## Tractate Semachot Chapter 6

###### Tractate Semachot 6:1
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אבל אסור לקרות בתורה ובנביאים ובכתובים ואסור לשנות במשנה ובתלמוד בהלכות ובאגדות ואסור ברחיצה ובסיכה ובנעילת הסנדל ובתשמיש המטה וחייב בכיסוי הראש ובכפיית המטה מעשה שמתה אשתו של ר"ג ורחץ לילה הראשונה שמתה אמרו לו תלמידיו לא למדתנו רבינו [שאבל אסור לרחוץ א"ל איני כשאר כל בני אדם איסטניס אני]

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
¹ A mourner is forbidden to read the Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographa;² he is also forbidden to study Mishnah, Talmud, *halakoth* and *’aggadoth*. He is under the prohibition to bathe, anoint [the body], put on sandals³ and cohabit. He is obliged to cover his head and overturn his couch.⁴
It is related of Rabban Gamaliel⁵ that when his wife died he bathed on the first night. His disciples said to him, ‘Master, have you not taught us that a mourner is forbidden to bathe?’ He replied, ‘I am not like other men, I am delicate’.

footnotes:
¹ For a full discussion of what is prohibited to a mourner, cf. M.Ḳ. 15a, b and 21a, b (Sonc. ed., pp. 90ff, 133ff). The law is based on Ezek. 24, 17, 23 where the prophet is warned not to observe the usual rites of mourning.
² Because the study of the Torah is a joy.
³ These and covering the head are signs of mourning; cf. 2 Sam. 15, 30, Jer. 14, 3f, Esth. 6, 12.
⁴ Cf. M.Ḳ. 15a, b (Sonc. ed., p. 92): God says, ‘I have set the likeness of Mine image on them and through their sins have I upset it; let your couches be overturned on account thereof’. According to A. Marmorstein the rite served the purpose of warning the mourners against sexual intercourse which is forbidden in the days of mourning; cf. j.Ber. III, 1, 6a.
⁵ Cf. Ber. 16b (Sonc. ed., p. 96).


###### Tractate Semachot 6:2
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שאלו בשלומו (ואמר) [יאמר] להם אבל ביום הראשון וביום השני (ואמר) [יאמר] להם אבל הוא בשלישי משיבו בשפה רפה והוא אינו שואל

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
⁶ If people greet him, he should say to them, ‘I am a mourner’. On the first day and on the second day he should say to them, ‘I am a mourner’, but on the third day he may return their salutation in a low voice, although he may not greet them.⁷

footnotes:
⁶ From this point V does not divide the chapters into Rules and the division of H is adopted.
⁷ Cf. M.Ḳ. 21b (Sonc. ed., p. 135). The reading of GRA is: ‘On the first, second and third days, he says to them, “I am a mourner”, but from the fourth day onwards he returns their salutation’.


###### Tractate Semachot 6:3
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ביום הראשון אינו (נושא) [נותן] תפילין בשני נותן תפילין (בשלישי) באו אחרים לנחמו חולצן דברי ר"א רבי יהושע אומר ביום הראשון וביום השני אין נותן תפלין בשלישי נותן תפלין באו אחרים לנחמו ה"ז חולצן.

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
On the first day he does not put on the *tefillin;*⁸. 21a (Sonc. ed., p. 134). GRA transposes the names of the two Rabbis in agreement with the Talmud. on the second day he puts them on and if people come to comfort him he takes them off, according to the view of R. Eliezer. R. Joshua said: On the first and second day he does not put on the *tefillin;*⁸. 21a (Sonc. ed., p. 134). GRA transposes the names of the two Rabbis in agreement with the Talmud. on the third day he puts them on and if people come to comfort him he takes them off.⁹

footnotes:
⁸ ibid
⁸ ibid
⁹ GRA reads: ‘he does not take them off’; H adds at the end ‘all the seven days’.


###### Tractate Semachot 6:4
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מת באותה העיר ביום הראשון וביום השני אין יוצא עמהן בשלישי יוצא ועומד בשורה להתנחם אבל לא לנחם אחרים במה דברים אמורים בזמן שיש שם כדי נושאי המטה וקבריה אבל אין שם כדי נושאי המטה וקבריה יוצא עמהן אפילו ביום הראשון.

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
If [another] death took place in that city, on the first and second day [of his own mourning] he does not go out with [the other mourners],¹⁰ but on the third day he goes out with them and stands in the line to receive condolence but not to offer comfort to the others. This only holds good when there are sufficient people to carry the bier and do the burial, but if there are not sufficient he goes out with them even on the first day.¹¹

footnotes:
¹⁰ To the cemetery to attend the funeral.
¹¹ Cf. M.Ḳ. 21b (Sonc. ed., p. 135).


