Question (Beraisa). The Beraisa makes several points:

If the burial is less than three days before Yom Tov (e.g., two days), and the Yom Tov therefore does not cancel the Shiv'ah (as the Mishnah says), the last five days of Shiv'ah are held after Yom Tov. During these five days, however, he may have other people do work for him. Furthermore, since consolation visits were already held for seven days (for they are held during the holiday also), there is no need for consolation visits during these five days after Yom Tov.

If the burial is during the holiday (e.g., the third-to-last day of the holiday), all seven days of Shiv'ah are held after the holiday. Again, since consolation visits were already held for three days (for they are held during the holiday also), there is no need for consolation visits after four days of Shiv'ah.

The third point of the Beraisa is that the days of the holiday do count into the Shloshim, an explcicit contradiction to Rabah (19b, 5:b).

Answer: The law that the days of the holiday count into Shloshim refers only to the first case of the Beraisa, where the burial was before Yom Tov, and some mourning rites were oberved already before Yom Tov. Rabah's ruling was only about a case where the burial was during Yom Tov.

Question: Another Beraisa says explicitly that even when the burial is during Yom Tov the days of Yom Tov count into the Shloshim. This is indeed an explicit contradiction to Rabah, and he is refuted.

R. Yochanan also disagreed with Rabah and said that the days of Yom Tov count into the days of Shloshim in any event.

A Beraisa lists three opinions:

(R. Eliezer): If Shiv'ah is observed for three days before Yom Tov, the remainder of Shiv'ah is cancelled (like the Mishnah above, 19a).

(Chachamim): Even if Shiv'ah is observed for an hour (i.e., a short time) Yom Tov cancels it.

(R. Elazar b'Rebi Shimon): The matter is a dispute between Beis Shamai (who held like opinion #1) and Beis Hillel (who held #2).

The Halachah:

(R. Yochanan): The Halachah is like opinion #2.

(Rava): The Halachah is like the Mishnah (opinion #1).

(Ravina): The Halachah is like opinion #2.

Question: What is the Biblical source for a seven-day period of mourning?

Answer: A Pasuk in Amos, which compares mourning to a festival. We derive that just as a festival is seven days, so is mourning.

Question: There is also a one-day festival, Shavuos!

Answer: There is indeed a one-day period of mourning sometimes - when a person finds out about the death of a relative a long time after it happened (henceforth: Shemu'ah Rechokah, or S. R.).

A Beraisa makes two points:

There is no Shiv'ah or Shloshim for a Shemu'ah Rechokah (S.R.), only a one-day observance, according to R. Akiva. The Chachamim disagree and require a full Shiv'ah and Shloshim for S.R.

The definition of S.R. is: When the news is received thirty days after the death.

(R. Yochanan): Although the Halachah is usually like the majority opinion, here there is an overriding rule: The Halachah is always in accordance with the lenient opinion (even a minority opinion) when it comes to matters of mourning. (Therefore, the Halachah is like R. Akiva.) Rav Chisda and Rava also ruled like this, even for a father or mother.

Question: There is a Beraisa that says that although S.R. is observed only one day, when it comes to a father or mother it is observed like regular mourning.

Answer: This Beraisa is a minority opinion (Elisha Ben Avuyah).

Rav Achiya observed Shiv'ah and Shloshim for his son, in a S.R.

There is a story that R. Chiya found out from Rav (who was his nephew) that his (R. Chiya's) brother and sister had died (some time earlier), and he told his attendant to take off his shoes and bring some clothing to the bathhouse and meet him there. This story teaches us three things:

A mourner may not wear shoes.

Mourning for a S.R. is observed only one day (because he went to the bathhouse to bathe right away).

That "one day" is not a whole day, but just a short while (until the walk to the bathhouse).

Question: Assuming that R. Achiya and R. Chiya are the same person, R. Chiya's behavior (observing only one day for S.R.) contradicts what he did for his son (3:e).

Answer: R. Chiya is not the same person as R. Achiya.

(R. Yosi Bar Avin): If someone hears about a death on the thirtieth day after it happened (when it was not yet S.R.), but it was Yom Tov, so he could not observe any mourning then, and by the time Yom Tov was over it was already after the thirtieth day - it is considered a S.R. A Beraisa says the same thing about when the thirtieth day is on Shabbos.

Question: Does a S.R. require Keri'ah? (Tosfos: The question is only for this case, where the news was received on the thirtieth day which was Shabbos or Yom Tov; a regular S.R. certainly does not require Keri'ah. Others: The question is about all S.R.s.)

(R. Mani): No Keri'ah is done. There is no such thing as Keri'ah without Shiv'ah.

(R. Chanina): :Keri'ah is done.

Question: A Beraisa says that if someone has no robe for Keri'ah when he hears about a death, and gets one later, during Shiv'ah, he does Keri'ah then; if he gets the robe only after Shiv'ah he does not do Keri'ah. R. Zeira added that for a mother or father Keri'ah is done even after Shiv'ah. Hence, we see that there is such a thing as Keri'ah without Shiv'ah. This is a question on R. Mani's rule.

Answer: This is not a real Keri'ah, just a sign of respect for one's mother or father.

There is a Beraisa that makes several points:

The seven relatives mentioned in Vayikra 21:2-3 (spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, unmarried sister) are those that one must mourn.

The brother and sister mentioned in that verse refer only to siblings from a common father. The Rabbis added to the list siblings who share a common mother. They also added to the list married sisters.

One should mourn second-degree relatives as well, i.e. sons of the above seven (Tosfos) and parents' parents (Rashi).

The above is the opinion of R. Akiva; R. Shimon Ben Elazar says the only second-degree relatives to be mourned are grandparents and grandchildren.

The Chachamim agree with R. Akiva, but limit mourning for second-degree relatives to when one is in the presence of the first-degree relative who himself is in mourning.

(R. Huna): When the Beraisa requires mourning for second-degree relatives, it does not apply to one's wife's relatives, except for her parents.

Contradiction: There is one Beraisa that says that when one's father-in-law or mother-in-law dies he should observe mourning with his wife. Another Beraisa says that when a woman is in mourning she should nevertheless do wifely chores such as making her husband's bed and washing him up. Since having a bed and washing up are forbidden to mourners, obviously the husband is not observing mourning with her.

Resolution: The first Beraisa is only talking about when the wife's parent died (as it says explicitly); the second Beraisa is talking about when other relatives of the wife died. This corresponds exactly with what R. Huna said.