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Text Excerpt
גופא דעובדא היכי הוה? אמר ליה: הכי והכי הוה מעשה. אמר ליה: גברא דלא ידע מאי ניהו ״מרזיחא״, שלח ליה לרב הונא ״הונא חברין״?! מאי ״מרזיחא״ — אבל, דכתיב: ״כה אמר ה׳ אל תבא בית מרזח וגו׳״.
how the incident itself happened. What are the particulars of your exchange that brought about this end result? He said to him: Such and such was the incident, and Rav Anan related the details to Mar Ukva. He said to him: A man who does not know what a marzeiḥa is sends a letter to Rav Huna addressing him as Huna, our friend? It is not your place to take such liberties in your correspondence with him, and Rav Huna was justifiably offended. The Talmud explains: What is a marzeiḥa? A mourner, as it is written: “For so says YHWH: Enter not into the house of mourning [marze’aḥ], neither go to lament, neither bemoan them” (Jeremiah 16:5).
אמר רבי אבהו: מנין לאבל שמיסב בראש — שנאמר: ״אבחר דרכם ואשב ראש ואשכון כמלך בגדוד כאשר אבלים ינחם״. ינחם אחרים משמע! אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק: ״ינחם״ כתיב.
R' Abbahu said concerning the same topic: From where is it derived that a mourner sits at the head? As it is stated: “I chose out their way, and sat as chief, and resided as a king in the army, as one that would comfort [yenaḥem] the mourners” (Job 29:25). The Talmud challenges the proof: The word yenaḥem implies one comforting others and not the mourner being comforted. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: Since it is written without vowels, the word can be read as if it were written “would be comforted [yinnaḥem],” which describes the mourner who is being comforted.
מר זוטרא אמר, מהכא: ״וסר מרזח סרוחים״. מר וזח — נעשה שר לסרוחים.
Mar Zutra said: That the mourner sits at the head may be derived from here: “And the revelry [mirzaḥ] of those who stretched themselves should pass away [sar]” (Amos 6:7). The word mirzaḥ may alternatively be read as two distinct words: Bitter [mar] and flustered [zaḥ], and the word sar has a homonym that means ruler. Read this way, the verse indicates: One who is bitter and flustered, i.e., the mourner, is made the ruler of those who sit, i.e., the visitors who come to comfort him and sit with him. Therefore, he sits at the head.