משנה: רָחַץ לַיְלָה רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁמֵּתָה אִשְׁתּוֹ. אָֽמְרוּ לוֹ תַלְמִידָיו לִימַּדְתָּנוּ רַבֵּנוּ שֶׁאָבֵל אָסוּר לִרְחוֹץ. אָמַר לָהֶן אֵינִי כִשְׁאָר כָּל־בְּנֵי אָדָם אִיסְטְנֵיס אָנִי. MISHNAH: He275Rabban Gamliel. took a bath in the first night after his wife died. His students said to him: Did you, our teacher, not teach us that the mourner may not take a bath. He said to them: I am not like most other people, I am asthenic276Greek ἀσθενής. Medical considerations, even if no life-threatening situation is involved, always have precedence over the rules of mourning..
הלכה: מַאן תַּנָּא אָבֵל אָסוּר בִּרְחִיצָה כָל־שִׁבְעָה רִבִּי נָתָן. רִבִּי אַמִּי הֲוָה לֵיהּ עוּבְדָּא וְשָׁאַל לְרִבִּי חִייָא בַּר בָּא וְהוֹרֵי לֵיהּ כָּל־שִׁבְעָה כְרִבִּי נָתָן. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי הֲוָה לֵיהּ עוּבְדָּא וְשָׁאַל לְרִבִּי בָּא בַּר כֹּהֵן לְגַבֵּי רִבִּי אָחָא אָמַר לֵיהּ לֹא כֵן [אִלְפָּן רִבִּי]. רִבִּי אַמִּי הַוָּה לֵיהּ עוּבְדָּא וְשָׁאַל לְרֵישׁ לָקִישׁ וְהוֹרֵי לֵיהּ כְּרִבִּי נָתָן כָּל־שִׁבְעָה. אָמַר לֵיהּ דִּילְמָא תְּרֵין עוּבְדִּין אִינּוּן. אֲנָן אָֽמְרִין לֵיהּ עַל דְּרִבִּי חִייָא בַּר בָּא. וְאַתּוּן אָמְרִין לֵיהּ עַל דְּרֵישׁ לָקִישׁ. וְעוֹד מִן הֲדָא רִבִּי חָמָא אָבוֹי דְּרִבִּי אוֹשַׁעְיָא הֲוָה לֵיהּ עוּבְדָּא שָׁאַל לְרַבָּנָן וְאָֽסְרוּן. HALAKHAH: Who277This entire discussion belongs to the third chapter of tractate Moëd Qaṭan (Halakhah 5, fol. 62d). There are some textual differences between the two texts, an occurrence rare in the Yerushalmi. But in fact the deviations of the text here from its original in Moëd Qaṭan are all scribal or printer’s errors, as is shown from the Rome ms. and the Genizah fragments. Therefore, the text here follows the Moëd Qaṭan text wherever there is manuscript evidence from Berakhot to support that version. stated that the mourner is forbidden to take a bath during the entire seven days? Rebbi Nathan278Usually known as Nathan the Babylonian, a Babylonian from the Davidic family, second in the Synhedrion under Rabban Simeon ben Gamliël.. Something happened to Rebbi Ammi279A close relative of Rebbi Ammi died, for whom he had to mourn for seven days., he asked Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba who instructed him “all seven days following Rebbi Nathan”. Something happened to Rebbi Yose280The fourth generation Amora. It seems that Rebbi Yose felt uncomfortable with the prohibition of bathing; he sent one of his students to ask Rebbi Aḥa, the greatest authority in Lydda, in Judea. In the next section, it will be seen that in the South, in Judea, one did not follow Rebbi Nathan and allowed bathing for the mourner. Nevertheless, Rebbi Aḥa did not want to interfere with the prohibition accepted in Galilee and answered not with his own opinion but with a note that Rebbi Yose himself had taught about two cases where the question had come up in Galilee and was answered in the sense of Rebbi Nathan.; he sent Rebbi Abba bar Cohen to Rebbi Aḥa; he said to him: Rebbi, did you not so teach us that something happened to Rebbi Ammi, he asked Resh Laqish281Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish; the abbreviation “Resh Laqish” is standard in the Babli but very infrequent in the Yerushalmi. The abbreviation probably is that of a lazy copyist. who instructed him “all seven days following Rebbi Nathan”. He said to him282Rebbi Yose to Rebbi Aḥa, that maybe this was only one occasion reported under two different names and, therefore, represents only the opinion of one teacher and not a generally accepted rule that would need at least two supporting authorities., maybe these were two separate incidents, we say it in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, you say it in the name of Resh Laqish. And also from the following283This is Rebbi Aḥa’s answer: Even if you do not agree that Rebbi Ammi asked twice, for two different cases of mourning, and was given the same answer by two different authorities, I have a completely independent occurrence in which Galilean rabbis gave the same ruling and, therefore, you have to accept it.: Something happened to Rebbi Ḥama284He is the third generation Amora, father of Rebbi Oshaya the second., father of Rebbi Oshaya, he asked the rabbis and they forbade it.
רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בָּעֵי אִיילֵּן רַבָּנָן. רַבָּנָן דְּהָכָא אוֹ רַבָּנָן דְּרוֹמַיָּא. אִין תֵּימַר רַבָּנָן דְּהָכָא נִיחָא. אִין תֵּימַר רַּבָּנָן דְּרוֹמַיָּא. רַבְרְבַייָא קוֹמוֹי וְהוּא שָׁאַל לִזְעִירַייָא. אִין תֵּימַר רַבָּנָן דְּרוֹמַיָּיא אִינּוּן שָֽׁרְיָין וְאִינּוּן אָֽסְרִין. דְּתַנִּי מָקוֹם שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ לְהַרְחִיץ אַחַר הַמִּיטָּה מַרְחִיצִין וּבְדָרוֹם מַרְחִיצִין. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּי רִבִּי אָבוּן מִי שֶׁהוּא מַתִּיר אֶת הָֽרְחִיצָה הַזֹּאת עוֹשֶׂה אוֹתָהּ בַּאֲכִילָה וּשְׁתִיָּיה. Rebbi Yose asked, which rabbis285Rebbi Yose is not satisfied with the second source of Rebbi Aḥa since it speaks of unspecified “rabbis” whose place and importance, as a precedent in Galilee, is indeterminate.? The rabbis here or the rabbis in the South? If you say the rabbis of here, it is fine286This is Rebbi Aḥa’s answer: Since the questioner is Galilean and all the important Academies were in Galilee at his time, it is unreasonable to assume that “the rabbis” were Southerners whose opinion, as a minority opinion, would not count as precedent.. If you would say the rabbis from the South, would he have asked minor authorities when greater ones were before him? If you say the rabbis of the South, some of them would allow and some of them would forbid, as we have stated: “At a place where it is customary to bathe after a funeral, one may bathe; in the South one bathes.” Rebbi Yose bar Abun said: He who permits that bath makes it like eating and drinking287According to Ramban (Writings, ed. Chavel, p. 175–176), Rebbi Yose bar Abun restricts the bathing to the aftermath of the funeral and says that in the same way that the mourner must have his first meal prepared for him by his relatives and friends, so his relatives and friends must cleanse him after the funeral from dust and germs (שיבתא). Hence, where it is customary, e. g. in the South, the mourner can have one bath, prepared by others, just after the funeral but is forbidden to have another one for the rest of the period of mourning. It then is difficult to understand the question of Rabban Gamliel’s students. Ramban writes that either he lived in a community where that bath was not customary or he was not satisfied with the cold bath prepared for him but took a full warm bath with following rubbing with oil for his asthenic condition..
