Chapter 10: Mourning on Shabbat and Festivals
- Mourning on the Sabbath
The Sabbath is counted as one of the seven days of mourning. However, mourning laws are not observed publicly on the Sabbath. Private practices such as veiling one’s head, refraining from marital relations, and avoiding washing with hot water remain in effect.
Public signs of mourning, such as wearing torn garments, overturning beds, or avoiding greetings, are suspended. The mourner may wear shoes, position his bed upright, and greet others.
If the mourner has another garment, he should change it and not wear a torn garment, even for a parent. If he has no other garment, he should turn the tear to the other side.
- Positioning the Bed Before Shabbat
On Friday afternoon, the mourner may position his bed upright in preparation for Shabbat, but he should not sit on it until nightfall. Even if only one day remains of the seven days of mourning, the beds should be overturned again on Saturday night.
- Mourning on Festivals, Rosh HaShanah, and Yom Kippur
On festivals, Rosh HaShanah, and Yom Kippur, no mourning rites are observed at all. If a person buries his dead even a short time before a festival or these holy days, the obligation to observe seven days of mourning is nullified.
After Rosh HaShanah or Yom Kippur, the mourner counts 23 days for Sheloshim. After Pesach, he counts 16 days because the seven days of mourning are nullified and the seven days of the festival count as fourteen. Similarly, if burial occurs before Shavuot, the mourner counts 16 days afterward, since the festival counts as seven days even though it is only one day.
- Burial Before Sukkot
If burial occurs before Sukkot, the mourner counts only nine days after the festival. This is because Shemini Atzeret is considered a separate holiday. The first day completes the seven days of mourning, then come the seven days of Sukkot, and the eighth day is its own festival, totaling 21 days.
- Nullification of Sheloshim Before Festivals
If burial occurs seven days before a festival or before Rosh HaShanah or Yom Kippur, the obligation to observe thirty days of mourning is nullified. The mourner may cut his hair and launder garments on the day before the festival because part of the day counts as a full day. After the festival, no additional mourning days are counted.
However, if mourning for a father or mother, even if they died more than thirty days before the festival, the mourner may not cut his hair until it grows uncontrolled or until friends rebuke him. Festivals do not nullify this requirement.
- When the Sixth Day Falls Before a Festival
If the sixth day of mourning falls on the day before a festival (or even the fifth or third day), the mourner may not cut his hair. The festival nullifies only the seven-day mourning obligation. He may not wash, anoint himself, or perform other forbidden practices until the festival begins. The festival ends the seven days of mourning, but the mourner continues the thirty-day count from the day of death.
- When the Seventh Day Falls on Shabbat Before a Festival
If the seventh day of mourning falls on Shabbat and the next day is a festival, the thirty-day obligation is nullified, and the mourner may cut his hair during the festival. This is because he was prevented by circumstances beyond his control from cutting his hair on Shabbat. Similarly, one may cut hair after Shavuot or after Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur because the thirty-day obligation has been nullified.
- Burial During a Festival
If burial occurs during a festival, mourning laws do not apply during the festival. After the festival, the mourner begins counting seven days of mourning and observes all mourning rites. The thirty-day count begins from the day of burial.
- Two-Day Festivals
In places where festivals are observed for two days, the mourner counts seven days starting from the second day of the festival. Since the second day is a Rabbinic institution, it is included in the reckoning, so only six days remain afterward. The thirty-day count still begins from the day of burial.
- Burial on the Second Day of a Festival
If burial occurs on the second day of a festival that is the final day of the holiday or on the second day of Shavuot, mourning rites are observed because the Rabbinic commandment of the second day does not override the Scriptural obligation of mourning.
However, if burial occurs on the second day of Rosh HaShanah, mourning rites are not observed because the two days of Rosh HaShanah are considered one long day.