###### Tractate Semachot 6:5
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בא אצל קרוביו ממקום אחר בשני ובשלישי משלים עמהם ברביעי ובחמישי מונה לעצמו ורבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר מצאן שיושבין אפילו ביום השלישי מונה לעצמו לא מצאן יושבין אפילו בשני מונה לעצמו

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
If he came from another district to his relatives, on the second and third day he completes [the days of his mourning] with them, but from the fourth day he counts [the remaining period of mourning] on his own.¹². (Sonc. ed., p. 138). So GRA; V reads ‘on the fourth and fifth’. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: If he found them still sitting [as mourners] even if it is the seventh day¹³. V wrongly ‘third day’. he completes [the period] with them; and if he did not find them sitting [as mourners] even if it be the second day he counts on his own.

footnotes:
¹² ibid
¹³ So GRA according to M.Ḳ. loc. cit


###### Tractate Semachot 6:6
[Tractate Semachot 6:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Semachot/r/6:6)

ביום הראשון וביום השני אינו עושה מלאכה אפילו נוטל מן התמחוי בשלישי יוצא ועושה בצינעא

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
On the first and second day, he may not do work even if he is in receipt of charity.¹⁴ On the third day he may¹⁵ work but in private.

footnotes:
¹⁴ Heb. תמחוי, the daily distribution of food to the poor supplied by contributors.
¹⁵ GRA omits ‘go out and’ which is in V.


###### Tractate Semachot 6:7
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אינו עושה לא בשדה שהיא סמוכה לעיר ולא בשדה שהיא סמוכה לדרך אבל עושה הוא בתוך גינתו בצינעא וכן האשה לא תעשה בראש הגג ולא בתוך החצר אבל עושה היא בתוך ביתה בצינעא ובלבד שלא תראה לחברותיה:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
¹⁶ He may not work in a field adjoining the city or the road, but he may work privately in his own garden. Likewise a woman may not work on top of the roof or within the courtyard, but she may work privately in her house so long as she is not overlooked by her neighbours.¹⁷

footnotes:
¹⁶ H inserts ‘on the first and second day’.
¹⁷ Cf. M.Ḳ. 21b (Sonc. ed., p. 135).


###### Tractate Semachot 6:8
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שלשה ימים לכלב שאכל בשר המת ונכנס לבית טהור פחות מכאן טמא

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
[The period of] three days applies to a dog which devoured [some of] the flesh of a corpse and entered a house. If this happened after three days the house is clean, if less it is unclean.¹⁸

footnotes:
¹⁸ Ohol. XI, 7 (Sonc. ed., p. 198), Shab. 155b (Sonc. ed., p. 796). Three days is deemed to be sufficient time for the dog to have digested the flesh of the corpse, and therefore there is no longer a question of uncleanness being conveyed by the dog into the house. This and the other extraneous matter which follows is introduced here because of the ‘three days’ which is the time factor.


###### Tractate Semachot 6:9
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שלשה ימים לזרע מחמשת המינים לפני הפסח (אסור לאחר הפסח) מותר

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
[The period of] three days¹⁹ applies to any of the five species²⁰ [of grain] sown; [if three days] before Passover it is permitted [to be eaten], if less than this it is prohibited.²¹

footnotes:
¹⁹ Cf. Ḥallah I, 1f (Sonc. ed., pp. 317f), Men. 70a (Sonc. ed., p. 414). Grain sown three days before Passover is deemed to have taken root. Hence the Omer brought on Passover renders them permissible to be eaten any time after Passover. But if sown less than three days, it is no longer considered the present year’s produce when it ripens and may not be eaten until the Omer of the following year is brought.
²⁰ Wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt.
²¹ The last clause is added by GRA.


###### Tractate Semachot 6:10
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אין יוצאין לשיירא פחות משלשה ימים קודם לשבת אין מוציאין למלחמת הרשות פחות משלשה ימים קודם לשבת אין מפליגין בספינה בים פחות משלשה ימים קודם לשבת:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
One should not go out with a caravan less than three days before the Sabbath.
One may not go out to war,²² if it is of a voluntary nature,²³ less than three days before the Sabbath. One may not set out on a ship less than three days before the Sabbath.²⁴.

footnotes:
²² Cf. Tosiftha ‘Erub. IV, 7, Shab. 19a (Sonc. ed., p. 79). The translation follows H’s reading, יוצאין, V has מוציאין which means ‘we do not lead [troops] out’.
²³ i.e. a war of conquest, the opposite of ‘a war of obligation’, viz. a war commanded to Israel by God.
²⁴ Cf. Shab. loc. cit


