Moed Katan 24b

מועד קטן כ״ד ע״ב

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Topic

Mourning laws for young children, counting mourning days around the festivals, and a new משנה on tearing garments and the mourner's meal

Overview

This amud first finishes a ברייתא about babies who die. It explains how they are carried out for burial and which mourning customs apply at each age. Under thirty days there is no שורה, ברכת אבלים, or תנחומי אבלים. From thirty days a small coffin is used and these customs are done. A twelve-month-old goes out on a מטה, but רבי עקיבא limits this to a child with the age or body size of a two-year-old. Two תנאים then give tests for public involvement, and the ברייתא sets the age at which a child gets a הספד. רב rules like רבי יהודה's version: from five for the poor and the elderly, and from six for the wealthy. Next the גמרא teaches that one day of mourning before עצרת plus עצרת count as fourteen days toward the שלושים. Sages objected when this was taught without naming its source, רבי אלעזר in the name of רבי אושעיא, who learns from a פסוק that עצרת is like a seven-day festival. The count is extended to ראש השנה (only according to רבן גמליאל, as רבינא explains) and to סוכות with שמיני עצרת, which make twenty-one days. A new משנה then begins about who tears garments and is served the mourner's first meal during the festival.

Opening lines

The steps (20)

1. Statementאבא שאול allows one man and two women to bury a young infant
2. StatementNo formal mourning customs for a very young infant
3. StatementA thirty-day-old infant is carried in a small coffin
4. StatementFull mourning customs for a thirty-day-old infant
5. StatementA twelve-month-old is carried on a regular bier
6. Statementרבי שמעון בן אלעזר: the public grieves for a child carried on a bier
7. Statementרבי אלעזר בן עזריה: it depends on whether the public knew the child
8. StatementFrom what age a child gets a eulogy: the first view
9. StatementA second version of the same opinion, with older ages
10. ConclusionThe הלכה follows רבי יהודה's version
11. StatementOne day before עצרת plus עצרת count as fourteen days
12. Challengeרבי אמי objects: the teaching was not given in its author's name
13. StatementThe same teaching given again in the ראש גלותא's hall
14. Challengeרב ששת makes the same objection
15. StatementThe original source: עצרת has make-up days for all seven days
16. StatementApplying the count to ראש השנה
17. StatementExtending the count to סוכות and שמיני עצרת
18. Questionרב חביבא asks רבינא about the ראש השנה rule
19. Responseרבינא: I only said it is logical according to רבן גמליאל
20. StatementNew משנה: who tears garments and how the mourner's meal is served