One who digs a sepulchral chamber for a corpse is exempt1Ber. 14b on the principle that ‘one who is engaged in a religious act is exempt from other religious duties’ (Suk. 25a). This applies even if the grave-digger is not related to the corpse — A.H. from reading the Shema, from [reciting] the Tefillah2 supra § 341, 2. and from [wearing] phylacteries and from all religious duties enjoined in the Torah. If they were two [grave-diggers] and the time for reading the Shema arrived, one comes up3Tur adds: ‘and washes his hands.’ and reads the Shema and recites the Tefillah and [then] he returns and digs and his companion comes up and reads the Shema and recites the Tefillah. [And this applies] only to a sepulchral chamber which only one person [usually] digs, but if it was a place where two people may attend to it together, they are [both] exempt.4N in T.H. Cf. infra § 403, 9.
Graves must be kept removed from a town [a distance of] fifty cubits.5Mishna B.B. 25a. On account of the bad odour. Cf. Ḥ.M. § 155, 23.