Tearing until the heart for a father less than a tefach
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Question
A person who needs to tear for a deceased father or mother, and the main rule for tearing for parents is until the heart, as explained in Shulchan Aruch, Siman 340, Se'if 9. What is the law if from the edge of the opening to the heart is less than a tefach? Is it sufficient to tear until the heart, or is a tefach required?
Answer
One must tear a tefach, and until the heart is an addition to the law of tearing to show that his honor is nullified when his father dies, and it is not to ease but to be stringent. Tearing less than a tefach is not considered a valid tearing.
Source
Responsa Chatam Sofer, Part 2 (Yoreh De'ah), Siman 327: "If from the beginning of the edge of the collar to the heart is less than a tefach, one must tear lower than the heart until a tefach, and this is clear."
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