Ask A Question about the Daf

Previous daf

Moed Katan, 24

1) "ATIFAS HA'ROSH" OF AN AVEL ON SHABBOS

QUESTION: Shmuel maintains that in order to fulfill the obligation of Atifas ha'Rosh, an Avel must wrap up his head in the manner that Yishmaelim do ("Atifas Yishmaelim"). The Gemara says that according to Shmuel, on Shabbos an Avel is not allowed to walk around with Atifas ha'Rosh, because doing so is a clear act of Aveilus (which may not be observed publicly on Shabbos) since no one else walks around with his head completely wrapped. Rebbi Yochanan says that if the Avel wears shoes at the same time that he wraps his head, then the shoes give the impression that he is not an Avel and thus he may walk around with Atifas ha'Rosh on Shabbos.

RASHI (DH Ela) says that if he is wearing shoes, then he may wrap up his head in private if he wants to, even in the manner of Atifas Yishmaelim.

These words of Rashi are very difficult to understand. First, Rebbi Yochanan is the one who permits wrapping one's head if one wears shoes. But Rebbi Yochanan is the one who holds that it is necessary to observe Aveilus *in private* on Shabbos, and thus he should require an Avel to wrap his head when he is in private. Why, then, does Rashi say that if the Avel wants, he may wrap his head in private, implying that he is not required to do so? He *is* required to wrap his head in private on Shabbos! Moreover, Rashi implies that without shoes, the Avel may not wrap his head, even in private. But Rebbi Yochanan requires an Avel to wrap his head in private regardless of whether he is wearing shoes or not! (MAHARSHA)

Second, even if it would not have been Rebbi Yochanan who made this statement, what does Rashi see in the Gemara that implies that wearing shoes permits one to wrap his head *in private*? The Gemara seems to be saying that even in *public* one may wrap his head as long as he is wearing shoes!

ANSWER: In the PERUSH RABEINU GERSHOM ME'OR HA'GOLAH (from which the commentary of Rashi on this Maseches is taken), these words of Rashi do not appear in the body of the commentary, but rather they were added in the margin. Upon closer inspection, we will find that these words are actually a verbatim quote from RABEINU CHANANEL (from "Aval l'Galos" until the end of Rashi). The beginning of this quote from Rabeinu Chananel actually begins in the preceding comment of Rashi (DH Lo Shanu) from the word "b'Shabbos Tzarich l'Galos Chotmo," and the quote continues into the next comment of Rashi (DH Ela).

From the words as they appear in the commentary of Rabeinu Chananel, it is clear that Rabeinu Chananel is not referring to an Avel wearing shoes, nor is he referring to the opinion of Shmuel altogether. Rather, these words are part of Rabeinu Chananel's Halachic summary of the Sugya, and they are expressing the opinion of Rav, and not Shmuel. (See also the text of Rabeinu Chananel as printed from manuscript by RAV DAVID METZGER.) Rabeinu Chananel is ruling that even though Rav does not require that an Avel do Atifas ha'Rosh in the manner of Atifas Yishmaelim, it is best l'Chatchilah to do it that way. Regarding an Avel on Shabbos, Rabeinu Chananel learns that according to Shmuel -- who requires that an Avel do Atifas Yishmaelim -- the Chachamim suspended the requirement for Atifah on Shabbos in order that the person not look like an Avel on Shabbos, and they obligated him to uncover his head. Since the Chachamim made it mandatory for the Avel to uncover his head on Shabbos, they did not differentiate between an Avel in private and an Avel in public. Therefore, even an Avel in private may not wrap up his head.

According to Rav, however, since a regular Atifah (and not Atifas Yishmaelim) also qualifies as Atifah for an Avel, and that type of Atifah can be done inconspicuously on Shabbos even in public, the Chachamim did not require that the Avel uncover his head on Shabbos. Therefore, in private, an Avel may wrap his head even with Atifas Yishmaelim. In public, though, even Rav agrees that one should not wrap his head with Atifas Yishmaelim, because then he will stand out as an Avel.

