Moed Katan 20 - Not to be the bearer of bad news

When Rav came to Israel from Babylonia, he visited Rabbi Chiya, his relative. Rabbi Chiya asked Rav, "Is your father alive?" Rav answered, "You should better ask about my mother." Rabbi Chiya then asked, "Is your mother alive?" To that, Rav answered, "Is my father alive? - I have not answered you that."

Rav did not want to report bad news. At that point, Rabbi Chiya understood that both Rav's parents had passed away. Both Rav's parents were relatives of Rabbi Chiya from his parents' previous marriages. Now, Rabbi Chiya had to observe the laws of mourning (shivah) for both of them. Rabbi Chiya said to his attendant, "Help me take off my shoes and carry my clothing after me to the bathhouse."

From the words of Rabbi Chiya, we learned three laws. First, a mourner is prohibited from wearing shoes. In the case of Rabbi Chiya, it was "delayed news," so he only had to take his shoes off for a short time. Second, in the case of delayed news, a mourner observes the shivah only for a day and not seven days. Therefore, even though usually a mourner is prohibited from bathing, Rabbi Chiya was allowed to bathe after a day. And third, part of the day is counted as a full day, and Rabbi Chiya already demonstrated his mourning by taking off the shoes.

Peasant Burial by Erik Werenskiold