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When does mourning become obligatory if someone dies during the seven days of wedding celebration? The Rambam (רמב"ם)'s position creates difficulties with existing Talmudic approaches. A novel understanding emerges: unlike the Ran who sees conflicting obligations, the Rambam holds that mourning simply isn't applicable during active joy - it's not that obligations conflict, but that one prevents the other from ever taking effect.
This shiur analyzes a fundamental dispute in Jewish law regarding the interaction between mourning (aveilus) and wedding celebrations (sheva brachos). The Gemara (גמרא) in Kesubos discusses cases where someone dies during the seven days of wedding festivities, creating tension between the obligation to mourn and the obligation to celebrate. Rabbi Zweig examines the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s position, which differs significantly from other Rishonim. The Rambam rules that if someone dies during sheva brachos, the couple continues the seven days of celebration and only afterward begins the seven days of mourning. This creates several difficulties when compared to approaches of the Ran, Rosh, and other authorities.
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Kesubos 4a
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