Q&A: Jewish Law’s Intervention in Mourning for the Dead
Jewish Law’s Intervention in Mourning for the Dead
Question
Hello Michi,
What is the logic behind Jewish law determining the form mourning should take and how much one is supposed to mourn, and in the case of one’s father and mother going so far as to impose restrictions for a full year? What religious purpose are they trying to achieve here? Is there supposedly some spiritual value in mourning, like there is in putting on tefillin, for example? As I understand it, mourning is an emotion that each person experiences in his own way, so what is the meaning of this intervention here?
Answer
For some reason you decided that mourning has no purpose other than expressing our feelings. In contrast to putting on tefillin, which has other purposes. Don’t assume that and then ask a question on that basis.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t know. It could have all kinds of purposes. For example, to give honor to the dead, or to channel the emotions and not let us fall apart (like a kind of meditation), and so on.
That is basically the question: what is the reason for the commandment of mourning?