0: Intro to Seudas Havraah/The First meal after burial

The first meal eaten by the mourners when they return home from the funeral is called the Seudat Havra-ah, the meal of recovery or condolence. The meal is catered by friends and neighbors and is not eaten from the mourner’s own food. This catered meal is not an intrinsic obligation, and is provided simply because the mourners cannot eat their own foods during the first meal that follows burial, and hence if others do not serve them food they would be required to fast until the end of the first day of Shiva.^[2] It is therefore an act of kindness for others to serve the mourners food and hence allow them to eat. This meal retains various laws, restrictions, and menus, as will be discussed in this chapter.