frequent the leather-mart, told me: What is a dargesh? It is [said he] a couch covered with a hide.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., a bedstead with a hide thrown on girths or stretched on the frame which serves as a mattress or bolster. So Han., v. Becker's Charicles, Scene VIII, n. 8 (Eng. Trans. p. 136) .');">¹⁸</span>

לא קשיא הא בבית האבל הא בבית המנחמין:

It has also been stated: R'Jeremiah said,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In J.M.K. III, 5 we have: 'Where the interlacing (girths) are attached to the body (i.e., the frame of the bedstead itself) it is a bed; where the interlacing is not attached to the body (i.e., that the mattress-frame is a separate piece, the grabatus) it is a dargesh. Cf. further the notes on the discussion of the MISHNAH:');">¹⁹</span> In a dargesh the interlacing<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Horace's tenta cubilia.');">²⁰</span>

<big><strong>מתני׳</strong></big> אין מוליכין לבית האבל לא בטבלא ולא באסקוטלא ולא בקנון אלא בסלים ואין אומרים ברכת אבלים במועד אבל עומדין בשורה ומנחמין ופוטרין את הרבים

[of the girths] is on the inside; in a bed [couch] the interlacing [of the girths] is on the outside'. Said R'Jacob B'as reporting R'Joshua B'Levi: The halachah follows the opinion of R'Simeon B'Gamaliel.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That it is enough, in the case of a dargesh, if he unfastens the inner bolsterframe and lets it drop down. hyhkeb');">²¹</span>

אין מניחין את המטה ברחוב שלא להרגיל את ההספד ולא של נשים לעולם מפני הכבוד:

Also this, R'Jacob B'Ala is to have said as reporting R'Assi that where a couch has projecting lean-backs,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' = **, lit. , 'something to lean back on'; here are meant head-rests and the back of a couch to support the cushions as well as the poles, at the head and the foot of a bed, to support a curtain or net. Cf. Suk. 10b.');">²²</span> it is enough if he merely tilts it up.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To show that it is not in use and does not need to be overturned.');">²³</span>

<big><strong>גמ׳</strong></big> תנו רבנן בראשונה היו מוליכין בבית האבל עשירים בקלתות של כסף ושל זהב ועניים בסלי נצרים של ערבה קלופה והיו עניים מתביישים התקינו שיהו הכל מביאין בסלי נצרים של ערבה קלופה מפני כבודן של עניים

Our Rabbis taught: If he slept [during the seven days] on a chair, or on a large bench for water-jugs<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The Roman urnariun, a low oblong bench or kitchen-table, used for keeping near to hand urns, water vessels and other earthenware utensils hbhhrut hhrbrut and out of the way of being broker. for is the correct rendering and this meaning of the word fits all the parallel passages.');">²⁴</span> or [even] on the ground.

תנו רבנן בראשונה היו משקין בבית האבל עשירים בזכוכית לבנה ועניים בזכוכית צבועה והיו עניים מתביישין התקינו שיהו הכל משקין בזכוכית צבועה מפני כבודן של עניים

he has not discharged his duty.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' J.M.K. III, 5 explains the context: 'If he said, I am not going to up turn the bed, for behold, I shall sleep on a bench, they do not listen to him, because he said, " i="" am="" not="" going="" to="" upturn="" the="" bed";="" but="" if="" he="" said,="" lo,="" bed="" .="" they="" do="" listen="" him'.');"="">²⁵</span> Said R'Johanan: [He has not discharged his duty] because he has not conformed to [the practice of] overturning the bed.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. Sem. XI, (end) . 'But they say to him, There is the Mizwah (duty) of upturning'.');">²⁶</span>

בראשונה היו מגלין פני עשירים ומכסין פני עניים מפני שהיו מושחרין פניהן מפני בצורת והיו עניים מתביישין התקינו שיהו מכסין פני הכל מפני כבודן של עניים

