Q&A: A Mourner’s Prohibition Regarding Torah Study
A Mourner’s Prohibition Regarding Torah Study
Question
Hello Rabbi,
It is a well-known halakhic rule that a mourner is obligated in all the commandments except tefillin. Seemingly, that implies that he is also obligated in the commandment of Torah study. But it is also well known that a mourner is forbidden to engage in Torah study. If so, it is puzzling why this was not mentioned in the Mishnah that exempts the mourner from tefillin. An explanation that seems possible to me is your well-known approach regarding the commandment of Torah study: that one fulfills his obligation with the morning and evening recitation of Shema (and in that too a mourner is obligated), while everything beyond that—Torah study that is not itself a commandment—the mourner is forbidden to do because “the precepts of the Lord are upright, rejoicing the heart.” Could this perhaps be additional support for your approach?
Answer
Where is it written that he is obligated in all the commandments except tefillin? That is what happens in practice, but I do not recall a source that states it. And if it is not written, then there is no basis for making that inference.
Beyond that, a mourner is obligated in the commandment of Torah study, but he has a secondary exemption because it brings joy—not because it is a commandment. Therefore it still makes sense to say that he is obligated in all the commandments except Torah study. The same is true of exempting him from participating in bringing a bride to the wedding canopy, and there too it is because it brings joy, not because of an essential exemption from the commandment.
Therefore I do not think there is an inference here in favor of my approach.
Discussion on Answer
Indeed. I had forgotten.
We already once discussed general rules in the Talmud, such as in Kiddushin regarding time-bound positive commandments, from which women are exempt. There they mention the exceptions, yet the Gemara still adds several more. And it establishes: one does not derive conclusions from general rules, even in a case where it says “except” (of course each exception needs some secondary explanation). Therefore I would not infer from the wording that appears regarding all the commandments except tefillin. There can be other exceptions as long as they have secondary reasons.
A mourner is exempt from commandments that involve joy. This is not explicitly stated, but it is a simple halakhic assumption.
It appears in Berakhot 11a, 16b; Sukkah 25a; Ketubot 6b.
If a mourner has a secondary exemption, it seems to me that the baraita really should have mentioned that he is exempt not only from tefillin, but also from Torah study. As for exemption from bringing a bride to the wedding canopy, that is not an explicit commandment like Torah study, but rather part of the commandment of “love your fellow as yourself,” from which the mourner is not exempt. By the way, where does the exemption of a mourner from bringing a bride to the wedding canopy appear?