Studying Torah for an Orphaned Child During the Seven Days of Mourning

A 12-year-old boy is sitting shiva for his mother. Is he allowed to study Torah during the shiva?

His father is obligated to educate him in Torah study as usual. The mitzvah of education is not nullified by mourning.

In the Gemara Moed Katan 14a, it is stated that there is no mourning for a minor, and this is ruled by the Shulchan Aruch, Siman 396, Seif 3: "A minor whose father or mother died, even if he reaches majority within the seven days, is not obligated in the laws of mourning." The Gemara there brings a Baraita that tearing is done for a minor due to emotional distress, and this is ruled by the Shulchan Aruch, Siman 340, Seif 27: "A minor who has a deceased relative, tearing is done for him." According to the opinion of Ri"tz Gaiot, the tearing is for educational purposes, but the Tur wrote that there is no education for mourning for a minor, and the tearing is due to the emotional distress of those around. There are three opinions regarding Ri"tz Gaiot: 1. In the Drisha, Siman 340, and the Taz, Seif 15, it is written that according to Ri"tz Gaiot, there is a mitzvah to educate a minor in all the laws of mourning. 2. In the Nekevat Kesef, he disagrees and holds that even if tearing is for educational purposes, it applies only to tearing and not to other laws of mourning. 3. In the Bach, Siman 384, it is written that according to Ri"tz Gaiot, there is a mitzvah to educate in all the laws of mourning except for Torah study. Regarding the opinion of the Taz, who wrote that a minor should be educated in all the laws of mourning, the Pitchei Teshuva, Siman 396, questions that from the words of the Taz, it implies that the minor does not practice the laws of mourning, and answers that if the father is alive, he is obligated to educate him in mourning, but if the father is not alive and he is sitting shiva, there is no one obligated to educate the minor in mourning. (The mother is not obligated to educate her son, as explained in Siman 343). He also writes to differentiate between a minor who studies Torah and one who engages in a craft: a minor who studies Torah should not be educated in mourning because it would distract him from Torah study, but one who engages in a craft, the father is obligated to educate him in mourning. It is proven that a minor who studies Torah and needs to mourn, his father is obligated to educate him in Torah study. In any case, the practical halacha is that there is no education for mourning for a minor in all the laws of mourning, except for tearing, which is due to emotional distress.