Q&A: Questions Regarding Mourning
Questions Regarding Mourning
Question
Hello Honorable Rabbi,
My father is in the mourning period for the passing of his sister, of blessed memory.
Each of us has an independent business, but my business purchases merchandise from my father's business and sells it at a profit. I have access to the warehouses and suppliers he works with. In practice, my father purchases the merchandise and transfers it to my offices abroad, where I market it. In Israel, he allows me to use his office for logistical needs, free of charge.
I would like to ask:
- Is it permitted for me, during my father's mourning period, to continue activity with his business — to promote merchandise, use the business name for shipping purposes?
- In addition, I appointed an employee on my behalf (who is employed by me) to go through merchandise belonging to my father, an action that was done for the benefit of my father's business, even before the mourning period began. Is there any problem with continuing this during the mourning period, or is it permitted?
- My father has an independent broker who works on my father's merchandise and earns a percentage of the sales; he does not have a fixed salary. Can he continue working for my father's pay? He has to call my father for approval of a deal.
- If there is concern that he is under financial pressure — usually we move things forward by a few days, and today the payment date has arrived, and there is concern that because of Shavuot everything will be delayed — is it permitted to pay him?
Thank you in advance for the help,
Answer
In my opinion, everything is permitted. The issue is not to distract him from the mourning, and there is no prohibition against him having profits or his business continuing to operate.
Discussion on Answer
Since it all begins with distraction from the mourning, reason suggests that if the mourner himself is not appointing others to do it, but rather you are doing it as someone who regularly works with him (like a partner), there is no prohibition in that. And even if you take what is written in the Shulchan Arukh, that it is forbidden through others, and ignore the question of appointment, he writes that if there is a loss then it is permitted. But as I said, in my opinion, if the mourner is not himself involved in appointing others to do things for him and the like, but rather it continues operating on its own, there is no prohibition.
Hi,
I simply read the material at the following link
https://www.hidabroot.org/article/230731
From there it seemed that one can be lenient only in the case of preventing a loss, and not because of distraction from mourning.
"
Just as it is forbidden for a mourner himself to work, so too it is forbidden for him to employ workers to work for him. However, work needed to prevent a loss [as explained below]—he may appoint others to do it.
Maran the Shulchan Arukh wrote (section 380, subsection 5): It is forbidden to have his work done by others, unless it is a matter of loss, even if it is skilled labor."