Moed Katan — Mishnah

Moed Katan

Moed Katan — Mishnah on Beth HaMidrash: the Hebrew text with its English translation, with Rashi and the major commentators. Free, online.

מַשְׁקִין בֵּית הַשְּׁלָחִין בַּמּוֹעֵד וּבַשְּׁבִיעִית, בֵּין מִמַּעְיָן שֶׁיָּצָא בַתְּחִלָּה, בֵּין מִמַּעְיָן שֶׁלֹּא יָצָא בַתְּחִלָּה. אֲבָל אֵין מַשְׁקִין לֹא מִמֵּי הַגְּשָׁמִים וְלֹא מִמֵּי הַקִּילוֹן. וְאֵין עוֹשִׂין עוּגִיּוֹת לַגְּפָנִים:One may irrigate a field that requires irrigation on the intermediate days of a Festival as well as during the Sabbatical Year, both from a newly emerged spring that began to flow only during the Festival, and from a spring that did not just emerge and that has been flowing for some time. However, one may not irrigate a field with rainwater collected in a cistern, a procedure that requires excessive exertion, or with water drawn with a shadoof [kilon], a lever used to raise water with a bucket from deep down in a well. And one may not construct circular ditches around the bases of grapevines on the intermediate days of a Festival.

רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה אוֹמֵר, אֵין עוֹשִׂין אֶת הָאַמָּה בַתְּחִלָּה בַּמּוֹעֵד וּבַשְּׁבִיעִית, וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, עוֹשִׂין אֶת הָאַמָּה בַּתְּחִלָּה בַּשְּׁבִיעִית, וּמְתַקְּנִין אֶת הַמְּקֻלְקָלוֹת בַּמּוֹעֵד. וּמְתַקְּנִין אֶת קִלְקוּלֵי הַמַּיִם שֶׁבִּרְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים וְחוֹטְטִין אוֹתָן. וּמְתַקְּנִין אֶת הַדְּרָכִים וְאֶת הָרְחוֹבוֹת וְאֶת מִקְווֹת הַמַּיִם, וְעוֹשִׂין כָּל צָרְכֵי הָרַבִּים, וּמְצַיְּנִין אֶת הַקְּבָרוֹת, וְיוֹצְאִין אַף עַל הַכִּלְאָיִם:Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya says: One may not construct a new water channel during the intermediate days of a Festival or during the Sabbatical Year. And the Rabbis say: One may construct a new water channel during the Sabbatical Year and one may repair damaged water channels during the intermediate days of a Festival. In addition to performing labor on one’s own property in order to avoid financial loss, it is also permitted to perform labor on the intermediate days of a Festival for the public welfare: One may repair damaged water cisterns that are in the public domain, and clean them out by removing the dirt and sediment that accumulated there; one may repair roads, streets, and ritual baths; and one may tend to all other public needs. So too, one may mark graves to inform the public of their ritual impurity, and inspectors may even go out to uproot the shoots of prohibited diverse kinds [kilayim] that grew in the fields during the rainy season.

רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר, מוֹשְׁכִים אֶת הַמַּיִם מֵאִילָן לְאִילָן, וּבִלְבַד שֶׁלֹּא יַשְׁקֶה אֶת כָּל הַשָּׂדֶה. זְרָעִים שֶׁלֹּא שָׁתוּ לִפְנֵי הַמּוֹעֵד, לֹא יַשְׁקֵם בַּמּוֹעֵד. וַחֲכָמִים מַתִּירִין בָּזֶה וּבָזֶה:Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: In a field that is filled with trees, one may draw water via channels from one tree to another tree on the intermediate days of a Festival because trees are in dire need of water. And this is permitted provided that in doing so he does not water the entire field. With regard to plants that were not watered prior to the Festival, one may not water them on the intermediate days of the Festival because they do not need the water. But the Rabbis permit watering in this case, i.e., trees, and that case, i.e., plants.

צָדִין אֶת הָאִישׁוּת וְאֶת הָעַכְבָּרִים מִשְּׂדֵה הָאִילָן וּמִשְּׂדֵה הַלָּבָן, שֶׁלֹּא כְדַרְכּוֹ, בַּמּוֹעֵד וּבַשְּׁבִיעִית. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, מִשְּׂדֵה הָאִילָן כְּדַרְכּוֹ, וּמִשְּׂדֵה הַלָּבָן שֶׁלֹּא כְדַרְכּוֹ. וּמְקָרִין אֶת הַפִּרְצָה בַּמּוֹעֵד, וּבַשְּׁבִיעִית בּוֹנֶה כְדַרְכּוֹ:One may trap moles [ishut] and mice in an orchard and in a field of grain in a way that is not his usual manner, i.e., as he would trap them all year round, both on the intermediate days of a Festival and during the Sabbatical Year. But the Rabbis say: In an orchard he may trap them in his usual manner, but in a field of grain, where there is no danger of substantial financial loss, he may only trap them in a way that is not his usual manner. And one may seal a breach in the wall of his garden on the intermediate days of a Festival, and during the Sabbatical Year one may even build a wall in his usual manner, as this is not considered an agricultural labor. Consequently, despite the fact that this benefits the garden by offering it protection, it is not prohibited during the Sabbatical Year.

רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר, רוֹאִין אֶת הַנְּגָעִים בַּתְּחִלָּה לְהָקֵל, אֲבָל לֹא לְהַחְמִיר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, לֹא לְהָקֵל וְלֹא לְהַחְמִיר. וְעוֹד אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר, מְלַקֵּט אָדָם עַצְמוֹת אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁשִּׂמְחָה הִיא לוֹ. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, אֵבֶל הוּא לוֹ. לֹא יְעוֹרֵר אָדָם עַל מֵתוֹ וְלֹא יַסְפִּידֶנּוּ קֹדֶם לָרֶגֶל שְׁלֹשִׁים יוֹם:When symptoms of leprosy appear, they must be examined by a priest, who determines whether or not the symptoms qualify as leprosy. Rabbi Meir says: A priest may initially examine an individual showing symptoms of leprosy on the intermediate days of a Festival in order to be lenient, i.e., he may pronounce the individual to be free of leprosy, but not in order to be stringent; he may not pronounce the individual to be impure. The individual does not become ritually impure until the priest pronounces him to have leprosy, and therefore the priest may remain silent and thereby prevent causing the afflicted individual distress during the Festival. And the Rabbis say: The priest may not examine the symptoms in order to be lenient or in order to be stringent. Rabbi Meir also stated another leniency concerning the halakhot of the intermediate days of a Festival: A person may gather the bones of his father and mother from their temporary graves on the intermediate days of a Festival. In ancient times, it was customary to first bury a corpse in a temporary grave. After the flesh had decomposed, the bones would be collected, placed in a coffin, and buried in a vault together with the bones of the deceased individual’s ancestors. This is permitted on the intermediate days of a Festival because the fact that one merited to bring the bones of his deceased parents to the graves of their ancestors is a source of joy for him. Rabbi Yosei says: One does not gather these bones on the intermediate days of a Festival, because it is a source of mourning for him. Even though he is happy to be able to bury his parents’ bones in their ancestral graves, he is still pained by the memory of their death. And all agree that a person may not arouse [ye’orer]lamentation for his deceased relative, and he may not eulogize him during the thirty days before a pilgrimage Festival.

Mishnah Moed Katan.1