סימן כג - דיני ציצית בבית הקברות ובו ה' סעיפים

Recording: Seifim 1–5

1. One may enter a cemetery wearing tzitzis, provided his tzitzis do not drag over the graves, so that it not be like mocking the poor^[1],

that is, the dead are poor and exempt from mitzvos and cannot fulfill them, and we fulfill them.

2. When is it said that one may enter a cemetery in tzitzis? With tzitzis attached to clothing worn for his own need, and not to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis,

such as when he has another tallis with tzitzis, as was the custom in the days of the Sages of the Gemara, when all their garments had four corners, for he cannot remove all his clothes when going to a cemetery.

But with tallisos intended not as clothing but only to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis, as with us, who intend garments with four corners only for the mitzvah,

it is forbidden to enter a cemetery in them, even if the tzitzis do not drag over the graves, because of mocking the poor.

When is this said? When the tzitzis are uncovered and visible; then there is mocking the poor.

But if they are covered and not visible at all, there is no mocking the poor here^[2].

3. Some are accustomed to tie two tzitzis of two corners together when entering a cemetery, so that the mitzvah of tzitzis on them is cancelled.

But their remedy accomplished nothing, for although they tie them together, the mitzvah of tzitzis is not cancelled by this, since they will later untie them.

4. One who enters within four cubits of a dead person, or within four cubits of a grave, or within four cubits of a cemetery, has the same law as one entering a cemetery^[3].

5. Where it is customary to remove the tzitzis from the tallis of a dead person in the house where he died before he is taken out, those who carry him on their shoulders may not wear tzitzis, because of mocking the poor, unless their tzitzis are covered^[4].

Notes

1. Mocking the poor: Based on the verse: "לועג לרש חרף עושהו" ("One who mocks the poor insults his Maker") (Mishlei 17:5). In the Gemara: "רבי חייא ורבי יונתן הוו שקלי ואזלי בבית הקברות. הוה קשדיא תכלתא דרבי יונתן. אמר ליה רבי חייא, דלייה, כדי שלא יאמרו, למחר באין אצלנו, ועכשיו מחרפין אותנו" ("R. Chiya and R. Yonasan were walking in a cemetery, and R. Yonasan's techeiles was dragging. R. Chiya said to him: Lift it, so that they should not say: Tomorrow they are coming to us, and now they are insulting us") (Berachos 18a).

2. Covered: Likewise with tefillin, below, Siman 45, seif 2: "כשהן מגולין. אבל אם הן מכוסין - אין כאן לועג לרש" ("When they are uncovered. But if they are covered, there is no mocking the poor here").

3. Within four cubits: In the Gemara regarding tefillin: "התם תוך ארבע [אמות] הוא דאסור" ("There, it is forbidden within four cubits") (Berachos 18a). On a cemetery surrounded by a partition, below, Siman 45, seif 1: "אבל חוץ למחיצה מותר אפילו בסמוך לה. אף ע"פ שהוא תוך ד' אמות להקברות - מפני שהמחיצה מפסקת, ואינו נראה כלועג לרש" ("But outside the partition it is permitted even right next to it, although he is within four cubits of the graves, because the partition separates, and it does not appear like mocking the poor"). See also Siman 71, seif 6, regarding Shema.

4. The tallis of the deceased: In the Gemara, on a tallis made for shrouds: "בההיא שעתא ודאי רמינן ליה משום לועג לרש חרף עושהו" ("At that time we certainly attach them, because of 'One who mocks the poor insults his Maker'"), and Rashi explains: "כשלובשין אותו למת" ("When it is put on the deceased") (Menachos 41a). See above, Siman 19, note 2.