Talmud - Mo'ed Katan 24b מועד קטן כ״ד ב׳

Abba Shaul says: The infant may be taken out even by one man and two women, for there is no concern with regard to seclusion in a time of mourning. And for such an infant, people do not stand in a line to offer their condolences to the mourners, as is ordinarily done after a burial; nor do others recite over him the mourners’ blessing, which is recited in the courtyard of the graveyard after the burial; nor is the usual formula for the consolation of mourners recited during the seven days of mourning.

A thirty-day-old infant that dies is taken out for burial in a coffin [deluskema]. Rabbi Yehuda says: Not in a small coffin that is carried on one’s shoulder, but rather in a coffin that is carried in the arms of two people. And for such an infant, people stand in a line to offer their condolences to the mourners. And others recite the mourners’ blessing at the cemetery. And people recite the consolation of mourners during the week of mourning.

A twelve-month-old infant is taken out for burial on a bier, just as an adult is. Rabbi Akiva says: This halakha applies if the infant that dies is one year old and his limbs are like those of a two year old, so that he looks older, or if he is two years old and his limbs are like those of a one-year-old. Only then he is taken out on a bier.

Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: For one that is taken out on a bier, the public should grieve [matzhivin]. For one that is not taken out on a bier, the public need not grieve. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya says: The halakha is as follows: If the infant was known to the public, because he regularly left the house and many people knew him, the public must occupy themselves with him and participate in his burial. If he was not known to the public, the public need not occupy themselves with him.

And what is the status of deceased infants with regard to eulogy? Rabbi Meir said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael: The children of the poor are eulogized from the age of three, whereas the children of the wealthy are eulogized from the age of five. This is because a child is the sole source of joy for the poor, and so the pain and grief of the poor over the death of a child is greater than that of the wealthy. Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael: The children of the poor are eulogized from the age of five, whereas the children of the wealthy are eulogized from the age of six. And the children of the elderly are treated like the children of the poor, for the death of a child is particularly painful for an older person.

Rav Giddel bar Menashya said that Rav said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, who stated it in the name of Rabbi Yishmael.

Rabbi Anani bar Sason taught at the entrance to the house of the Nasi: If one suffered the loss of a close relative shortly before the festival of Shavuot, his one day of mourning before Shavuot and Shavuot itself together count as fourteen days. The day before the Festival counts as seven full days of mourning because the Festival interrupts the seven-day period of mourning, and the Festival itself is counted as a seven-day Festival. Even though it is a one-day Festival, it is counted as seven days because it has the same halakha as the other Festivals. After Shavuot, then, only sixteen days are left to complete the thirty-day mourning period. Rabbi Ami heard this and became angry with him. He said: Is that to say that it is his own opinion? It is the opinion that Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Oshaya said.

Similarly Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa taught in the pavilion [kila] of the Exilarch: If one’s relative died shortly before the festival of Shavuot, his one day of mourning before Shavuot and Shavuot itself count as fourteen days. Rav Sheshet heard and became angry. He said: Is that to say that it is his own opinion? It is the opinion that Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Oshaya said.

In both of these cases, a Sage presented an opinion as their own, without attributing it to the original Sage who stated it, for Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Oshaya said: From where is it derived that the Shavuot offerings have redress all seven subsequent days? That is to say, if someone failed to bring the Festival offering on the Festival itself, he has six more days to bring it. As it is stated: “Three times a year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place that He shall choose; on the festival of Passover, and on the festival of Shavuot, and on the festival of Sukkot” (Deuteronomy 16:16). Just as the offerings of the festival of Passover have redress all seven days, as Passover is seven days long, so too the offerings of the festival of Shavuot have redress all seven days, during the week following Shavuot. From this we learn that Shavuot is treated like a seven-day Festival for all halakhic purposes.

Rav Pappa granted permission to Rav Avya the Elder to speak and he taught the following in public: If one’s relative died shortly before Rosh HaShana, his one day of mourning before Rosh HaShana and Rosh HaShana itself together count as fourteen days, because Rosh HaShana is treated like a seven-day Festival. Ravina said: Therefore, if one’s relative died shortly before Sukkot, his one day of mourning before the Festival of Sukkot, and the Festival of Sukkot itself, which is seven days, and its Eighth day of Assembly, which is considered to be a separate Festival, count as twenty-one days, and he must observe only nine more days of mourning to complete the thirty-day period of mourning.

It was related that Ravina happened to come to the city of Sura on the Euphrates River. Rav Ḥaviva from Sura on the Euphrates said to Ravina: Did the Master say that one day of mourning before Rosh HaShana and Rosh HaShana itself count as fourteen days? He said to him: I said that it stands to reason that this is so according to Rabban Gamliel, who maintains that Rosh HaShana is treated like a pilgrim Festival. But I did not rule in accordance with this opinion.

MISHNA: Mourners do not rend their garments during the intermediate days of a Festival and do not remove their garments from their shoulders. And others do not provide them with a meal [mavrin] after the burial, except for close relatives of the deceased. And the consolers provide the first meal after the burial only while the mourner is sitting on an upright bed, and not on one that is overturned.

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

MoedKatan 24b examines burial customs for infants of different ages, detailing mourning rites, coffin types, and eulogy obligations based on age and public recognition.