txt/Mishnah/Seder Moed/Mishnah Moed Katan/English/Eighteen Treatises from the Mishna.txt

Mishnah Moed Katan
משנה מועד קטן
Eighteen Treatises from the Mishna
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Mishnah Moed Katan



Chapter 1

One may water an irrigated field on the <i>Moed</i> [intermediate days of <i>Pesach</i> and <i>Sukkot</i>, upon which some forms of <i>melakhah</i> are prohibited] and during the Sabbatical year, whether from a new emerging spring, as well as from a spring that is not just now emerging. But they may not irrigate it from [stored] rain-water, nor from water [drawn] from a deep well; nor may they make [dig] trenches [to hold water] around vines.
Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah says, One may not make [dig] a fresh trench [conduit, or water course] on the <i>Moed</i>, or during the Sabbatical year. But the sages hold, that a fresh trench [water course] may be dug during the Sabbatical year, and one may repair those [conduits] which are damaged on the <i>Moed</i>. They may [likewise] repair water works [which are] in the public domain and clean them. They may also repair the roads, the market [public] places, and the ritual baths. All public needs may be performed. They may also mark [whitewash] graves, and even send out [inspectors to uproot] <i>Kilayim</i> [planting together certain plants].
Rabbi Eleazar ben Yaakov says: one may draw water from tree to another, provided the entire field is not watered. Plants that have not been watered before the <i>Moed</i> may not be watered during the <i>Moed</i>. The sages permit it in both cases.
One may trap moles and mice in an orchard or a white field [wheat field] in an unusual way on the <i>Moed</i> and during the Sabbatical year. But the sages hold that in an orchard field [one may trap them] in the usual way, but in a white -field [they may be trapped only] in an unusual way. One may repair a breach [in a garden wall by filling it with loose stones] during the <i>Moed</i> and during the Sabbatical year they may repair it in the ordinary way.
Rabbi Meir says, initial inspections of lepers signs may be viewed [by the priest] on the <i>Moed</i> for a lenient assessment [to render him clean], but not for a stringent one [to render him unclean]." But the Sages say, decide neither [the priest may not inspect] for a lenient one nor a stringent one. Furthermore, Rabbi Meir said, "A man may gather the bones of his father and mother [to re-inter them during the <i>Moed</i>], because it is a joy for him [relieves his mind]. Rabbi Yose says, It is mourning for him [afflicts his mind]. A man should not stir up wailing over his dead [bring professional eulogizers], nor should he eulogize him for thirty days before the festival.
One may not dig <i>kuchin</i> [dug out graves] or [built] graves on the <i>Moed</i>, but one may adapt <i>kuchin</i> [to the size of the dead person] on the <i>Moed</i>. One may make a <i>nivrechet</i> [a clothes washing pit] during the <i>Moed</i>, and [one may make] a coffin if the deceased is in the same court [so that pople know it is not an ordinary construction]. Rabbi Yehudah forbids it, unless there were pre-sawn boards on hand.
One may not marry a woman 0n the <i>moed</i> whether she is a virgin or a widow, nor may one perform <i>yibum</i> [a levirate marriage], because it is a [cause of] joy to him, but he remarry his divorced wife. A woman may make her adornments [use cosmetics] on the <i>Moed</i>. Rabbi Yehudah says, She may not apply lime [chalk as a cosmetic], because it [may] cause her pain.
An ordinary person [who is not a professional] may sew [make stitches] in the [regular] way, but the craftsman [whose trade it is to sew, may only do it] in a zigzag fashion. One may interlace [the ropes of the bed frame. Rabbi Yose says: they may even be tightened.
One may erect an oven, or a hearth, or a mill, on the <i>Moed</i> [for the use of the festival]. Rabbi Yehudah says: a pair of millstones may not be roughened for the first time [on the  <i>Moed</i>.
One may make a railing around a roof or a porch in a rough manner, but not as a craftsman. Plaster may be smeared on the crevices [on the roof] and [then] flattened with a roller, or by hand or foot, but not with a flattening tool. Hinges [of a door], or sockets, beams, a lock or the key which were broken, may be repaired on the <i>Moed</i>, provided he does not intend to do the work on the <i>Moed</i>.  All [kinds of] pickled foods of which he can eat during the <i>Moed</i>, may be pickled. 

Chapter 2

If one has turned over his olives [to soften them before pressing], and [then] mourning [for the death of parent etc.] befell him or some unforeseen circumstance befell him, or his laborers disappointed him [by not showing up to work], he may put on the beam for the first time [on the festival]  and leave it there until after the festival. These are the words of Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Yose says, He may pour [the olives] into the press, complete the process, and seal [the casks] in the usual manner.
Similarly, if one has wine is in the cistern,  and [then] mourning [for the death of parent etc.] befell him or some unforeseen circumstance befell him, or his laborers disappointed him [by not showing up to work] , he may pour [the wine into casks],  complete the process, and seal [the casks] in the usual manner, these are the words of Rabbi Yose.  Rabbi Yehudah says, He only has to cover the cistern with boards to prevent it from turning sour.
A man may bring his produce indoors for fear of thieves, and take flax out of the soaking pool, that it not become spoiled, provided he does not intend to do the work on the <i>moed</i>. All those who deliberately intended to do the work on the <i>moed</i> shall have it destroyed.
One may not purchase houses, slaves, or cattle, unless it is for the use of the festival, or for the use of the seller who otherwise might have nothing to eat. One may not move belongings from one house to another, but he may move [his belongings] if both houses are in the same courtyard. One may not bring back vessels from the house of the craftsman, but if one is wary about leaving them [lest they get lost] he may move them to another courtyard.
One may cover dried figs with straw. Rabbi Yehudah says, They may even be piled up in heaps. Sellers of fruit, garments, or utensils, may privately sell what is required for use on the <i>moed</i> . Hunters, grinders of cereals, and millers of grits  may engage in their work in private for the requirements of the festival. Rabbi Yose says, they were strict upon themselves.