This is the meaning of these words in Rashi here, which were erringly printed as part of the explanation of the Gemara, when they are actually a Halachic summary (taken from the words of Rabeinu Chananel).

24b

QUESTION: The Gemara says that if a person becomes an Avel one day before Shavuos, then when Shavuos passes it is considered as though fourteen days of Aveilus have passed, and the Avel counts only sixteen more days to complete his Sheloshim. This is because the Yom Tov of Shavuos annuls the Shiv'ah (as the Mishnah says on 19a), and thus the seven days of the Shiv'ah are as if they have already passed. Then, when Shavuos passes, it is as if another seven days have passed, for Shavuos is a Yom Tov with the same status as Pesach and Sukos (see RITVA), which are seven-day festivals.

Where does this second ruling come from, that one day of Shavuos is considered like seven days? If it is because it has six days of Tashlumin for its Korbanos (Chagigah 17a), then how can the day of Shavuos itself count as seven days, and then the six days that follow also count towards the Sheloshim? Those days are being counted twice!

Second, if, for some reason, a Yom Tov is considered like seven days, then Sukos should count as 27 days (the first seven days of the Shiv'ah are annulled by the Yom Tov, and then the first day of Yom Tov counts as seven day, and then there are six days of Chol ha'Mo'ed, and then Shemini Atzeres counts as seven days, for a total of 28), and not as 21 days as the Gemara says! Why do the six days of Chol ha'Mo'ed not count towards the thirty days of the Sheloshim *by themselves*, like the six days of Tashlumim following Shavuos? The Gemara says explicitly (20a) that the entire festival, including Chol ha'Mo'ed, is included in the count of thirty days of Sheloshim!

ANSWER: The TIFERES L'MOSHE (YD 399) suggests a remarkable solution. He explains that at the times of the Beis ha'Mikdash, Shavuos was considered a seven-day festival because of the six days of Tashlumin that followed the Yom Tov. Those six days that followed the Yom Tov counted towards the thirty days of Aveilus (as the Gemara says on 20a regarding Chol ha'Mo'ed). On the other hand, during those days of Tashlumin, an Avel did not observe any of the laws of Sheloshim, because on a festival the laws of Sheloshim are suspended. (This is based on what the TUR (YD 399) writes in the name of the ROSH, that one is not allowed to cut his hair or iron his clothes during Chol ha'Mo'ed not because of the laws of Sheloshim, but because of the laws of the festival, as the Gemara says at the end of 19b. The other laws of Sheloshim, such as wearing freshly pressed clothes, do not apply on Chol ha'Mo'ed at all. The RAMBAN in Toras ha'Adam, however, writes that all the laws of Sheloshim do apply during the festival, and one may not wear newly ironed clothes on Chol ha'Mo'ed. However, the Tiferes l'Moshe maintains that even the Ramban only rules this way when the Mes died on the festival itself, in which case the festival does not annul the Shiv'ah. In such a case, the restrictions of Sheloshim apply not because it is during the Sheloshim, but because it is during the *Shiv'ah*. If, however, the Mes died before the festival, and the festival annulled the Shiv'ah, then even the Ramban agrees that the laws of Sheloshim are *not* observed during the festival.)

Because of this situation, during the times of the Beis ha'Mikdash, the Avel gained seven days during which he did not have to observe the laws of Sheloshim and yet those days still counted towards the thirty days. The seven days that counted towards his Sheloshim comprised the one day of Shavu'os and the six days of Tashlumin that followed. After the Beis ha'Mikdash was destroyed, the Chachamim did not want the Avel to lose those days because of the Churban of the Beis ha'Mikdash, and therefore they said that nowadays, too, the Avel subtracts seven days from the count of thirty when Shavuos passes, and he observes seven less days of Sheloshim. That is what the Gemara here means when it says that Shavuos counts as seven days.

The Tiferes l'Moshe explains that this is why the days of Chol ha'Mo'ed of Sukos or Pesach do not count towards Sheloshim by themselves. Only the first day of Yom Tov counts as seven days. This is because the only reason why the first day counts as seven days is because it has six days of Chol ha'Mo'ed following it. Thus, only when the Yom Tov does not actually have any days of Chol ha'Mo'ed following it (such as Shavuos), do we give it a status of seven days by itself!