Our Rabbis taught: We may sweep or strew<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' With sawdust or said.');">²⁷</span> [the floors] in a house of mourning and wash dishes, cups, jugs and wine-goblets<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' and ** a Lacoman earthen drinking vessel or goblet.');">²⁸</span>

בראשונה היו מוציאין עשירים בדרגש ועניים

in a house of mourning; but do not bring perfumes<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Spices to be burnt on 'coals' in fumigation pans.');">²⁹</span> or spices into a house of mourning. But this is not [correct]? For Bar Kappara taught: One should not say a benediction for [enjoying the scent of] perfumery or spices in a house of mourning, which implies that while we do not say a benediction, they may yet be taken into the house? - That presents no difficulty: the former ruling is for the house of mourning,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' While the corpse is still in the house; it suggests that the dead is objectionable. Cf. Baraitha on the next MISHNAH:');">³⁰</span> while the latter ruling is for the house of comforters.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., after the burial, when comforters come in to visit and condole with the mourner.');">³¹</span> <big><b>MISHNAH: </b></big>[PROVISIONS]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'The mourners fare'.');">³²</span> SHOULD NOT BE CONVEYED TO THE HOUSE OF MOURNING ON AN [ORNAMENTAL] TRAY,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Tabella or tabula.');">³³</span> SALVER,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Scutella.');">³⁴</span> OR FRUIT-BASKET,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Calathus.');">³⁵</span> BUT IN [PLAIN] BASKETS. AND THE MOURNERS BENEDICTION [IN GRACE AFTER MEALS] IS NOT SAID DURING THE FESTIVAL [WEEK]. BUT COMFORTERS MAY STAND IN A ROW AND COMFORT [THEM].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' On the cemetery after the burial, during the festival week.');">³⁶</span> AND THE MOURNERS GIVE LEAVE OF DEPARTURE TO THE MANY [COMFORTERS]. THE BIER IS NOT SET DOWN IN THE BROADWAY [DURING THE FESTIVAL WEEK] SO AS NOT TO ENCOURAGE THE [FUNERARY] LAMENT; AND THE BIER OF WOMEN IS NEVER [SET DOWN IN THE BROAD WAY] FOR THE SAKE OF PROPRIETY. <big><b>GEMARA: </b></big>Our Rabbis taught: Formerly they were wont to convey [victuals] to the house of mourning, the rich in silver and gold baskets and the poor in osier baskets of peeled willow twigs, and the poor felt shamed: they therefore instituted that all should convey [victuals] in osier baskets of peeled willow twigs out of deference to the poor. Our Rabbis taught: Formerly, they were wont to serve drinks in a house of mourning, the rich in white glass vessels and the poor in coloured glass, and the poor felt shamed: they instituted therefore that all should serve drinks in coloured glass,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Tosef. Nd. IX, 17 has: 'Then they reverted to bringing (drink) in coloured or white (glass vessels) '.');">³⁷</span> out of deference to the poor.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' MS.M. inserts: Our Rabbis taught. adrs vsucf vyn');">³⁸</span> Formerly they were wont to uncover the face of the rich and cover the face of the poor, because their faces turned livid in years of drought and th poor felt shamed; they therefore instituted that everybody's face should be covered, out of deference for the poor.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' MS.M. inserts: Our Rabbis taught. adrs vsucf vyn');">³⁸</span> Formerly. they were wont to bring out the rich [for burial] on a dargesh<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' a tall state bed, ornamented and covered with rich coverlets. V. Targum and Kimhi on Ezek. XXIII, 41 . In Lewin, Otz. ,jcuan vyn vcuaj vyn Hag. No. 208 it is explained by and SBH explains it by . Cf. Persius, Sat. III, 103, 'tandemque beatulus alto Compositus lecto...,' and at last our blessed (dead) little friend being laid out on a tall bier'. Cf. also Jos., Ant. XVII, 8, 3 (197) and War, XXXIII, 9');">³⁹</span> aid the poor