[Avodah] Abuse and Halakhah

[T613K at aol.com]

From: "kennethgmiller at juno.com"  <kennethgmiller at juno.com>

>> Yes, but how do you understand  the lack of aveilus for an infant who 
dies before 30 days? I cannot understand  it in any way other than to say that 
the family's pain was not as great in such  cases, similar to how even 
nowadays a stillborn causes less pain than when a  living baby passes on.<<

Akiva Miller

 
>>>>>
 
A baby might be born in the sixth or seventh month and live for a few  
minutes, the exact boundary between "miscarriage," "stillbirth," "premature  
birth," and "neonatal death" is not so absolute.  (One of the reasons that  the 
US /seems/ to have worse infant mortality statistics than some other  
countries is that we routinely save very premature infants who are counted as  
"miscarriages" in other countries -- but if that preemie dies despite the best 
 medical efforts, in the US it now becomes "infant mortality" rather than  
"miscarriage.")  Given that these mishaps occurred frequently in the old  
days and even nowadays, it would be a hardship to require parents and siblings 
 to sit shiva and follow all the laws of aveilus for each such loss.  Of  
course there is nothing to forbid the bereaved mother and father from 
grieving  in their own way and at their own pace.
 
 



--Toby Katz
=============
Romney -- good  values, good family, good  hair


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