Chapter XXIII

Eighteen Treatises from the Mishna, by D. A. Sola and M. J. Raphall, [1843], at sacred-texts.com

CHAPTER XXIII.

§ 1. A man may borrow of his acquaintance jars of wine or of oil, provided he does not say to him, "Lend [trust] me;" likewise a woman [may borrow] bread from her friends [acquaintance]; if he refuses to trust him, he, [the borrower] may leave his Taleth [upper garment as a pledge] with the lender, and settle his account with him after Sabbath. Thus, likewise, in Jerusalem, if the eve of the passover falls on the Sabbath, a man leaves his Taleth with the vendor, takes his paschal lamb, and settles his account after the holy day,

§ 2. A man may verbally count the number of his guests, and also of his additional dishes [hors d’œuvres], but he must not do it from a written list. He may let his children and household draw [cast] lots at table, [as to who is to have part of one dish, and who is to have part of another], provided he does not [with strangers] intentionally stake a larger portion against a smaller one, on account of ‏קוביא‎. ¹

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[paragraph continues] They may put lots on the portions of sacrifices on the holy day, but not on the sacrifices of the preceding day.

§ 3. He must not hire labourers on the Sabbath, nor may he commission another to hire them for him. He must not stand [waiting for] the dusk at techoom, ² in order [as soon as the Sabbath goes out] to hire labourers [beyond the techoom], or to gather fruit [beyond it]; but he may await the nightfall at the techoom, in order to watch [fruit that is beyond it]; and, in that case, he may bring fruit back with him. Abbah Saul laid down the rule, "Whatever I am permitted to prepare [for the coming day] on the Sabbath, I may get ready for at nightfall."

§ 4. They may await the nightfall close to the techoom, to forward what is necessary for a bride, and also what is necessary for a corpse, to bring a coffin and shrouds for it. If a heathen has brought mourning pipes [instruments] on the Sabbath, an Israelite must not mourn [play] thereon, unless they be brought from the vicinity. If a coffin has been made, and a grave dug for him [a heathen], an Israelite may be buried therein, but if [it has been done] on purpose for an Israelite, he must not at all be buried therein.

§ 5. They may do all that is needful to the corpse [on the Sabbath], anoint and wash it, provided they do not strain its limbs. ³ The pillow may be moved from under its head; it may be put on sand, that it keep the longer [from putrefaction]: its jaws may be tied, not to force them closer, but to prevent them dropping lower. In like manner a beam that has been broken [cracked] may be upheld [supported] by a stool or a bedstead, not that it may again become erect, but that it do not break more. They must not close the eyes of the dead on the Sabbath, nor [yet] on the week-day, while he is expiring. Whoever closes the eyes of a dying person the instant he expires, is as if he shed blood [like a murderer].

Footnotes

67:1 From the Greek κυβεια, dice. The prohibition is, lest the casting of lots degenerate into a game of hazard.

68:2 The distance of 2000 amoth, which may be traversed on the Sabbath. (Vide Treatise Erubin.)

68:3 Out of their natural position [out of joint].