Moed Katan Daf 11 - Davar Ha'aveid
Summary
- The sugya forbids engaging in *perakmatya* on *Chol HaMoed*, with Rashi and the Rosh attributing the issur to *tircha* that detracts from *simchat Yom Tov*, while Nimukei Yosef and Maggid Mishneh attribute it to a *gezeirah shema yichtov*, yielding a nafka mina for *hekdesh*. The Gemara permits commerce and debt collection where there is a true *davar ha’aved*, with Rishonim debating whether mere *meniat harvachah* qualifies, and the Chazon Ish reframing sharp price drops as loss of *keren*. The Mishnah restricts building and repairs to *ma’aseh hedyot*, regulates noisy work with four resolutions and a machloket Rabbi Yehuda–Rabbi Yosi about requiring a *shinui*, permits salting fish via two pathways, and records culinary guidance from Ada the fisherman. The second perek introduces olive-oil processing and rules for a mourner or *Chol HaMoed* mid-process, weighs whether *aveilut* is stricter than *Chol HaMoed*, delineates what others may do for a mourner to prevent loss, states planting and professional-service exceptions, and details labor-contract cases.
- Rava states “*perakmatya* kol shehu asur,” and Rashi and the Rosh explain the issur as *tircha* that interferes with *simchat Yom Tov*, whereas Nimukei Yosef and Maggid Mishneh explain it as a *gezeirah shema yichtov* like Shabbat and Yom Tov, creating a nafka mina whether *hekdesh* is allowed. The Gemara permits *perakmatya* in a *davar ha’aved* per Rabbi Yosi bar Avin. Tosafot limits *davar ha’aved* to loss of the goods themselves, while the Ritva includes loss of effort or profit, and the Chazon Ish argues that a steep post-Moed price drop counts as loss of *keren* and thus a *davar ha’aved*. Ravina delayed a sale from six to twelve thousand and profited, and Rav Ashi permits collecting debts on *Chol HaMoed* if debtors are only findable then, treating it as *davar ha’aved*. A baraita allows going to a gentile *yerid* to buy assets and to register with their *arka’ot* “mipnei shehu kematzil miyadan,” analogizing to the same *davar ha’aved* logic.
- Rav permits weaving fishnets on *Chol HaMoed* as *ma’aseh hedyot* but forbids bird-nets as *ma’aseh uman*. Rav Yehuda allows Ami the oven-maker to build ovens and Rabba bar Asafi to make sieves, and the reconciliation with a baraita’s restriction is “kan biYemot haChama, kan biYemot haGeshanim,” allowing when the sun will dry the oven for Moed use and forbidding when rain prevents usability.
- The Mishnah permits making a fence for a roof or porch as *ma’aseh hedyot* but not as *ma’aseh uman*; the Raavad and Ritva read this as a non-mitzvah fence for safety or privacy, while the Ritva holds a mitzvah fence would be mutar even as *ma’aseh uman*, and the Meiri disagrees. It allows filling oven cracks and smoothing by hand or foot but not with a specialized tool, and it allows fixing broken door components on *Chol HaMoed* due to *davar ha’aved*, provided one did not delay to fix them on the Moed. It permits pickling only when the food will be edible on the Moed, and explains that pickling is an issur derabbanan: the Rambam says it is *nir’eh kimevashel* (cooking-like), and Rashi says it is *nir’eh kema’abeid* (tanning-like).
- Rav Yosef defines *ma’aseh hedyot* fencing as using twigs and branches, and a baraita defines it as stacking stones without mortar. The phrase “megilin otan b’megilah” is read as accomplishing what a smoothing wheel would do, but specifically by hand or foot, excluding a specialized implement.
