Having Shmuel's answer to Pinchas, what excuse is there for learning the laws of mourning, for instance, in a daf-yomi seder, at a time that they are unnecessary?
H. David Levine, Roanoke, VA
David, your question is dealt with by one of the Rishonim, the Sefer Chasidim #261, written by Rebbi Yehudah ha'Chasid.
1) He writes that someone who wants to learn Tractate Moed Katan should pray to Hash-m that nothing bad should occur as a result of this. He also writes that the Rebbi teaching it should do so privately and should not publicize its study. If one does so, no damage will come about through the learning.
2) According to this, one should not make special advertisements about a Dafyomi Shiur on Moed Katan, but rather be satisfied that the regular attendants continue in the Shiur.
3) Having said that, it should be noted that the Sefer Chasidim writes enthusuastically about the importance of learning Moed Katan, one of the reasons being that since it is a tractate that people generally do not wish very much to study, one receives a greater reward for learning an unpopular topic.
4) I heard once that in the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, the first few pages of Maseches Kesubos used to be a fixed part of the study cycle in the Yeshiva. These passages contain a lot of Halachos of mourning. At the time of the study, certain disasters happened to the families of people connected with the Yeshiva. It was decided that it may be that the fact that the Yeshiva was studying these pages in depth was a bad sign, so henceforth these pages were studied more briefly.
I assume that this is consistent with the aforementioned Sefer Chasidim, because learning in depth a topic in a yeshiva with hundreds or possibly thousands of students cannot be considered a private sort of learning.
5) See also Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt'l (in Halichos Shlomo, Mo'adim (Bein ha'Metzarim), chapter 15, note 35), who expressed that one should not neglect any area of Talmud Torah, and one who learns for the sake of Hash-m will be protected from anything harmful. As part of the daily Halachah Shi'ur he gave in his synagogue in Sha'arei Chessed for many years between Minchah and Ma'ariv, he included Hilchos Avelus in the cycle. See there. (Y. Shaw)
There is an important Torah concept, based on Koheles 8:5, "Shomer Mitzvah Lo Yeida Davar Ra" -- if someone fulfills a Mitzvah, nothing bad will happen to him as a result. The Gemara in Shabbos (63a) learns from this verse that one who does a Mitzvah in the proper way will not hear bad news. Similarly the Mitzvah of learning Maseches Moed Katan, and knowing and understanding the Halachos relevant at a time of bereavment, G-d forbid, will protect those who study it from any negative experiences.
Kol Tuv,
Dovid Bloom
I posed your question to a Gadol. He replied that before the Chasam Sofer started giving a Shi'ur on these matters of mourning, he would give a coin to charity. This is somewhat different to what we wrote earlier, because according to this the Chasam Sofer did give a Shi'ur on Maseches Moed Katan but before doing so he gave a Perutah to Tzedakah, so that this Mitzvah would protect him and the people in his Shi'ur from any negative effects that this learning might bring with it.
Gmar Chasimah Tovah,
Dovid Bloom
Thank you very much for that update. I had cause to remember this correspondence today, as the daf yomi calender starts Seder Yevamos. These dapim I think are part of the regular yeshiva seder, and I had to wonder, if there was so much literal precaution by gedolim about Moad Katan, why is Yevamos, which starts with a sibling's bereavement, more abstract. I can give a coin to tzedaka for both Moad Katan and Yevamos, but I would wonder still: how are the gedolim distinguishing these daf from the others?
1) It seems to me that there is a big difference between learning Yevamos and learning the laws of mourning in depth. When one learns Yevamos one does not focus on the death of the sibling but rather one focuses on the Halachic ramifications that follow. The death of the sibling is not the crucial point any more; rather, what is important is who now is allowed to marry whom. In contrast, when one learns the Halachos of mourning one is directly involved with how to commemorate the death of the loved one.
2) In addition, I looked up one of the sources that the Kollel cited in the name of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt'l, mentioned in one of the previous replies. In Halichos Shlomo, Moadim part 1, page 439, note 35, Rav Shlomo Zalman is cited as saying that even though the Chasam Sofer was concerned
about the negative effect of studying these matters, this concern applies only to the Chasam Sofer, who was on a very high level of holiness, but is not applicable to people like us.
We sees that according to Rav Shlomo Zalman, we are not expected to behave in these matters with the same sensitivity that the Chasam Sofer did.
Kol Tuv,
Dovid Bloom
I asked also your question about Yevamos to one of the Gedolim and he answered (according to my understanding of the answer) that since the Mitzvah of Yibum follows the death of the brother, one need not be worried about negative effects from learning the Tractate. So, when learning these matters one does need some protection from misfortune that may occur as a result of the learning. When learning Moed Katan it is advisable to make a donation to charity and we can assume this will provide the protection. However, when learning Yevamos there is something else capable of protecting us from misfortune. This is the very Mitzvah of Yibum, that follows
the death of the brother and which we learn about in the course of the Maseches.
Kol Tuv,
Dovid Bloom