Onen (אונן) Between Death and Burial (02) – The Yerushalmi that Drives the Halakhic Discourse
There are times when a specific passage in the Talmud Yerushalmi gets pulled into the flow of Halakha and sets the tone for the subsequent discourse. In the case of the onen there is a powerful sugya from the Yerushalmi that is brought by the Tosafot1and ultimately defines the parameters of the Halakhic conversation. Because of the importance of this text, we will analyze it piece by piece.
We begin with a simple drasha that removes the onen from the category of Mitzvot:
תלמוד ירושלמי (וילנא) מסכת ברכות פרק ג
א”ר בון כתיב לְמַעַן תִּזְכֹּר אֶת יוֹם צֵאתְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ (דברים טז:ג)
ימים שאת עוסק בהן בחיים ולא ימים שאת עוסק בהן במתים.
Yerushalmi, Berachot 3
Rebbi said, “It is written in order that you remember the day of the Exodus from Egypt all the days of your life (Devarim 16:3) –
Days when you are involved with life, and not days in which you are involved with death.
This Midrash makes a blanket statement that only days that are filled with life are meant to be days of Mitzvot. However, days in which a person is, “עוסק בהן במתים – involved with those who are dead” are simply not days to do Mitzvot. This is a strong statement about the nature of a life imbued with Mitzvot. …