for the dead. It is known also under the euphemistic name Semachot (שמחות), meaning "festive occasions" or "joys".
References in the Talmud
A collection of
baraitot entitled "Evel Rabbati" is cited in the Talmud,[1] which quotes three teachings from it. But this work is not identical with the work now known as Evel Rabbati, since only one of the three teachings in question is found even in an approximate form in Semahot.[2]
. It is a compilation from various older works; and in many passages traces of revision are to be noticed. The compiler incorporated a considerable part of the small Evel, as well as much from other works, besides adding original matter. The late compilation date of the tractate may be seen from the use of the two Talmudim and from the character of the composition itself, which is unmistakable.
The work reached
Hai Gaon from a distant region. In their responsum to this question they call the tractate "Mishnatenu" = "our Mishnah".[8]Rashi
had the work in its present form, since he explicitly cites as the commencement of the tractate the opening words of the present text.
Organization
The tractate is divided into 14 chapters, and this division dates from the 13th century at the latest, since
aggadot
also are included. On the whole, it furnishes much valuable material for the study of Oriental antiquities in general and of ancient Jewish practices in particular, for the verification of historical facts, and for an understanding of the development of Jewish customs.
The present text is defaced by many corruptions, so that its original form cannot now be determined. Wherever possible the commentators have made corrections on the basis of critical comparison, or have called attention to the corruptions.
Contents
The following is an outline of the tractate:
The first chapter is preceded by an aggadic introduction, inasmuch as it is considered desirable to begin so mournful a tractate with a teaching of a lighter character.[10]
Ch. 1: A person in the agony of death is regarded in every respect as fully alive (§§ 1-8); mourning to be observed for heathen and slaves; other regulations concerning slaves. In this connection it is said that only the three patriarchs
Ch. 2: Mourning customs to be observed for a suicide; cases in which a person found dead is to be regarded as a suicide (§§ 1-6); mourning to be observed, for a person condemned and executed by a Jewish tribunal (§§ 7-9); no mourning is to be observed, even by their nearest relatives, for persons who have renounced their nationality and their faith (§ 10); mourning to be observed for a person executed by a non-Jewish tribunal; other regulations (§§ 11-14).
Ch. 3: The different burial customs, varying according to the age of the deceased.
Ch. 4: Cases in which a priest may handle a corpse, although he thereby loses his priestly purity.
Ch. 5: Mourners are prohibited from performing any work during the seven days of mourning; laws relating to excommunicants.
Ch. 6: What a mourner may and may not do during the seven days of mourning; what a person under a ban may not do; attitude of the community toward him.
Ch. 7: Nature of the thirty days' mourning. In connection therewith many other regulations are enumerated which have to do with terms of thirty days.
Ch. 8: Customs which one may observe, although they appear to be heathen customs; various proverbs, anecdotes, and historical narratives.
Ch. 9: Different mourning customs for different relatives and for different events.
Ch. 10: Mourning while the corpse is still in the house; mourning for scholars and princes; and other regulations.
Ch. 11: When two corpses are in the city, which of the two is to be buried first; the mourning of a wife for the relatives of her husband; signs of mourning to be displayed in the house of a mourner.
Ch. 12, 13: Regulations concerning ossilegium (see above); various other regulations, and anecdotes.
Ch. 14: Regulations concerning graves and the laying out of burial-places; the mourning feast in the house of the mourner.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilhelm Bacher; Jacob Zallel Lauterbach (1901–1906). "Semachot". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.