Berachot 17: What the Rabbis Say Before and After Shema; Exemptions

Some very brief note about today's daf:

• We begin with further descriptions of rabbis' personal words before they say the Shema
• We move on to learn descriptions of rabbis' personal prayers after they say the Shema
• It is noted that women are promised more ease and confidence than men (from Isaiah 32:9) because they are not obliged to pray and yet they ensure that their husbands and children go to the shul and the study hall to pray and to learn
• The rabbis discuss stubborn-headedness, charity, presumptuousness, and laziness, among other traits within the context of G-d's relationship with us

Moving into Perek III, daf 17 (b) continues with a new Mishna:

• One is exempt from reciting the Shema, the Amida, tefillin, and all positive mitzvot in the Torah from the time that one's deceased relative has died until that person has been buried
• Pallbearers and all replacements are exempt from reciting the Amida because they are preoccupied
• Pallbearers who are needed to carry after the bier are the only ones required to recite the Shema
• If there is time after returning from the burial, they should begin
• If there is not time to recite the entire Shema when they return, they should not begin
• Those in the interior row (the mourners will pass by them directly) are exempt from reciting the Shema while others standing further back must recite the Shema
• Women slaves and minors are exempt from reciting the Shema and from donning tefillin, but are required in prayer, mezuza and Birkat HaMazon, Grace after Meals.

The Gemara begins but noting that a bariata had taught that one must eat in a room or at least a partition ion space between oneself and a deceased relative - and one must not recite a blessing before eating.