Why, though, do the other single days of Yom Tov -- Shemini Atzeres, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kipur -- each count as seven days towards the Sheloshim according to Raban Gamliel (whose opinion is the Halachah)? Those days are not seven-day festivals, nor did they have another six days of Tashlumin in the times of the Beis ha'Mikdash! The RAMBAN explains that they nevertheless count as seven days because all of the Mo'adim are compared to each other in the Torah (Shavuos 10a). Thus, since Shavuos counts as seven days even though it is only a one-day Yom Tov, these days also count as seven days even though they are only single days of Yom Tov.

QUESTION: The Gemara concludes in accordance with the opinion of Raban Gamliel (19a) that a Yom Tov annuls the Shiv'ah, thus cutting off seven days from the Avel's observance of Sheloshim, and the Yom Tov itself counts as another seven days. Accordingly, Rav Papa states that if the Aveilus begins one day before Rosh Hashanah, then after Rosh Hashanah passes it is considered as though fourteen days have passed: seven days of the Shiv'ah which Rosh Hashanah annulled, and another seven days which the Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah count towards the Sheloshim. Ravina states that if the Aveilus begins a day before Sukos, then after Shemini Atzeres it is as if 21 days have passed (the seven days of Shiv'ah which the first day of Yom Tov annuls, the first day of Yom Tov itself which is counted as seven days towards the Sheloshim, and Shemini Atzeres which is counted as another seven days towards the Sheloshim).

What is Rava Papa's point in saying that Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days towards the Sheloshim? Rav Papa is emphasizing that Rosh Hashanah not only stops the Shiv'ah, but also counts as an additional seven days. But what difference does it make -- in any case, Yom Kipur is going to arrive in another seven days and annul the Sheloshim altogether! It does not matter how many days of Sheloshim the Avel has left after Rosh Hashanah! (TOSFOS, DH d'Rebbi Elazar)

(According to the opinion on 19a which maintains that if one does not shave before Yom Kipur, Yom Kipur does not annul the Sheloshim, the answer to this question is obvious: Rav Papa says that Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days in order to teach that if the Avel does not shave on Erev Yom Kipur and thus needs to continue observing Sheloshim, Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days of that Sheloshim. However, the Gemara on 19b concludes contrary to this opinion, and maintains that even if one did not shave before the festival, the festival nevertheless annuls the Sheloshim. What, then, is the relevance of Rav Papa's statement that Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days?)

ANSWERS:

(a) Some Rishonim answer that Rav Papa's statement is relevant for a case of a Shemu'ah Rechokah -- when one hears about the passing of a close relative more than thirty days after the time of death (20a). If Rosh Hashanah occurred between the time of death and the day that one hears about it, the festival counts as fourteen days, turning a possible Shemu'ah Kerovah into a Shemu'ah Rechokah. However, TOSFOS and other Rishonim reject this explanation. As the RITVA writes, there is no reason for the festival to cut short the time with regard to a Shemu'ah Rechokah, because the festival only cuts short the time that an Avel has already begun to observe. In this case, though, he did not yet start observing any Aveilus (since he has not heard about the death by the time that the festival arrives)!

(b) The Rishonim quote RABEINU SHIMSHON and the RI who answer that Rav Papa's statement that Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days of the Sheloshim is relevant for a practical Halachah. The Gemara earlier (23a) quotes a Beraisa which details the different stages of Aveilus week by week. The first week, the Avel must stay in his home. The second week, we may leave his home but he must sit in a different seat in the synagogue, and not in his regular seat. The third week, he may sit in his regular seat, but he may not speak, and so on. Rav Papa is teaching that the week after Rosh Hashanah is not just the second week of Aveilus, but it is as if fourteen days have passed and is considered the beginning of the third week (and he may sit in his regular seat in the synagogue, but he may not speak).