הֲדָא דְתֵימַר בִּרְחִיצָה שֶׁל תַּעֲנוֹג. אֲבָל בִּרְחִיצָה שֶׁאֵינָהּ שֶׁל תַּעֲנוֹג מוּתָּר. כַּהֲדָא דִשְׁמוּאֵל בַּר אַבָּא עָלוּ בוֹ חַטָּטִין אָתוּן שַׁייְלוּן לְרִבִּי יָסָא מַהוּ דְיַסְחֵי. אָמַר לוֹן דְּלָא יַסְחֵי מַייִת הוּא. אִין בָּעֵי אֲפִילוּ בְתִשְׁעָה בְאַב. אִין בָּעֵי אֲפִילוּ בְיוֹם הַכִּיפּוּרִים. That means, about a bath for pleasure. But a bath that is not for pleasure is permitted288This is in keeping with Rabban Gamliel’s ruling, that every medically indicated bath is permitted.. An example is the case of Samuel bar Abba who developed scab. They came and asked Rebbi Yose, what is the rule, may he bathe? He said to them: If he does not bathe, would he not die289The author of Sepher Ḥaredim takes this as hyperbole since in case of danger to life everything is permitted except murder, incest, and idolatry; he does not consider the remark of Rebbi Yose a restriction on the use of any medically indicated bath.? If he needs it, even on the Ninth of Av. If he needs it, even on Yom Kippur290On both days, formal washing is forbidden. The rule is quoted in Babli Yoma 77b..
רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בְּרִבִּי חֲנִינָא רָאוּ אוֹתוֹ טוֹבֵל. אִם לְקֵרוּיוֹ לֹא יָֽדְעִין אִם לְהָקֵר גוּפוֹ שֶׁאֵין רְחִיצַת צוֹנֵין רְחִיצָה לֹא יָֽדְעִין. They saw Rebbi Yose, son of Rebbi Ḥanina291One of the first students of Rebbi Yoḥanan, preceding the other authorities mentioned up to now., immersing himself. They did not know whether it was for his emission292An emission of semen which requires immersion in a ritual bath as explained in the next chapter. Marital relations are forbidden for the mourner during the entire seven days of mourning., they did not know whether it was to cool down because bathing in cold water is not called bathing293It remains undecided whether taking a cold bath during the mourning period is permitted or not. The Babylonian authorities in the Babli (Taänit 13a) declare that a cold bath is forbidden to a mourner (and, therefore, on the Ninth of Av) but is allowed on fast days (in a year of draught) when the emphasis is on deprivation..
הוֹרֵי רִבִּי בָּא כְהֵין תַּנְיָא. הוֹרֵי רִבִּי אָחָא בְּבָא מִן הַדֶּרֶךְ וְהָיוּ רַגְלָיו קֵיהוֹת עָלָיו שֶׁמּוּתָּר לְהַרְחִיצָן בַּמַּיִם. Rebbi Abba taught like that which was stated294This statement does not belong here but either in the last chapter of Yoma (fol. 44d) or the first chapter of Taäniot: “When somebody goes (on the Ninth of Av or Yom Kippur) to see his teacher and has to pass a river on the way, he crosses it without compunction.” The statement is given here to show that, in fact, taking a cold bath by walking through the ford of a river, is no infringement of the prohibition of taking a bath on these fast days.. Rebbi Aḥa taught about him who comes from the road295A family member who comes to observe the period of mourning with the family but arrives only after the funeral when the rest of the family already is in full mourning. This ruling of Rebbi Aḥa is not restricted to the place where one allows a bath for the mourner but falls under the heading of medical necessity.
This ruling introduces subsequent statements concerning a mourner on a trip, or people on a trip who meet mourners. and his feet ache that he is permitted to wash them with water.
תַּנִּי אָבֵל וּמְנוּדֶּה שֶׁהָיוּ מְהַלְּכִין בַּדֶּרֶךְ מוּתָּרִין בִּנְעִילַת הַסַּנְדָּל. לִכְשֶׁיָּבוֹאוּ אֶל הָעִיר יַחֲלוֹצוּ. וְכֵן בְּתִשְׁעָה בְאַב וְכֵן בְּתַעֲנִית צִיבּוּר. It has been stated: “A mourner and one banned296One put in the ban by rabbinical authority for improper behavior, who should show the signs of mourning. on a trip are permitted to wear sandals297Even though mourners are not allowed to wear leather shoes or sandals. This again is a medical exemption.. When they come to town they should remove them. The same holds for the Ninth of Av and public fasts298The fast days proclaimed in the Land of Israel during a draught, when all the deprivations of Yom Kippur are also in force. The only fast day in the diaspora where these rules also apply is the Ninth of Av..”
