Study Berakhot folio 19B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
העומדים בשורה וכו׳. תנו רבנן: שורה הרואה פנימה — פטורה, ושאינה רואה פנימה — חייבת. רבי יהודה אומר: הבאים מחמת האבל — פטורין, מחמת עצמן — חייבין.
We learned in the Mishnah that those standing in the row, those in the interior row, are exempt from reciting Shema and the others are obligated. A baraita states this more expansively in the Tosefta: The consolers standing in a row from which one sees inside the area where the mourners are passing are exempt, and those standing in a row from which one does not see inside are obligated. And R' Yehuda elaborates and says: The consolers standing in the row who come on account of the bereaved are exempt, while those who come on account of their own curiosity are obligated to recite Shema.
אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: המוצא כלאים בבגדו — פושטן אפילו בשוק. מאי טעמא: ״אין חכמה ואין תבונה ואין עצה לנגד ה׳״, כל מקום שיש חלול השם אין חולקין כבוד לרב.
We learned that some who come to console the bereaved are exempt from Shema as a means of honoring the deceased. The Talmud expands the discussion to raise the general question: To what degree does preserving human dignity take precedence over mitzvot enumerated in the Torah? Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: One who discovers diverse kinds [kilayim], i.e., a prohibited mixture of wool and linen, in his garment, must remove them even in the public marketplace. He may not wait until he reaches home. What is the reason for this? As it is stated: “There is neither wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against YHWH” (Proverbs 21:30). From here, the general principle: Anywhere that there is desecration of YHWH’s name, one does not show respect to the teacher, is derived.
מתיבי: קברו את המת וחזרו, ולפניהם שתי דרכים, אחת טהורה ואחת טמאה, בא בטהורה — באין עמו בטהורה, בא בטמאה — באין עמו בטמאה משום כבודו. אמאי? לימא ״אין חכמה ואין תבונה לנגד ה׳״!
The Talmud cites several sources to challenge this principle. The Talmud raised an objection from a baraita: After they buried the deceased and returned, and on their way there are two paths before them, one ritually pure and one ritually impure, e.g., it passes through a cemetery, if the mourner comes on the pure path, they come with him on the pure path; if he comes on the impure path, all of the funeral participants accompany him on the impure path in order to show him respect. Why would they do this? Let us say here too that, “There is neither wisdom, nor understanding…against YHWH!”