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Text Excerpt
רב, בר אחוה דרבי חייא ובר אחתיה. כי סליק להתם, אמר ליה: אייבו קיים? אמר ליה: אימא קיימת?! אמר ליה: אימא קיימת? אמר ליה: אייבו קיים?!
The Talmud relates: Rav was the son of R' Ḥiyya’s half brother and the son of R' Ḥiyya’s half sister, as Ayevu, Rav’s father, married his own stepsister, Imma. When Rav ascended there, to Eretz Yisrael, R' Ḥiyya said to Rav: Is your father, Ayevu, alive? He said to him: replying with a question: Is your sister, Imma, alive? He said to him: Indeed, is Imma alive? He said to him: Is Ayevu alive? Upon hearing this, R' Ḥiyya understood that both Ayevu and Imma had passed away, and Rav did not wish to say so explicitly.
אמר ליה לשמעיה: חלוץ לי מנעלי והוליך כלי אחרי לבית המרחץ. שמע מינה תלת. שמע מינה: אבל אסור בנעילת הסנדל. ושמע מינה: שמועה רחוקה אינה נוהגת אלא יום אחד. ושמע מינה: מקצת היום ככולו.
R' Ḥiyya said to his attendant: Remove my shoes and carry my garments after me to the bathhouse. The Talmud comments: Learn from R' Ḥiyya’s instructions 3 halakhot. Learn from it that wearing shoes is prohibited for a mourner, which is why he instructed his servant to remove his shoes. And learn from it that for distant tidings mourning is practiced only one day. One who receives tidings of the death of a relative more than 30 days after he died, does not mourn for 7 days. The halakhot of mourning apply for only a single day. And learn from it that with regard to the halakhot of mourning, the legal status of part of the day is like that of an entire day. The Talmud derives this halakha from the fact that R' Ḥiyya removed his shoes and immediately after that went to the bathhouse, an act that is prohibited for a mourner. He was permitted to do so because the restrictions of the mourning period were no longer in effect after briefly going without shoes.