Changing Place for Mourning on Shabbat

Does a mourner change his place on Shabbat, or is it considered public mourning?

There is a disagreement among the Rishonim whether a mourner changes his place on Shabbat or if it is considered public mourning, as it is explained in Bava Batra, page 100, that it is permitted to make standings and sittings on Shabbat, meaning they stand and stop seven times when returning from the cemetery, to remove demons or to remind that man's days are short. Nevertheless, the Nimukei Yosef proved from this that one must change his place on Shabbat, as it is done in honor of the mourner, like standings and sittings. However, the Beit Yosef rejected his words and wrote: "And the case is not similar to the proof, for there they made standings and sittings at the cemetery to gather most of the people, as one synagogue could not contain them, but when they change their place in the synagogue to the mourner's place, it appears as observing mourning on Shabbat, and those who do not change their place on Shabbat do well." And so ruled the Shulchan Aruch, Siman 393, paragraph 4: "Those who do not change their place in the synagogue on Shabbat do well." The Rema added: "There are those who say that even on Shabbat one should change his place, and this is the simple custom, and the custom should not be changed." The Gaon of Vilna in his commentary proved the words of the Rema from Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, brought in Rosh Moed Katan, chapter 3, sign 46: "In Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (chapter 16) it is stated that Solomon saw that acts of kindness are great before the Holy One, Blessed be He, therefore, when he built the Temple, he made two gates: one for grooms and one for mourners and excommunicated. The Israelites would go on Shabbat and sit between these two gates. The one who entered the gate of grooms, they knew he was a groom, and they said to him: 'May the One who dwells in this house gladden you with sons and daughters.' The one who entered the gate of mourners and his mustache was covered, they knew he was a mourner, and they said to him: 'May the One who dwells in this house comfort you.' The one who entered the gate of mourners and his mustache was not covered, they knew he was excommunicated, and they said: 'May the One who dwells in this house put it in your heart to listen to the words of your companions, and they will bring you close and accept you.' After the destruction of the Temple, the sages decreed that grooms and mourners should go to synagogues and study houses, and the local people would see the groom and rejoice with him, and see the mourner and sit with him on the ground, so that all Israelites would fulfill their obligation in acts of kindness, and about them it is said: 'Blessed is the one who gives a good reward to those who perform acts of kindness.'" It is clear that on Shabbat mourners would enter through a different gate, and this is not considered public mourning. The Shach explained that this is not considered public mourning because it is customary for a person to change his place. Moreover, he wrote that all things observed for thirty days are observed even on Shabbat. Perhaps this is explained as the Maharam of Lublin wrote in Siman 107, that since some mourning laws have already begun on Shabbat to count the seven days of mourning, it is no longer considered public mourning to continue this. In Responsa Radbaz, part 2, Siman 662, it was proven from the laws of head wrapping that it is observed on Shabbat and is not considered public mourning, as he has shoes on his feet. The same applies here, since he does not observe all mourning laws, he must change his place on Shabbat. The Taz in Orach Chaim, beginning of Siman 566, on the law of changing place, wrote: "This means that before the beginning of 'Barchu' he sits in a changed place, as it is still weekday, and since he began in weekday, he sits there even afterward. And it is a simple matter that if the mourner came to the synagogue after 'Barchu', he does not change the place, as mourning begins on Shabbat publicly." However, in Aruch HaShulchan, Siman 548: "And also in changing place, even if he came after 'Barchu', since it is observed all 30 days, it is not considered a public matter, and even if he did not begin in weekday to change, as I wrote at the beginning of this Siman, that one should not change on a festival, nevertheless, on Shabbat he considers that one should change." And so is the custom to change his place even on Shabbat.