###### Tractate Semachot 6:11
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ביום ראשון וביום שני אין נכנס להר הבית ובשלישי נכנס ומקיף בדרך שמאל אלו שמקיפין דרך שמאל אבל ומנודה (בה) ומי שיש לו חולה בתוך ביתו ומי שאבד לו אבדה מהלך מקיף על שמאל אבל שהוא אומר לו השוכן בבית הזה ינחמך שאני מנודה השוכן בבית הזה יתן בלבם ויקרבוך דברי רבי מאיר אמר לו רבי יוסי עשית כאילו עברו עליו את הדין אלא השוכן בבית הזה יתן בלבך (ותשמח) [ותשמע] את דברי חביריך ויקרבוך מי שיש לו חולה בתוך ביתו אומר לו השוכן בבית הזה ירחם עליו (ואם היה בן של קיימא ירחם עליו) מיד מעשה באשה אחת שחלתה בתה ועלתה (זו) והקיפה ולא זזה משם עד שבאו ואמרו לה נתרפתה מי שאבד אבדה אומר לו השוכן בבית הזה יתן בלב מי שמצאה ויחזירה לך מיד מעשה באלעזר ובחנניה ובחזקיה בן גרון שאבד לו ספר תורה שלו לקוחה במאה מנה ועלה והקיף ולא זזו משם עד שבאו ואמרו לו נמצא הספר תורה

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
On the first and second day [of mourning] he may not enter the Temple Mount; on the third day he may enter but must go round to the left.²⁵ These are they who must go round to the left: a mourner, an excommunicated person, one who has a sick person in his house, and one who lost an object. [When asked,] ‘Why do you²⁶ go round to the left?’ [he answers,] ‘Because I am a mourner’. They reply, ‘May He Who dwells in this House comfort you’. [If he says,] ‘Because I am under a ban’, [they reply,] ‘May He Who dwells in this House put it into their heart to draw you near’; so said R. Meir. R. Jose said to him, ‘You make out as if they [who banned] passed a wrong judgment on him; but [what they say is,] “May He Who dwells in this house put it into your heart to hearken to the words of your colleagues so that they may draw you near” ’. To one who has a sick person in his house they say, ‘May He Who dwells in this House have mercy upon him’; and if he is barely living²⁷ [they say,] ‘May He have mercy upon him immediately’. It is related of a certain woman whose daughter was ill that she ascended the Temple Mount and went round it, and did not move from there until they came and told her, ‘She is cured’.
To one who lost some object they say, ‘May He Who dwells in this House put it into the heart of the finder to return it to you at once’. It is related of Eleazar b. Ḥananiah b. Hezekiah b. Gorion that he lost a scroll of the Torah which he had bought for one hundred *minas*. He ascended [the Temple Mount], went round it and did not move from there until they came and told him, ‘The scroll of the Torah has been found’.

footnotes:
²⁵ Since he is forbidden to bring an offering (Deut. 26, 14); cf. Mid. II, 2 (Sonc. ed. p. 6).
²⁶ Reading with GRA and H מה לך for V’s מהלך.
²⁷ lit. ‘son of existence’, far gone in his illness.


###### Tractate Semachot 6:12
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שמתחלה לא בנאו שלמה אלא על תנאי שכל מי שיש לו צרה יבא ויתפלל עליה (מלכים א ח׳:ל״ז) רעב כי יהיה בארץ דבר כי יהיה (בארץ) שדפון ירקון ארבה חסיל כי יהיה כי יצר (לאויביו) [לו אויבו] בארץ שעריו כל נגע (ומחלה כלתה) [כל מחלה] כל תפלה כל תחנה אשר תהיה לכל האדם אין לי אלא ליחיד לצבור מנין תלמוד לומר וגם אל הנכרי אשר (יבא) וגו׳ אשר תהיה לכל האדם יכול אפילו מבקש בנים אפילו מבקש נכסים ולא טוב לו ת"ל אשר תדע את לבבו (וגו׳ מה שטוב לו תן לו) כי אתה ידעת לבדך את לבב [כל] בני האדם ומנין שלא יחזיקו במרדן שנא' (שם) אשר ידעון איש נגע לבבו ופרש כפיו אל הבית הזה :

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
From the beginning Solomon built the Temple only on condition that anyone in trouble would come there and pray; as it is stated, *If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man*.²⁸ I have here only the case of an individual; whence do we know that it also holds good of a community? The text continues, *Of all Thy people Israel*. Whence do we know that it holds good of the non-Jew? The text states, *Moreover concerning the stranger that is not of Thy people Israel*.²⁹. 42. From the words *be made by any man* you might think that it holds good of one who wants children or possessions which will not be for his welfare; hence Scripture states, *For Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men*³⁰. 39.—what is good for him do Thou give to him. And whence do we know that this holds good only if they do not continue in their rebellion? As it is stated, *Who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house*.³¹. 38.

footnotes:
²⁸ 1 Kings 8, 37f.
²⁹ ibid
³⁰ ibid
³¹ ibid