Tearing for a Father and Brother Who Died Together
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Question
A person whose father and brother died together in a car accident, may God have mercy, does he need to tear twice and bless 'Dayan HaEmet' twice, or is one tearing sufficient for both?
Answer
One must perform two tearings: first, tear for the father or mother until the heart, then distance three fingers and tear another handbreadth. The blessing 'Dayan HaEmet' is recited once.
Source
Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah, Laws of Tearing, Siman 340, Paragraph 23: "If a person has two relatives die at the same time, or receives news of two deaths at the same time, he tears once for both." etc. "If his father or mother and another relative die, he first tears for his father or mother until the heart, then distances three fingers and tears a handbreadth for the other deceased." This is from the words of the Rambam, who holds that just as one cannot tear for a father and mother in addition, meaning one cannot tear for a father and mother if already torn for other relatives, so too one cannot tear once for a father and other relatives. (This is written by Aruch HaShulchan, Paragraph 26, explaining the Rambam's reasoning)
Regarding the blessing 'Dayan HaEmet': Mishnah Berurah, Siman 222, Sk 2, writes regarding good tidings: "It uses the plural form to indicate that if one hears several good tidings at once, one blessing suffices." And certainly, the same applies to bad tidings.
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