Tearing Garments (קריעה) – An External Expression of an Internal Experience (01)
The practice of tearing garments at the funeral (קריעה, kriya) has developed in a fascinating manner. Throughout the Gemara the act of kriya seems more like a natural, almost spontaneous expression of loss or grief. In response to terrible news people, would rend their garments. The reality for most today is that the moment of tearing needs to be imbued with meaning because it takes place in a very limited context, not because it is a natural expression of loss.
When learning kriya, people often begin with the question of its authority – Rabbinic or Torah – a question we will address that in the third installment of the kriya essays. But the psychology of this ritual is essential to its performance, and I am organizing this material around emotional potency rather than the typical Halakhic taxonomy. The physical act is meant to express an internal emotional state. Let’s look at one story about a particular Amora (rabbi from the Gemara) who experiences loss. The Gemara in Moed Katan 20b tells of the tragic passing of Ameimar’s grandson. The following sugya asks some very specific legal questions about this story. We will begin with the narrative portion of the Gemara with a simple translation, intentionally maintaining the unclarified pronouns for now: …