Aligned sentence by sentence
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Mishnah [1]
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His statement "his dead lying before him" does not mean that it must literally be set out before him; rather, he means it of the period before its burial, even if the deceased is not with him in one place.
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But if that deceased is not close kin to one upon whom mourning falls, then he is obligated in *Shema* recitation, even though the body has not yet been buried — unless there is someone before him guarding it, in which case *Shema* recitation does not fall upon him at that time.
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"The bearers of the bier" are those who carry the coffin. "And their replacements, and the replacements of their replacements" are the groups designated to bear the coffin when the first set has wearied of carrying it.
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So all who take turns at bearing the coffin, or who are needed to assist in the bearing — whether they are in front of the bier or behind it — are exempt from *Shema* recitation.
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But if a person is not among those appointed to take a turn at bearing the coffin, nor is he assisting in the bearing, but has merely come out to accompany the funeral procession, then he is obligated in *Shema* recitation.
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And none of them is obligated in *prayer*, the reason for this being preoccupation of mind.
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Mishnah [2]
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Their custom was that the dead would be buried, after which all the people would withdraw from the grave and move off from it a set distance to a known spot. That spot is called *ma'amad*, where the mourners stand and the people gather there for consolation.
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"*Shurah*" is the row, and that spot was given this name because the people would arrange themselves there in rows.
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As for his statement "to begin and to complete," he means by it: to finish the first verse only. And if the spot where they stand for consolation is near the grave, within a range that does not allow time to recite the verse "*Shema*" over the length of that path while they are walking, then he does not begin the recitation.
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"The inner ones" are the groups who can see the mourners without people standing in between them, and those behind them are called "the outer ones."
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Mishnah [3]
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All of this is clear. The discussion of it will come in its place in tractate Kiddushin, concerning the commandments that do not fall upon women, and what bears upon this.
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Mishnah [4]
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"*Ba'al keri*" is the man who has emitted semen, whether by his own will or against his will. The explanation of "*meharher*" is "he reflects" — meaning that he recites the *Shema* inwardly, in his mind, without moving his lips.
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The blessing after food is incumbent upon him because it is from the Torah, like *Shema* recitation, this being His statement, may He be exalted, "And you shall eat and be satisfied and bless the Lord your God" (Deut 8:10).
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The decided ruling of the law is that "words of Torah do not contract impurity," and it is permitted for him to recite the *Shema* and to bless before it and after it, and likewise the Grace after Meals, even though he is a *ba'al keri*.
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As for prayer, the practice was established that a *ba'al keri* should not pray until he immerses in water — except that if he was ill and had a seminal emission, no purification falls upon him in any case.
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And that is according to the earlier state of affairs, I mean the one in which immersion was incumbent upon a *ba'al keri*, who would then pray, as is explained in the Talmud. This is the text of the Talmud: "One who is sick on account of [an involuntary emission] is exempt from anything" (BT Berakhot 22a).
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Mishnah [5]
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The words of this mishnah concern only the punctilious ones who would take care to complete the *Shema* recitation with the rising of the sun over the horizon, so that the prayer would coincide with sunrise; and they would support this from the verse of God, "they shall fear You while the sun endures" (Ps 72:5). For this reason such a one would cover himself with water and recite.
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"*Mayim ha-ra'im*" — the foul water. "*Mei mishrah*" — flax-steeping water. And his statement "until he casts water into them" does not refer back to "the foul water and the flax-steeping water"; rather, it refers back to "urine," upon which the name "foul water" also falls.
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As for the foul water and the flax-steeping water, one may not cover oneself with them in any case, even if water is poured into them. But as for the urine of a single person from one voiding — if a *revi'it* of water is poured into it, then reciting the *Shema* in its presence becomes permitted, within a space of four cubits.
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So the reckoning of this mishnah is thus: "But one may not cover oneself with the foul water or with the flax-steeping water, nor may one recite facing urine until he casts water into them; and how far must he distance himself from them if he has not cast water into them, and from excrement? Four cubits."
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We will explain in the tractate that follows this one the measure of the *revi'it* and the other liquid measures.
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And his statement that one must distance himself four cubits from excrement applies when it is behind him or to his side; but in front of him, so long as he sees it, he may not recite while it is opposite his eyes.
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Mishnah [6]
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The *zav* and the *niddah* — their impurity is severe, and purification from it within a single day is not possible, as we will explain in its proper places. The explanation of the expression "*meshammeshet*" is "having intercourse," and it is a euphemism for the woman during intercourse.
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It is the nature of a woman, when she has had intercourse and the semen comes to rest in its receptacle, that whatever matter is found there should coagulate and the embryo be formed, as is made clear in the natural sciences. But if afflictions arise in the womb that prevent its processes from proceeding properly, that semen is expelled from the woman.
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Sometimes it is expelled after it has altered and decayed, and sometimes it is expelled while still being semen — that being when it is expelled within three days, as is explained elsewhere. And a woman is termed "one who has discharged semen" (*poletet shikhvat zera*) when that semen is expelled from her.
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Just as purification is incumbent upon the man who emits semen, so too is it incumbent upon the woman who has had intercourse, or from whom semen has been expelled before it altered — even if she had purified herself in the wake of the intercourse and then expelled it a day or two later.
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So the Sages say that the *zav* when he experiences an emission, and the woman who is a *niddah* when semen is expelled from her as we have mentioned, or when she sees blood during intercourse and becomes a *niddah* — these require purification from the impurity of "discharge of semen," and only then do they pray, even though they are in an impurity more severe than it, I mean the impurity of *zivah* and *niddah*.
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But R. Yehudah says: since they are in a severe impurity, they need not purify themselves from the light impurity. And the law is not according to R. Yehudah.
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All of this pertains to the earlier state of affairs, in which one rendered impure by the emission of semen was obligated to immerse and would then pray. But once it later occurred in the Talmud that "they abrogated the immersion" (*bitlu'ha li-tevilta*), all of this fell away.
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And only washing is required before prayer — that alone, because people have adopted this practice. As for the *zav* and the *niddah*, they are not obligated to wash, since people have not adopted that practice. So this is established as correct.