Bathing on the Eve of the Festival When the Laws of Shiva Are Annulled

If someone's brother passed away on the 10th of Tishrei and the festival annuls the laws of Shiva, when can one bathe on the eve of the festival?

According to those who follow the Shulchan Aruch, one should not bathe before the onset of the festival, even in cold water. For those who follow the Rema, the custom is to bathe as usual after the Mincha prayer. (Some are stringent not to bathe in hot water.) After the festival, the prohibition on bathing and wearing laundered clothes resumes as per the thirty-day rule.

In the Gemara Moed Katan 19b, it says: "Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said everyone agrees (even Abba Shaul, who holds that part of the day counts as the whole day, agrees) that if the third day falls on the eve of the festival, bathing is prohibited until evening." Rashi writes that in the evening it is permitted to bathe, meaning after the onset of the festival. However, Tosafot there in the commentary "that it is prohibited" writes: "The Rit explained that until evening means from the eve of the festival, excluding permission from the morning, and according to his explanation, laundering is permitted on the eve of the festival. According to his explanation, seven days before the festival according to the Rabbis are permitted from the eve of the festival, and from the statement that everyone agrees, even Abba Shaul, who permits on the seventh day from the morning, agrees with the Rabbis here that it is not permitted from the morning but has the status of the seventh day according to the Rabbis." Therefore, it is permitted from the eve of the festival. The Rosh writes in the name of the Raavad to differentiate between bathing, which is prohibited on the eve of the festival until dark because one can bathe during the festival, and laundering and things that are prohibited after dark, which are permitted to do on the eve of the festival. Thus ruled the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim, Siman 548, Paragraph 10, like the Raavad, and these are his words: "If one of the days of mourning, except the seventh, falls on the eve of the festival, it is permitted to launder, but not to wear until night; and it is good to be cautious not to launder until after midday, so it is noticeable that he launders because of the festival; but bathing is prohibited until night; and there are those who permit bathing after the Mincha prayer, close to dark." The Rema writes: "For us, who observe the prohibition of bathing all 30 days, bathing is prohibited because the festival only annuls the decree of the seven days; and the same applies to laundering in places where the prohibition of laundering is observed all thirty days." It appears from the Rema that bathing is prohibited on the eve of the festival. However, the Rema in Yoreh Deah, Siman 399, Paragraph 5, explicitly writes that the custom is to permit bathing and laundering close to dark. And there in the Taz, Paragraph 5, it is written that the main ruling is as the Rema wrote in Yoreh Deah, and therefore bathing and laundering are permitted close to dark. So too wrote the Shach, Paragraph 16, and the Mishnah Berurah, Siman 548, Paragraph 42, and these are his words: "Nevertheless, the custom is to be lenient in this, as the Rema wrote in Yoreh Deah, Siman 399, Paragraph 5, and there are some of the later authorities who hold that one should not be lenient to bathe in hot water, only in cold [and nevertheless, during Chol Hamoed, one can certainly rely on leniency] and even according to those who are lenient in hot water, it is only on the eve of the festival and also during Chol Hamoed because of the honor of the festival, but after the festival bathing and laundering are prohibited until thirty days because the festival does not annul the decree of thirty days, and see in the Imrei Baruch commentary in Yoreh Deah, Siman 399." In the Biur Halacha in the commentary "because" the opinion of the Aruch HaShulchan, Pri Megadim, Chochmat Adam, and Dagul MeRevava is brought, who are lenient in cold water, and it concludes: "The conclusion from all this, one who wants to rely on leniency, certainly is not prevented, after the Shach, Magen Avraham, and Derech Chaim brought the words of the Terumat HaDeshen as law, and the objection of the Aruch HaShulchan is only from custom, which there the Darkei Moshe wrote that it is customary to be stringent."