On Thursday Shimon and Michal Gross buried their daughters while still accompanying their sons in the Schneider Hospital in Petach Tikva.
The dilemma of the situation is that the parents should be sitting shiva for the daughters, while being there in the hospital for the sons. What to do?
They asked Rav Ezriel Auerbach, rav of Bayit Vegan in Jerusalem, what to do about mourning the daughters while dealing with the sons situation.
Rav Auerbach paskened that the parents do not have the laws of mourning right now and should not sit shiva. The reason is based on Shulchan Aruch that says someone sick and his attendants are exempt from sitting in a sukka.
Obviously the boys need their parents by their bedsides, and it is clear that of not for the mourning the parents would definitely be there, so they are exempt from all mitzvos and should not now sit shiva. Rav Auerbach added that if they insist on sitting shiva now, the mother should not sit at all but should stay with her children, and the father could sit for just a few minutes after the morning services.
source: Bechadrei
Rav Auerbach did not say, or at least it is not quoted in the article, but I would guess that when the boys get better, IYH, then the parents will need to sit shiva on the daughters.
Such a sad and unfortunately necessary psak.
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