Haircut on the Thirtieth Day of Mourning for a Brother
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Question
An Ashkenazi in thirty days of mourning for his deceased brother, is he allowed to have a haircut on the thirtieth day itself?
Answer
He is permitted to have a haircut on the thirtieth day itself, as part of the day is considered as the whole day.
Source
In the Gemara Moed Katan, page 19b, the sages and Abba Shaul debate whether part of the day is considered as the whole day or not. The Gemara states that the law follows Abba Shaul, who says that part of the day is considered as the whole day.
Similarly, the Shulchan Aruch, Siman 395, Seif 1, rules: "Once the comforters leave the mourner on the seventh day, he is permitted all things that are forbidden during the seven days, as part of the day is considered as the whole day, whether part of the seventh day or part of the thirtieth day, once the sun has risen on the thirtieth day, the decree of thirty days is annulled."
(In Tosafot Moed Katan 19b, d.h. "Atiya", it is written: "And Rabbi Yom Tov explained that since we hold that part of the seventh day is considered as the whole day, and this applies both here and there, part of the day is considered as the whole day, and one can shave on the twenty-ninth day. However, in Tosafot, the Rabbi did not explain so, that we do not say that the seventh day counts for two days concerning thirty days. From his words, it implies that one should not shave on the thirtieth day. See Darkei Moshe, Sk 4, who ruled like Rabbi Yom Tov and was astonished by the custom of the world which is not so.