Translate this website
ב״ה
← Library

שולחן ערוך, יורה דעה שנ״ט

Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 359

Standard

AI-generated narration

1

מקום יציאת המת והאבלים. ובו ב' סעיפים:מקום שנהגו לצאת נשים לפני המטה יוצאות מקום שנהגו לצאת לאחר המטה יוצאות ועכשיו נהגו שאין יוצאות אלא לאחר המטה ואין לשנות:

Wherever it is the accepted custom for women to precede the bier, they may do so; wherever it is the accepted practice to follow the bier, they may do so.2San. 20a; Y. ibid. II, 4(20b). In Y. the following reasons are advanced for these customs: a) The custom of women preceding the bier is due to the fact that they were the first to cause death in the world (cf. Gen. III); b) The custom of women following the bier is on account of propriety, so that the men should not have to gaze at the women. The latter custom was adopted, for it avoids the possibility of commiting a sin. Cf. San. ibid., Tosaf. s.v. נשים; Gen. R. § 17, 8 and comment, of MaHaRIF and RaDaL a.l. Now it is customary for them only to follow the bier, and [this custom] should not be changed.

2

יש למנוע מלצאת נשים לבית הקברות אחר המטה:

Women should be withheld from following the bier to the cemetery.3e., they may follow the bier in the funeral procession (as supra par. 1), but they are not permitted to enter the cemetery grounds when the corpse is interred. This is derived from Zohar, Ex. Way-yakhel 196a-b. Cf. Ber. 51a. B.L.Y. rejects this ruling.

Text editions & licenses

Ashlei Ravrevei: Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah, Lemberg, 1888 · Public Domain · Edition source

Code of Hebrew Law by Chaim N. Denburg, Montreal, 1955 · CC-BY · Edition source

Text supplied by Sefaria

Formatting adapted for this reader; original wording retained.

Study companion