The Rishonim ask that this Mishnah contradicts the Gemara in Beitzah (6a),
which says that on Yom Tov Sheni, we are permitted to bury the dead and to
do whatever the Mes needs, such as sewing the shrouds and even cutting a
myrtle branch (to provide a sweet scent). If we are permitted to do
everything for a Mes even on Yom Tov Sheni, then certainly we should be
permitted to dig a grave on Chol ha'Mo'ed! Yom Tov Sheni is no less
prohibited in Melachah than is Chol ha'Mo'ed (after all, Yom Tov Sheni
itself is a Safek Yom Tov, Safek Chol ha'Mo'ed). How can our Mishnah say
that it is prohibited to dig a grave on Chol ha'Mo'ed, if it is permitted to
do any Melachah for the sake of a Mes on Yom Tov Sheni?
(It would be possible to answer that when the Gemara there says Yom Tov
Sheni, it is referring to the second day of Yom Tov of the *last* Yom Tov of
Pesach or Sukos, in which case the day might be not be part of the festival
at all but rather a regular weekday. As a result it may indeed be more
lenient than Chol ha'Mo'ed, which is certainly a part of the holiday.
However, the Rishonim point out that this answer is not practical. The
Gemara in Beitzah does not differentiate between Yom Tov Sheni at the
beginning of the festival (when it has at least the sanctity of Chol
ha'Mo'ed) and Yom Tov Sheni at the end of the festival.)
(a) RABEINU CHANANEL, the RIF and the RAMBAM (Hilchos Yom Tov 8:8) explain
that our Mishnah is discussing a grave dug in advance, before anyone has
died. That is why it may not be dug on Chol ha'Mo'ed. If a person has
already died, though, it is permitted to dig a grave for him, as the Gemara
in Beitzah says.
The BA'AL HA'ME'OR asks why does the Mishnah need to tell us that one may
not dig a grave on Chol ha'Mo'ed that will only be used after the festival
has passed? One may not do *any* Melachah on Chol ha'Mo'ed for after the
festival! Moreover, adds the RA'AVAD, when the Mishnah concludes that one
*may* adjust the size of the grave, it is referring to the same situation
that was discussed at the beginning of the Mishnah, when it said that one
may not dig a grave (i.e. before the person has died). If one is adjusting
the size of the grave for use after Yom Tov, why is it permitted?
The RAMBAN (Milchamos) answers that there is actually a very good reason to
permit digging graves on Chol ha'Mo'ed for use after Yom Tov. The Gemara
(5a) says that one may clean out water pits, but one may not dig them to
begin with on Chol ha'Mo'ed. Since it is for the sake of benefiting the
general public (Tzorchei Rabim), it is permitted to do work even if it is
not needed until after Yom Tov. (The Gemara (6a) says that the reason for
this is because workers can be hired for less on Chol ha'Mo'ed, thereby
sparing the public coffers.) That is why the Mishnah says that it is
permitted to adjust the graves for after Yom Tov -- it is needed for the
sake of Tzorchei Rabim.
Why, then, is it not permitted to dig a grave to begin with, if that is also
Tzorchei Rabim? The reason for that, says the Ramban, is the same reason why
one may not dig a water pit on Chol ha'Mo'ed, but one may only clean it out
(Chotetin, as the Mishnah puts it, or "Mechanchin," as the TOSEFTA puts it
in Moed Katan 1:3). Starting a new Melachah on Chol ha'Mo'ed for the sake of
Tzorchei Rabim is not permitted. One may only *fix* things for the sake of
Tzorchei Rabim. (The nephew of the Ba'al ha'Me'or, in SHITAS RIVAV, gives a
similar answer, but he says that the reason a grave may not be dug on Chol
ha'Mo'ed in the first place is because it is a skilled labor, "Ma'aseh
Uman," while adjusting the size of the grave is a "Ma'aseh Hedyot" -- it
does not require skilled labor.)
(b) RASHI also says that the Mishnah is referring to digging graves in
advance, which will only be needed after Yom Tov. Rashi adds, though, that
the reason one may not dig a grave is because it involves excessive
exertion, Tircha Yeseirah. Rashi might be learning like the Ramban, that
even if it is being done for the sake of Tzorchei Rabim, one may not dig a
new grave because it involves too much Tircha.
However, RASHI ON THE RIF and RASHI KESAV YAD *adds* another line, in which
he asks our question -- why is digging graves not permitted, when the Gemara
in Beitzah permits doing everything for a Mes. Rashi answers that what the
Gemara in Beitzah permits is only a Melachah that is not a strenuous labor,
which involves no Tircha. Digging a grave, which is a strenuous task, is not
permitted even for a Mes. This is how all of the Rishonim quote Rashi.
