"Asking" for a mourner to get up from Shiva

Question

What are the words said to a person getting up from Shiva on the last morning?

Answer

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

As you correctly note, one does not observe Shiva for the entire seventh day. Rather, after the Shacharit prayers, those who are present comfort the mourner one last time, at which point the Shiva restrictions end and the Shloshim restrictions begin. This is due to the principle of “part of the day is considered to an entire day.”

As a general rule, the scene at the Shiva house on the seventh day will look something like this: After Shacharit the mourners once again take their seat on the low chairs for one last time while those who are present recite the “Hamakon...” consolation blessing. The visitors will mostly leave shortly thereafter. Those who remain will say to the mourners something like: “Stand up from your mourning of Shiva.” (קומו) This is according to the ahkenaz minhag. However according to the sefardi minhag it is the custem to say these two pesukim:

  לא יבוא עוד שמשך וירחך לא יאסוף כי ה' יהיה לך לאור עולם ושלמו ימי אבלך (ישעיהו פרק ס' פסוק כ' )
כאיש אשר עמו תנחמנו כן אנוכי אנחמכם ובירושליים תנוחמו (יעשהו פרק ס"ו פסוק י"ג)

On Rosh Chodesh, the mourners "get up" before reciting Hallel and then they say Hallel with the congregation (the Aliyah Le'kever is after Rosh chodesh)

The mourners then stand up and many have the custom for those present to then say, “May Hashem heal the breaches of His people Israel...May you have long and healthy years.”

In the event that there are no visitors on the morning of the seventh day (and indeed, there was once a custom for visitors not to visit mourners on the seventh day) then one should wait until the time that generally the comforters come, and then one merely cease sitting Shiva.

Some have the custom for the mourners to walk around the block outside upon getting up from Shiva. If the seventh day falls on Shabbos or Yom Tov, it is done Motzei Shabbos/Yom Tov. There is also a custom in some Chassidic communities to hammer a nail into the floor in the room where one sat shiva by means of a stone. The hammering is done by a friend of the mourner. Some do so under the chair of every mourner who sat shiva in the room. When Shiva ends on Shabbos the nailing custom is done after Shabbos.



Source

YD 395 and commentaries

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