(c) The BEHAG and the BA'AL HA'ME'OR (16a of the pages of the Rif) say that Yom Kipur in this case will *not* annul the Sheloshim. It will only count as seven days towards the Sheloshim. As a result, the Avel will have to observe an additional two days of Sheloshim after Yom Kipur (since he already observed 28 days: the seven days annulled by Rosh Hashanah, the seven days that Rosh Hashanah itself counts towards, the seven days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipur, and the seven days that Yom Kipur counts towards).

The reason why Yom Kipur does not annul the Sheloshim is because a festival cannot annul the Sheloshim when another festival already annulled the Shiv'ah. Only one part of the Aveilus can be annulled by a festival. Since Rosh Hashanah already annulled the Shiv'ah, Yom Kipur cannot annul the Sheloshim.

Their proof for this is from the following statement in the Gemara, which says that Sukos counts as 21 days of the Sheloshim. The first day of Sukos annuls the Shiv'ah, and the following Yom Tov of Shemini Atzeres should completely annul the Sheloshim, but yet it only counts as seven days towards the Sheloshim and does not annul it. From here we see that once part of the Aveilus has already been annulled by a festival, another festival cannot annul the Sheloshim.

However, the RAMBAN and ROSH disagree. They refute the proof from the Gemara's statement regarding Sukos by pointing out that a festival can only annul part of the Aveilus (Shiv'ah or Sheloshim) if the Avel had already *practiced* some of that part of the Aveilus before the festival. The first day of Sukos annuls the Shiv'ah, because the Avel observed some of the Shiv'ah before the festival. Shemini Atzeres, however, cannot annul the Sheloshim, because the Avel never observed any of the Sheloshim (since the laws of Sheloshim are not observed during the festival).

(d) The RITVA suggests that the Amora'im themselves addressed this question. When Ravina was asked, "Did you say that Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days?" he answered cryptically, "I just said that it makes sense that the Halachah follows Raban Gamliel." What was he protesting? Why did he not want to admit openly that he said that Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days, since, anyway, that is what Raban Gamliel holds?

The Ritva explains that Ravina was protesting the irrelevance of saying that Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days. Since it is irrelevant to say that Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days (as we explained in our question), a statement to that effect is inaccurate. It is true, though, that the Halachah follows Raban Gamliel, that a Yom Tov counts as seven days.

Rav Papa, who does say explicitly that Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days, does not intend to make a relevant Halachic statement. Rather, his point is to say that the Halachah is that Rosh Hashanah annuls the Shiv'ah. He is just saying that had it been relevant, then Rosh Hashanah would have both annulled the Shiv'ah and counted as seven days (thus counting for a total of fourteen days).

HALACHAH: When the SHULCHAN ARUCH (YD 399:9) records the ruling of Rav Papa as the Halachah, he changes the wording to reflect the explanation of the Ritva (d). He writes that Rosh Hashanah "annuls the Shiv'ah," but he does not say how many days of the Sheloshim Rosh Hashanah counts for, because, as the Ritva explains, it is irrelevant, since the Sheloshim anyway will become annulled by Yom Kipur, as the Shulchan Aruch himself says further. In this respect, the Shulchan Aruch rules like the Ramban and the Rosh, and not the Behag (c), that it is possible for two festivals to annul both the Shiv'ah and the Sheloshim of one Aveilus.

The SHULCHAN ARUCH later (YD 399:12) also records the view of Rabeinu Shimshon and the Ri (b), that since Rosh Hashanah counts as fourteen days, the week after Rosh Hashanah is considered the third week of Aveilus and not the second week, and thus the Avel may sit in his place silently.

The MISHNAH BERURAH (OC 548:4, based on the RI MI'GASH #185) says that although our Gemara states that a Yom Tov always counts as seven days (even when it does not annul the Shiv'ah, such as Shemini Atzeres), that is true only when the Mes died before the festival and the Avel started to observe the Shiv'ah. If the Mes died *during* the festival and thus the Shiv'ah did not even start, then the festival does not count as seven days, and the Avel observes all of the Shiv'ah after the festival passes. (The Sheloshim, though is counted from the day that the Mes died, since the days of the festival do count towards the Sheloshim).