[HANASHIR:11031] RE: Halacha

[Rabbi Richard Schachet <lvrabbi...>]

First of all my deepest sympathy to your entire family.  May your
father-in-law's memory be for a blessing:

Checking out Purim in Maurice Lamm's "The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning"
he writes "The onen must listen to the reading of the Megillah and is
permitted to eat meat and wine in fulfillment of the religiousely prescribed
festive meal of the day.

The mourner should attend congregational services.

Now it seems to me, (and this is only my opinion, not halachah) as a leader
in the congregation, the mitzvah is that a simcha must go on, and if you are
the only person who can do this, then it is something you should do so that
others can fulfill the mitzvah of hearing the megillah.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Meris Ruzow" <meris (at) nycap(dot)rr(dot)com>
To: <hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2002 5:49 AM
Subject: [HANASHIR:11030] RE: Halacha


> Friends, I look to you for some advice because my rabbi is currently in
> Israel and won't be back till late Sunday night.  My father in law, who
> was also a good friend of mine died suddenly yesterday morning.  My
> husband and I were on the way to NY and we got the call on the Thruway.
> We turned around and came back home.  He was a healthy man, so this
> comes as a terrible shock to the family.   My question to you is this:
> He spends the winters in Arizona so they have to ship the body back to
> NY before we can bury him, etc.  Two things:  I have been told by one
> person that since Purim is not a yom tov, it is more important not to
> desecrate the body and to bury him as speedily as possible, which would
> be Mon or Tues probably.   Can anyone provide any other possible
> answers?  Also - I am in a terrible bind;  The last thing I feel like
> doing now is being happy, jolly and leading all the music for the
> Purimshpiel/service.     What do I do?   My main obligation, I feel, is
> to my husband who is distraught.  I think it would be terribly
> disrespectful to leave the family to "do my job" at temple.   However,
> the whole congregation looks so forward  to this, that I feel badly
> about that too......... I know what my heart says and it says not to do
> it.   I guess I could try to find some kind of replacement but there's
> really no one here.   Guess I'm just looking to see if you've ever been
> in a situation like this.
>
> Thanks so much and thanks for the support of this list in good times AND
> sad.
> Meris Ruzow
>
> Meris (at) nycap(dot)rr(dot)com
>
>
>
>
>

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