תַּנִּי בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ לִשְׁאוֹל אֲבֵילִים בְּשַׁבָּת שׁוֹאֲלִין. וּבְדָרוֹם שׁוֹאֲלִין. רִבִּי הוֹשַׁעְיָא רוּבָּא אֲזַל לְחַד אֲתָר וַחֲזָא אֲבֵילַיָּא בְשׁוּבְתָּא וּשְׁאִיל בּוֹן. אָמַר לוֹן אֲנִי אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ מִנְהַג מְקוֹמְכֶם. אֶלָּא שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם כְּמִנְהַג מְקוֹמֵינוּ. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּי רִבִּי חֲלַפְתָּא מְשַׁבֵּחַ בִּדְרִבִּי מֵאִיר קוֹמֵי צִיפּוֹרָאֵי אָדָם גָּדוֹל אָדָם קָדוֹשׁ אָדָם צָנוּעַ. חַד זְמָן חֲמָא אֲבֵלַיָּיא בְשׁוּבְתָּא וּשְׁאַל בּוֹן. אָמְרִין לֵיהּ אֲהֵן דְּאַתְּ מַתְנֵי שְׁבָחֵיהּ. אָמַר לוֹן מַה עִיסְקֵיהּ. אָמְרִין לֵיהּ חֲמָא אֲבֵילַיָּיא בְשׁוּבְתָּא וּשְׁאַל בּוֹן. אָמַר לוֹן בָּֽעְאֵי אַתּוּן מֵידָע מַהוּ חֵילֵיהּ בָּא לְהוֹדִיעֲכֶם שֶׁאֵין אֵבֶל בְּשַׁבָּת. הֲדָא הִיא דִּכְתִיב בִּרְכַת י֙י הִיא תַעֲשִׁיר זוּ בִרְכַת שַׁבָּת. וְלֹא יוֹסִיף עֵצֶב עִמָּהּ זוּ אֲבֵילוּת. כְּמָה דְתֵימָא נֶעֱצָב הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל בְּנוֹ. It is stated: “In a place where one is used to greet mourners299Wishing them well. on the Sabbath one may do so. In the South one does greet.” The great Rebbi Oshaya300One of the foremost students of Rebbi, the compiler of the Mishnah, and of Rebbi Ḥiyya. He was from the region of Lod in the South, but he studied in Galilee. In his story, the Aramaic verb for “to see” is חזי in Southern (and Babylonian) Aramaic. In the following story about Rebbi Yose from Galilee, the corresponding verb is Galilean Aramaic חמי. went to some place, saw there mourners on the Sabbath and greeted them. He said to them: “I do not know the custom of your place, but be greeted according the custom of our place.” Rebbi Yose, son of Rebbi Ḥalaphta, praised Rebbi Meïr before the people of Sepphoris: A great, holy, and meek man. At some time, he saw mourners on the Sabbath and greeted them. They said to him301In this entire story, the singular refers to Rebbi Yose (the Tanna) and the plural to the people of Sepphoris. We learn that in the region of Sepphoris, lower Galilee, is was not customary to console mourners on the Sabbath. From the conclusion we may infer that under the influence of Rabbis Yose and Meïr the custom of the South was adopted also in Galilee. The disagreement between the people in the South (Judea) and North (Galilee) is also discussed in the Babli (Megillah 23a,b); according to that source the dispute was only settled in favor of the Southern stance in the days of Rebbi Yoḥanan.: Is that the one whose praise you proclaim302Because he seems to be an ignoramus.? He said to them, what are his works? They said to him, he saw mourners on the Sabbath and greeted them. He said to them: you have to recognize his strength; he comes to make you aware that there is no mourning on the Sabbath. That is what is written (Prov. 10:22): “The blessing of the Lord makes rich,” that is the blessing of Sabbath, “He will not add grief to it,” that is mourning, as it is said (2Sam. 19:3): “The king is grieving about his son.”303This is a lexicographical note about the meaning of the root עצב, which as a verb either means “to grieve, to be pained”, connected with Arabic ע̇צ̇ב, or “to form, create”, close to Arabic עצ̇ב. As a noun, one usually distinguishes עֶצֶב “pain, grief; labor, gain; vessel”, עַצָּב “worker”, and עֹצֶב “idol, pain”. Usually, the noun in the verse in Proverbs is translated by “labor”, but the explanation here substitutes the more common meaning “grief”.