Berachot 3:1 — full Study (text, context, halachah and principles)

1) Text and context immediately

The mishna establishes three cases and three exemptions:

1. Onén (direct relative died and unburied): exempt Shema, Amidá and tefillin.
2. Casket bearers and their relay: which are required to load are exempt from Shema; which are not required, required to Shema.
3. All (necessary and unnecessary) are exempt from Amidá for lack of concentration (kavanáappropriate.
   Hebrew text source: “מי שמתו מוטל לפניו... נושאי המטה וחילופיהן... אלו ואלו פטורים מן התפילה.”

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2) key Concepts that underlie the mishnah

• Status onén: From the death until the burial, the family member forced to duel will be considered onén and its exclusive focus is the burial (kvod hamet). That is why it is free of Shema, Amidá and tefillin. The gemara expand: who watches the deceased, even if it is not relative, it is also exempt from these mitzvot.
• Osek b mitzvah patur min hamitzvá (“who is engaged in a mitzvah is exempt from another”): a general principle that explains the exemption of the carriers and their relay while they are involved in the levayá (burial). Its classic source is Sukkah 25a.
• Kavaná in the Amidá: even those who are not required to load are exempt from Amidábecause the Amidá requires a deeper intention; the concern and the logistics of the funeral prevent pray with the mind in its site. It is exactly the closure of the mishnah.

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3) Reading the fine of each clause

a) Onén: Shema, Amidá and tefillin

The mishnah exempts of the three. The gemara (Berachot 18a) confirms this and the encoding rules confirms that the onén is exempt from all mitzvos positive until the burial. Shulchan Aruch YD 341 summarizes this framework (e.g., if someone becomes onén in the middle of a recitation has already started, there are specific rules).

About tefillin in mourning: in addition to the onén (before burial), the prohibition of the first day of mourning it is supported in Moed Katán 15a and the notion of pe'er (Ezekiel 24:17); the coding practice appears in Orach Jaím 38 and commentators. (This is already mourning after the burial; the quote to mark the regulatory landscape full of “grief and tefillin”.)

(b) Carrying of the bier and relay

The mishnah distinguishes between:

• Needed now (or in immediate preparation): exempt from Shema by osek b mitzvah.
• Not required: forced to Shema (you can pause and recite).
  All are exempt from Amidá due to the inability to concentrate (tirda).

c) why Shema sometimes yes and Amidá no?

Shema can be recited with a concentration sufficient even in circumstances that are tense; the Amidá requires a kavaná more intense. That's why, even those who no they are active in the transfer of the coffin no pray Amidá at that time. (See the explanation in materials or comment linked to the mishnah.)

4) Development talmudic and early system

• Berachot 18a: extends the statute of the onén and shomer (who has custody of the body), both exempt from the Shema, Amidá and tefillin, and other mitzvot, by the weight of the immediate duty towards the deceased.
• Sukkah 25a: osek b mitzvah as a source of general —application here: levayat hamet (to accompany/load the coffin) suspends other obligations in whom is necessary.
• Rambam, Hilchot Kriat Shema cap 4- encodes that those who are busy in burial or consolation of mourners are exempt from the Shema, just by osek b mitzvah.
• Shulchan Aruch YD 341: presents a compendium of the regime aninut (pre-burial): broad exemption from mitzvot, positive, including tefillin and tefillah.

5) conceptual Synthesis

1. Kvod hamet (honour the dead) and osek b mitzvah justify the temporary suspension of mitzvot.
2. Grading kavaná: the Amidá required full intent; Shema supports a threshold lower.
3. Functional responsibility: the obligation depends on whether the person it is necessary in the task of burial in that instant. The mishnah low to practical (carrier, relays and relay of relay).

6) practical Application today (psak summary)

• Onén (before burial): do not recite Shema, Amidá, do not put tefillin, or performing other mitzvot positive; its focus is to arrange and perform the burial. After the burial, it goes to the status of avel (suffering), rules of mourning, and tefillin differentiated.
• Participants of the funeral:
  • Carriers / logistics team required: exempt from Shema while they are busy.
  • Not required: recite Shema.
  • All: no pray Amidá in that time due to the lack of kavaná. Once you complete the task, and if the time of Amidá is still valid and there are mental calm enough, you can pray.
• Tefillin of the bereaved after the burial (first day): classic norm prohibits the first-day basis: pe'er); from the second day are placed, with nuances of customs. (This already exceeds the onén of our mishnah, but complete the practical framework of the duel).

7) Ideas ethical and theological

The mishnah located human dignity in death and the active mercy even above that of daily obligations as central as the Shema. Does not relativize the importance of the Shema/Amidá, but defines priorities: when the Torah calls us to honor the deceased and to ensure your funeral, that is the mitzvah immediate.