Chapter 9: Rending Garments and Mourning Honors
1. Sewing and Mending Garments After Mourning
When a person tears his garments for the death of a relative other than a parent, he may sew the tear after seven days and mend it after thirty days. For the death of a father or mother, he may sew the tear after thirty days but may never mend it. A woman should tear her garments and sew them immediately, even for a parent, as an expression of modesty.
- Obligation to Tear Garments for Specific Losses
A person must tear his garments not only for the death of a father or mother but also for the death of a Torah teacher, a nasi (leader), the Av Beit Din (chief judge), when the majority of the community has been slain, upon hearing blasphemy of God’s name, when a Torah scroll is burned, and when seeing the cities of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple in their destruction.
- Rules for the Size and Type of Tear
All these tears must be large enough to reveal the heart and should never be fully mended. However, they may be sewn irregularly, sewn after twisting the sides together, or sewn like ladders. Alexandrian mending, which restores the garment to its original state, is forbidden. If a garment is torn where it was sewn irregularly, the act is insignificant; if torn where it was mended Alexandrian-style, it is significant. Even if the garment is turned upside down, it should not be mended.
- Seller and Buyer Responsibilities Regarding Torn Garments
Just as the seller may not mend the tear, the purchaser may not mend it either. Therefore, the seller must inform the buyer that the tear may not be mended.
- Source for Tearing Garments for a Teacher
The obligation to tear garments for a teacher’s death comes from II Kings 2:12: “He was calling out: ‘My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen.’ And then he no longer saw him. And he took hold of his garments and tore them into two halves.” This teaches that one must rip apart the collar.
- Source for Tearing Garments for a Nasi, Av Beit Din, and Community Loss
II Samuel 1:11–12 states: “David took hold of his garments and rent them, as did all the people who were with him. They mourned, they cried, and they fasted until the evening for Saul—the nasi—for his son Jonathan—the Av Beit Din—and for the people of God and the House of Israel, for they fell by the sword.” This shows the obligation to tear garments for these losses.
- Source for Tearing Garments Upon Hearing Blasphemy
II Kings 18:37 relates: “And Elyakim ben Chilkiyah, who oversaw the palace, Shevna the scribe, and Yoach ben Asaf the secretary, came to Chizkiyahu with rent garments.” This applies both to one who hears blasphemy directly and to one who hears the report from those who heard it.
- Witnesses in Court Regarding Blasphemy
Witnesses who testify in court about blasphemy are not obligated to tear their garments during testimony because they already tore them when they first heard the blasphemy.
- Source for Tearing Garments for a Burned Torah Scroll
Jeremiah 36:23–24 teaches that one must tear garments when a Torah scroll is burned. One tears garments twice: once for the parchment and once for the writing.
- Source for Tearing Garments When Seeing Destroyed Cities and Temple
Jeremiah 41:5 states: “Men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men with their beards shaven and their garments rent.” This shows the obligation to tear garments when seeing the destruction of the cities of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple.
- Obligation to Tear Garments When Present at Death or for Virtuous People
Anyone present when a person dies must tear his garments, even if he is not a relative. Similarly, when a virtuous person dies, everyone should tear their garments a handbreadth. When a sage dies, everyone is considered his relative and tears garments until their hearts are revealed and their right arms uncovered. The house of study of that sage should be closed for seven days.
- Sewing Garments Torn for a Sage or Nasi
Garments torn for a sage may be sewn irregularly as soon as one turns away from the bier and may be mended the next day, since mourning for a teacher lasts only one day. Garments torn for a nasi may be sewn irregularly the next day but never fully mended.
- Tearing Garments Upon Hearing Report of a Sage’s Death
When a report comes that a sage has died, garments are torn only at the time of his eulogy. The garment may be sewn that day and mended the next.
- Mourning Practices When the Av Beit Din Dies
When the Av Beit Din dies, everyone tears garments and uncovers their left arm. All houses of study in the city are closed. In the synagogue, members change their places—those who sat on the south move to the north and vice versa.
- Mourning Practices When the Nasi Dies
When a nasi dies, everyone tears garments and uncovers both arms. All houses of study are closed. On the Sabbath, the synagogue calls seven men to the Torah reading and then departs. People should not stroll in the marketplace but should sit together in families and mourn the entire day.
