Dining Out During the Year of Mourning

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Question

Is it permitted during the year of mourning for one's father to go out for dinner at a restaurant or a park?

Answer

If one goes out with their immediate family (spouse and children), it is permitted to eat there, but with extended family and friends, it is not allowed to go out even if not eating. Until they urge him to go out with them, and then he can go with them to the park as long as there is no food there.

Source

Shulchan Aruch, Siman 380, Se'if 25: "For all the deceased, it is forbidden for 30 days to go on a distant trade journey, as it is a great publicity and resembles joy when going in a large caravan and many rejoice on the way; for one's father and mother, until friends urge him and say: go with us." Therefore, it is forbidden to go out with extended family even if not eating.

Rema, Siman 391, Se'if 2: "And the custom is not to eat at any banquet in the world for all 12 months if it is outside the home." This is due to friendship meals, where friends and companions gather together and eat. But with the immediate family, it is permitted to eat outside as they are not friends, and just as they eat at home, they can eat outside. And even though other people are dining in the restaurant, there is no connection between them, and each one dines by themselves.

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