Sunday, June 1, 2014

Rosh Hashana 20

1. 20 a.  Moishum Meisaya.  Rashi's shita (not mentioned here) is unique in that he allows burial on yom tov sheni only when there is a three-day yom tov: shabbos either is the day after Yom Tov, or Yom tov starts on motzai shabbos, and the issue is the additional decay the body would undergo is the reason we're lenient.  Here are some scattered notes I have on this topic:

Why we do not bury people on Shabbos using the principle of Amirah L’akum bemakom mitzvah
Tosafos (Bava Kama 80b, s.v. Omer) says it is disgusting and degrading to be buried on Shabbat, even by a non Jew .  This idea is explained by Meshech Chochma (Devarim 5:26) as follows: Shabbos commemorates G-d’s creation if the world, while all other holidays commemorate Israel’s exodus from Egypt.  The commemoration of the creation of the world is not exclusive to the Jewish people.  Even a non Jew performing work on behalf of a Jew is disgusting, because it was done at the expense of commemorating the creation of the world.    Maybe because Shabbos commemorates the creation of the world, and burial represents the end of man, not his creation.

Melachos INvolved:
  • Rosh (siman __) says a non-Jew performs all melacha except for carrying the corpse, which is permitted for Jews based on the principle of mitoch - since carrying is permitted for certain yom tov-related activities, we permit carrying in a non- Yom tov-related activity.  Ran agrees with Ramban that Jews are permitted to perform all preparations necessary even if a non-Jew is available for those tasks.  Ran cites Rav Acha Meshabcha that a Jew is permitted to perform these tasks only if a non Jew is not available.
  • carrying the bier (mitoch)
  • techum
Beitza 6a Rava says: A corpse - on the first day of Yom Tov non-Jews should deal with it, on the second day of Yom Tov, Jews should deal with it...Mar Zutra says: this is so only when it had waited, but if ti had not waited, we wait [to bury it].  Rav Ashi said even if it did not wait we do not delay, for the Rabbis have made the second day as a weekday in regard to a corpse, even for a cloak and myrtle.  Ravina said, while there are chevri we suspect.

Rabbeinu Tam (Beitza loc. cit. S.v. Viha’idna) posits that due to non-Jews employ Jews who do not work on Shabbos and Yom Tov, if they would see Jews burying their dead on Yom Tov they will force their Jewish employees to work on Shabbos.  When people in Malone wanted to prepare a corpse for burial on the second day of Yom Tov Rabbeinu Tam vehemently disagreed.  Rabbeinu Tam’s ruling seems to be based on Ravina’s statement in Beitza.

Sanhedrin 26b cherem for burying corpses on yom tov

2.  20b.  Sod Ha'Ibur.  See my old post.
The second answer is simple: it is called sod, the secret, so it was not publicized.

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