BERACHOS CHAPTER 2 MISHNAH 6
He bathed on the first night following the death of his wife. His disciples asked him: Did you not teach us, our Rabbi, that a mourner is forbidden to bathe? He said to them: I am not like the rest of men, I am a delicate person.

CHAPTER 2 MISHNAH 7
And when Tavi, his slave, died, he accepted condolence for him. His disciples said to him, Have you not taught us, our Rabbi, that one does not accept condolences for slaves? He said to them: My slave Tavi was not like the rest of the slaves. He was a worthy (kasher) person.

BERACHOS CHAPTER 2 MISHNAH 6
He bathed on the first night following the death of his wife. His disciples asked him: Did you not teach us, our Rabbi, that a mourner is forbidden to bathe? He said to them: I am not like the rest of men, I am a delicate person

KEHATI
Following the preceding case, the mishnah proceeds to recount two further instances where R. Gamliel acted contrary to the accepted Halakhic ruling.

He bathed on the first night following the death of his wife. Despite the Halakha declaring it prohibited for a mourner to bathe in warm water, R. Gamliel acted leniently towards himself and bathed on the night following the death of his wife.

His disciples asked him: Did you not teach us, our Rabbi, that a mourner is forbidden to bathe? Why were you lenient with yourself?

He said to them: I am not like the rest of men, l am different from them. I am a delicate person. I am weak and pampered, and my body needs to be bathed in warm water. If I do not bathe, I suffer; the prohibition, however, only applies to the deriving of pleasure from bathing.

CHAPTER 2 MISHNAH 7
And when Tavi, his slave, died, he accepted condolence for him. His disciples said to him, Have you not taught us, our Rabbi, that one does not accept condolences for slaves? He said to them: My slave Tavi was not like the rest of the slaves. He was a worthy (kasher) person.

KEHATI
And when Tavi, his slave died, the latter was R. Gamliel’s Canaanite slave, he accepted condolence for him. As R. Gamliel returned from the graveside, those present formed a double line (shurah) and comforted him, as is the practice in the case of other mourners (see below 3:1).

His disciples said to him, to R. Gamliel: Have you not taught us, our Rabbi, that one does not accept condolences for slaves? Why did you then when your slave died?

He said to them: My slave Tavi was not like the rest of the Canaanite slaves. He was a worthy (kasher) person. He observed the mitzvot faithfully. Others take kasher to mean that Tavi was a learned Torah scholar.

According to the Vilna Gaon (Shenot E!iyahu), the disciples raised two objections: (1) Even if Tavi was a Jew, he was no relative of R. Gamliel, and (2) He was a slave and no mourning formalities are observed in respect of slaves. R. Gamliel replied to both questions: Having been different from the other slaves, Tavi was not governed by the same laws as they. Secondly, even though he was no relative, he was a worthy person, and all should accept condolences for him. As the Talmud Yerushalmi avers, a faithful servant is as dear to a master as his own son.