Tearing Garments (קריעה) an External Expression of an Internal Experience (03)
I asked this question of Facebook, and many comments expressed hurt or insult at the notion that a person would not be permitted to tear kriya in a wheelchair. I agree that such a position seems untenable, but I want to share the approaches of a few important contemporary poskim that shed light on how to approach Halakha. This post will be a bit more technical than usual.
In his commentary on Hilkhot Aveilut, Rav Feivel Cohen asks this very question (ע’ בדי השלחן סימן שמ סק”ח) and says צ”ע, this needs further analysis. In his ביאורים there (ד”ה מעומד וכו), he outlines both sides of the calculus – making the argument both pro and con regarding tearing while sitting. On the one hand, there does appear to be a minority opinion that allows for tearing while sitting. For example, See רא”ש מו”ק ג:מד who quotes two approaches of the ראב”ד, one of which allows for tearing while seated. The Rosh also points out that the רי”ף does not quote the story of Ameimar, an omission which could be understood to say that kriya ‘works’ even while sitting. The בית יוסף in שמ:א quotes this passage of the רא”ש and claims that maybe the ראב”ד holds like his first answer, that kriya must be done while standing, and that the רי”ף is an argument from silence. Given that this voice exists in the history of Halakha, it seems logical that it is better to tear sitting and at least fulfill that minority voice. At the end of his analysis, he again concludes with a צ”ע. …