Shabbos Chapter 23, Mishnah 5: The Needs of a Meis on Shabbos

Shabbos, Chapter 23, Mishnah 5. In the previous mishnah we dealt with the needs of a deceased person on Shabbos, and our mishnah continues with the same subject.

Tending to the body of the deceased:

The mishnah opens: "Osin kol tzorchei hames" - one may attend to all the needs of the body of the deceased:

"Sachin" - anointing the body with oil.
"Umedichin oso" - washing the body with water.
"U'vilvad shelo yaziz bo eiver" - all of this on condition that none of its limbs be moved.

The basis for this is the law of muktzeh: the prohibition is not in merely touching a muktzeh object - and the body of the deceased is muktzeh - but in moving it. Therefore one may anoint and wash, as long as no limb of the body is moved.

Slipping out the pillow and placing the body on sand:

What, then, may be done with the body? "Shomtin es hakar mitachtav" - one may slip the pillow or the bedding out from under the body, and likewise "metilin oso al hachol bishvil sheyamtin" - one may lay it on sand so that it can wait there in a condition in which it is less likely to decompose, since the material of the bedding causes decomposition more than the coolness of the sand does, and for this reason it was the accepted practice to do so. The rule is that one does not move the body directly, but rather slips away the item upon which the body is lying, and this is permitted on Shabbos.

"Lo sheya'aleh ela shelo yosif":

"Koshrin es halechi" - one may tie up the jaw of the deceased, "lo sheya'aleh ela shelo yosif" - not in order to move it and close it, but in order that it not open further.
"Vechen korah hanishberes" - a beam that broke on Shabbos, "somchin osah bisafsal o ba'aruchos hamitah" - one may support it with a bench or even with the side of a bed. "Lo shetaaleh ela shelo tosif" - there is no permission to move the beam itself, since that is a form of building, but only to prevent its condition from worsening and its movement from widening.

Closing the eyes:

The mishnah continues: "Ein me'amtzin es hames b'Shabbos" - one may not close the eyes of the deceased on Shabbos, since even an eyelid is included in the moving of a limb. "V'lo b'chol im yetzias nefesh" - and even on a weekday one may not close the eyes while a person is in his final moments. "Hame'ametz im yetzias nefesh harei zeh shofech damim" - one who closes the eyes of a dying person is guilty of bloodshed, because closing the eyes hastens death; and even if he hastened it by mere seconds, this is considered murder.

Original maamar

אות שבת כג:ה

עוֹשִׂין כָּל צָרְכֵי הַמֵּת, סָכִין וּמְדִיחִין אוֹתוֹ, וּבִלְבַד שֶׁלֹּא יָזִיזוּ בוֹ אֵבֶר. שׁוֹמְטִין אֶת הַכַּר מִתַּחְתָּיו וּמַטִּילִין אוֹתוֹ עַל הַחֹל בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁיַּמְתִּין. קוֹשְׁרִים אֶת הַלֶּחִי, לֹא שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה, אֶלָּא שֶׁלֹּא יוֹסִיף. וְכֵן קוֹרָה שֶׁנִּשְׁבְּרָה, סוֹמְכִין אוֹתָהּ בְּסַפְסָל אוֹ בַּאֲרֻכּוֹת הַמִּטָּה, לֹא שֶׁתַּעֲלֶה, אֶלָּא שֶׁלֹּא תוֹסִיף. אֵין מְעַמְּצִין אֶת הַמֵּת בְּשַׁבָּת, וְלֹא בְחֹל עִם יְצִיאַת נֶפֶשׁ. וְהַמְעַמֵּץ עִם יְצִיאַת נֶפֶשׁ, הֲרֵי זֶה שׁוֹפֵךְ דָּמִים: One may perform all of the needs of the dead on Shabbat. One may smear oil on the body and rinse it with water, and all of this is permitted provided that one does not move any of its limbs, which would constitute a violation of the laws of set-aside objects. When necessary, one may also remove a pillow from beneath it and thereby place it on cold sand in order to delay its decomposition. Similarly, one may tie the jaw of a corpse that is in the process of opening. One may not move it directly so that it will rise back to its original position, but so that it will not continue to open. And similarly, if one has a roof beam that has broken on Shabbat, one may support it with a bench or with long poles from a bed. One may not move it so that the beam will rise back to its original place, but so that it will not continue to fall. One may not shut the eyes of the dead on Shabbat because the body is set-aside. And one may not shut the eyes even on a weekday while the soul departs. One must wait until the person has died. And one who shuts the eyes while the soul departs is a murderer because he has hastened the person’s death.