- The Mishnah’s door repair implies allowance despite hammer noise, yet a tradition from the time of Yochanan Kohen Gadol forbids hammering after his gezeirah. The Gemara answers: woodwork noise may be treated differently than loud metalwork; Rav Chisda reframes the distinction as using larger tools that do not create banging noise versus hammers that do; Rav Pappa sets the Mishnah before and the gezeirah after; and Rav Ashi assigns the dispute to Rabbi Yehuda, who requires a *shinui* even for *davar ha’aved*, versus Rabbi Yosi, who permits without *shinui*. Ravina reports current practice of replacing a door-beam on *Chol HaMoed* like Rabbi Yosi.
- Rava permits salting an unexpectedly large holiday catch to prevent spoilage as *davar ha’aved*, despite the Mishnah’s rule כבשין שיכול לאכול מהן במועד כובשין, because the original intent was Moed consumption and otherwise the fish would be lost. In an alternate version, Rava even permits catching extra and salting, since they remain edible on the Moed after repeated soaking to remove salt, as seen in Shmuel’s case of sixty soakings and in Rava’s own meals after rinsing. Rav relays Ada the fisherman’s advice that fish taste best near the point of spoilage (but not past it), that one should roast with salt, soak in water, eat with brine, and drink water; he adds that fish, cress, and milk are heavy and should be followed by walking before sleep, and that water is the best drink with such foods, beer is second, and wine is least suitable.
- The process places olives in a large vessel, the *ma’atan*, for several days to soften, stirs to test readiness, grinds them, packs them into an *akel beit habad*, and presses with a beam so oil drips into a pit, often followed by a second grind and press to extract remaining oil.
- If one’s olives are already turned and ready such that delay will ruin them, and *aveilut*, *ones*, or worker failure intervenes, Rabbi Yehuda permits pressing with the first beam and leaving the rest until after the Moed, while Rabbi Yosi permits completing the process fully and sealing as usual. The case applies whether the impediment is *Chol HaMoed* or *aveilut*, with the machloket defining how much of the process is allowed to prevent loss.
- Rav Shisha bar Rav Idi infers that what is permitted on the Moed is nevertheless forbidden during *aveilut*, making *aveilut* stricter. Rav Ashi reads the Mishnah as a lo mibaya: certainly *aveilut* (derabbanan) allows preventing loss, and even *Chol HaMoed* (treated as de’oraita) is permitted in loss-cases by the Rabbis. The Rishonim treat the Amos verse “ve’hafachti chageichem le’avel” as an asmachta, not a true de’oraita source for the *aveilut* melachah ban.
- A baraita supports Rav Shisha by forbidding the mourner himself from work while permitting others to do limited tasks to prevent loss: pressing already-turned olives, sealing an unsealed jug, removing flax from its soak, removing wool from the dyer’s vat, and minimal field watering at its appointed time. This baraita contrasts with the Moed allowance where the person himself may act to prevent loss.
- Rabbi Yehuda permits sowing a plowed field and planting a field set for flax as preventing significant loss, while the Sages disallow these by arguing one can sow later or plant another species, so the loss is not deemed compelling during *aveilut*.
- Raban Shimon ben Gamliel permits a mourner to perform the necessary work privately when “ein sham uman ela hu,” such as operating the press, sealing jars, or removing flax or wool, and Tosafot read this as consistent with the prior stringency by adding the lone-expert exception. The Ritva explains that *aveilut* is only stricter than the Moed where others can do the work; if no one else can, the mourner may act discreetly. He further permits public work when the mourner is a communal professional (e.g., barber or bath attendant) at a time the public needs service for the regel and no other expert exists.
- Sharecroppers (*arisin*), renters (*chakirin*), and contractors (*kablanim*) may have others do their work so that the landowner does not suffer loss. Donkey-drivers, camel-drivers, and boatmen may not work during *aveilut*, unless already leased or hired for ongoing engagements, in which case they may proceed to avoid forfeiting the entire job. A daily laborer may not work even in another city, since a worker can retract mid-day; a craftsman with someone else’s job in his own house may not work even as a contractor, while if others hold his job in their house, they may continue their work there.
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