Shabbat 152B

כל יומא הוה דבר רב יהודה בי עשרה, ויתבי בדוכתיה. לאחר שבעה ימים איתחזי ליה בחילמיה דרב יהודה, ואמר ליה: תנוח דעתך שהנחת את דעתי.

every day of the 7-day mourning period, Rav Yehuda would take 10 people and they would sit in his place, in the house of the deceased. After 7 days had passed the deceased appeared to Rav Yehuda in his dream and said to him: Put your mind to rest, for you have put my mind to rest.

אמר רבי אבהו: כל שאומרים בפני המת, יודע, עד שיסתם הגולל. פליגי בה רבי חייא ורבי שמעון ברבי. חד אמר: עד שיסתם הגולל, וחד אמר: עד שיתעכל הבשר.

R' Abbahu said: Everything people say before the deceased, he knows, until the tomb is sealed with the top-stone. R' Ḥiyya and R' Shimon, son of R' Yehuda HaNasi, disagreed with regard to the meaning of this statement. One of them said that the deceased is aware until the tomb is sealed with the top-stone, which is referring to the covering of the grave (Tosafot). And one of them said that it is until the flesh decomposes.

מאן דאמר עד שיתעכל הבשר, דכתיב: ״אך בשרו עליו יכאב ונפשו עליו תאבל״. מאן דאמר עד שיסתם הגולל, דכתיב: ״וישוב העפר על הארץ כשהיה וגו׳״.

The one who said that it is until the flesh decomposes can support his position based on that which is written in the following verse: “But his flesh grieves for him, and his soul mourns over him” (Job 14:22). This indicates that the deceased is aware of the pain of his flesh in the grave. The one who said that the deceased is aware only until the tomb is sealed with the top-stone can support his view based on that which is written in a different verse: “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). This indicates that when the body returns to the earth, the spirit also returns to its place and is no longer aware of what is happening to the body.