One who transports the bones of a dead person should not do so in a disrespectful manner by simply placing them in a type of double bag attachment added to a donkey and then ride on it that way. But if one is afraid of robbers or the like, one may do so. We even learn that if it comes down to it and the only way of transporting a Sefer Torah in a type of disrespectful that even then one may do so – but only under extreme circumstances.
We learn about the importance of accompanying the deceased to their place of rest if one should find oneself in a cemetery at the time that the deceased is being interred.
We hear about a story concerning a rabbi who had let is Tzitzit hang out as it dragged along the graves of those buried there and how his fellow had rebuked him. It was not respectful to them – as he said, because it makes a mockery of those who can no longer fulfill Mitzvot (while we in this world can still perform Mitzvot).
The Talmud then goes into an exciting discussion as to whether or not the dead are aware of things that occur in this world. In
When the sons of Rabbi Chiya were out one day they become disheartened that they had forgot their Torah learning and the one brother asked his brother if he thought that maybe their deceased father had felt their pain over the matter. Now the Talmud turns to the discussion about whether the dead may know about what happens to us in this world or not. We will continue this subject in our next lesson.
The Talmud tells us of a story about a man who gave charity before Rosh HaShanah – but when his wife found out, she was mad at him! He went to sleep in the cemetery to get away from the fighting and heard some spirits talking amongst themselves. They wanted to find out what would be in store for the physical world in the coming year. Knowing well how things would play out, the man followed the discussion in practice and met with success in his harvest that year – while the rest of the world was set with troubles!
Our Gemara will continue in the next lesson as we find out more about this exciting story!