As many Rishonim point out, Rashi seems to be contradicting himself. If he
is answering that Tircha Yeseirah is prohibited, then why did he have to say
that the Mishnah is referring to digging a grave for someone who has not yet
died? He could have said that even if the Mes is present, the grave may not
be dug because it is a Tircha Yeseirah! Conversely, if Rashi maintains that
the Mishnah is referring to digging a grave for someone who has not yet
died, then why does he ask a question from the Gemara in Beitzah, which is
referring to doing Melachah for a Mes that has already died? (ROSH)
To answer the first question, it seems that Rashi was bothered by the plural
form of the words in the Mishnah, "Kuchin u'Kevaros." If the Mishnah is
referring to digging a grave for someone who has died, why does it mention
digging multiple graves? Rashi therefore explains that it was the practice
to dig many graves in advance, and that is what the Mishnah means.
To answer the second question, why Rashi was bothered by the Gemara in
Beitzah if our Mishnah is referring to a case where the person has not died
yet, the ROSH answers that the Gemara in Beitzah implies that it is
permitted to do Melachah for the sake of the Mes anytime on Yom Tov Sheni,
even near the end of Yom Tov Sheni, when it is clear that the burial will
not take place until the following day (after the festival is over). Hence,
we see from the Gemara there that one may do Melachah for a Mes even when
that Melachah is only needed for after Yom Tov!
The MAHARSHAL (Yam Shel Shlomo, cited by the KORBAN NESANEL #90) rejects the
answer of the Rosh because Rashi still should not have had a question from
the Gemara in Beitzah. The Gemara permits doing Melachah to prepare for the
burial of a Mes even when the burial will only occur after Yom Tov because
the person is already dead, and we do not want to delay his burial. It is
not permitted to do Melachah for a Mes who has not died yet, as our Mishnah
says, since there is no delay of the burial involved! (See Korban Nesanel
there.)
It could be that Rashi learned the Sugya like the Ramban cited by the Rosh
(in (a) above). The Ramban explains that we may not dig a grave even for
Tzorchei Rabim, because of the Tircha involved. Rashi learned that just like
we do not permit Tzorchei Rabim which will be needed after Yom Tov because
of the Tircha, so, too, we should not permit digging a grave for the need
of a single Mes today because of Tircha as well.
(However, Rashi in Beitzah (6a, DH d'Ika) writes clearly that on Yom Tov
Sheni it is permitted even to dig the grave for the need of a single Mes who
has already died. Perhaps he means that it is permitted to *adjust* the size
of the grave ("Mechanchin"), or perhaps he is referring to the last day of
Yom Tov, for which there is reason to be more lenient than Chol ha'Mo'ed, as
we mentioned earlier.)
(c) The RA'AVAD (cited by the ROSH, and in Hilchos Yom Tov 8:4) says that
even though doing Melachah for all the needs of the Mes is permitted,
digging a grave on Chol ha'Mo'ed is prohibited, because it suffices to use a
temporary interment. The Mishnah permits making a "Nivreches," which the
Ra'avad explains is a temporary grave, which looked like the modern-day
burial plot (a simple hole in the ground). After Yom Tov, the Mes may be
moved into a more respectful grave. Thus, on Chol ha'Mo'ed, we may not build
a nice grave, because a temporary one will suffice. The "Nivreches" does not
involve any sort of construction, and therefore it is a lesser form of
Melachah on Chol ha'Mo'ed (see also Ba'al ha'Me'or, citing "some who
say...").
The Rosh rejects this opinion, saying that putting the Mes in a temporary
grave and then moving the Mes after Yom Tov is not an option, because doing
so is a disgrace for the Mes.
(d) The BA'AL HA'ME'OR says that even though the Mishnah prohibits building
a grave, that applies only when the Mes is not present in the graveyard. If,
however, the Mes is present at the time that the grave is being made, then
it is permitted, as the end of the Mishnah says with regard to building a
coffin.
Other Rishonim reject this approach, because the Mishnah implies that the
presence of the Mes permits only building a coffin, but not building a grave
(for building a grave, the presence of the Mes will not help, and for
adjusting the size of a grave, it is permitted even without the Mes there).
The reason why the Mes must be present in order to permit building a coffin
is because a wooden box is usually not used for burial, but for other
purposes (such as to store things in). Therefore, in order to prevent people
from suspecting that one is building a box for storage or other purposes,
the Mes must be present (RAMBAN).
The RITVA says that it is not permitted to build a coffin unless the Mes is
present, as opposed to other Melachos done for a Mes, because it is
preferable not to bury in a coffin in the first place, but rather to inter
directly in the ground.