Jewish Mourning Trivia Quiz - Test

Question 1

How many days is the shiva mourning period?

Accepted Answer

Seven days

Question 2

What does the word 'shiva' literally mean in Hebrew?

Accepted Answer

Seven

Question 3

What is the Kaddish prayer primarily associated with?

Accepted Answer

Honoring the memory of the deceased

Question 4

What is the traditional greeting when visiting a mourner during shiva?

Accepted Answer

HaMakom yenachem etchem (May God comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem)

Question 5

What do mourners traditionally sit on during shiva?

Accepted Answer

Low chairs or the floor

Question 6

What is the Hebrew term for the initial period of mourning before burial?

Accepted Answer

Aninut

Question 7

How many close relatives is one obligated to mourn for according to halachah?

Accepted Answer

Seven

Question 8

What is the annual anniversary of a death called?

Accepted Answer

Yahrzeit

Question 9

What is traditionally done to mirrors in a house of mourning?

Accepted Answer

They are covered

Question 10

What garment is torn as a sign of mourning?

Accepted Answer

The outer garment (keriah)

Question 11

What is the 30-day mourning period after burial called?

Accepted Answer

Shloshim

Question 12

What is the mitzvah of comforting mourners called?

Accepted Answer

Nichum avelim

Question 13

What candle is lit in memory of the deceased?

Accepted Answer

A yahrzeit (memorial) candle

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT one of the seven relatives for whom one mourns?

Accepted Answer

Cousin

Question 15

What is the eulogy given at a funeral called?

Accepted Answer

Hesped

Question 16

For how long does a child recite Kaddish for a parent?

Accepted Answer

Eleven months (and some say twelve)

Question 17

What activity is forbidden for a mourner during shiva?

Accepted Answer

Wearing leather shoes

Question 18

What is the first meal a mourner eats after the funeral called?

Accepted Answer

Seudat havra'ah (meal of consolation)

Question 19

Who traditionally provides the first meal for the mourner?

Accepted Answer

Neighbors and friends

Question 20

What is typically included in the seudat havra'ah (meal of consolation)?

Accepted Answer

Hard-boiled eggs and bread (symbolizing the cycle of life)

Question 21

Which of the following is permitted during shiva?

Accepted Answer

Studying Torah portions related to mourning and suffering

Question 22

What happens to shiva if a Jewish holiday (Yom Tov) occurs during the mourning period?

Accepted Answer

The holiday cancels the remaining days of shiva

Question 23

On which side of the garment is keriah (tearing) performed for a parent?

Accepted Answer

The left side (over the heart)

Question 24

What is the halachic status of a person during aninut (before burial)?

Accepted Answer

An onen is exempt from all positive time-bound mitzvot because they must focus on burial arrangements

Question 25

According to halachah, when does shiva begin?

Accepted Answer

After the burial, when the mourners return from the cemetery

Question 26

What is the custom regarding Torah study during shiva?

Accepted Answer

Only topics related to mourning, Job, Lamentations, and the sad parts of Jeremiah may be studied

Question 27

For whom does the 12-month mourning period apply?

Accepted Answer

For a father and mother only

Question 28

What is the practice of 'getting up from shiva' (kumzitz)?

Accepted Answer

The mourners walk around the block, symbolizing their return to regular life

Question 29

According to halachah, can a mourner serve as the prayer leader (chazan) during shiva?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a mourner is actually given priority to lead services during the mourning period

Question 30

What does the Talmud (Moed Katan 27b) say about excessive mourning?

Accepted Answer

One should not mourn excessively; God says 'You are not more compassionate than I am'

Question 31

What is the mourner's obligation regarding work during shiva?

Accepted Answer

A mourner is forbidden to work during shiva

Question 32

What is the custom when leaving a cemetery after a burial?

Accepted Answer

Washing hands (netilat yadayim) before entering a building

Question 33

On Shabbat during shiva, which mourning practices are observed publicly?

Accepted Answer

Public mourning is suspended on Shabbat, but private mourning (such as marital relations) continues

Question 34

What is the significance of the phrase 'Baruch Dayan HaEmet' (Blessed is the True Judge)?

Accepted Answer

It is the blessing recited upon hearing of a death

Question 35

According to the Shulchan Aruch, when should the gravestone (matzeivah) be erected?

Accepted Answer

The custom varies, but many erect it after the shloshim or after twelve months

Question 36

What is the halachah regarding bathing during shiva?

Accepted Answer

Bathing for pleasure is forbidden during shiva

Question 37

Can a mourner attend a wedding during the shloshim period?

Accepted Answer

Generally no; a mourner should not attend celebrations during shloshim

Question 38

What is the custom regarding the mourner's greeting visitors during shiva?

Accepted Answer

The mourner does not initiate greetings; visitors speak first

Question 39

Who are the seven relatives for whom one is obligated to mourn?

Accepted Answer

Father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, and spouse

Question 40

What is the Yizkor memorial prayer?

Accepted Answer

A memorial prayer recited on Yom Kippur and the three pilgrimage festivals

Question 41

According to the Talmud (Moed Katan 21b), what are the five activities forbidden to a mourner during shiva?

Accepted Answer

Washing, anointing, wearing leather shoes, marital relations, and Torah study (except mourning-related topics)

Question 42

What is the halachic concept of 'miktzat hayom k'kulo' (part of the day counts as the whole day) regarding shiva?

Accepted Answer

On the seventh day, sitting for even a short time in the morning fulfills the obligation for the entire day

Question 43

According to the Rambam (Hilchot Avel 13:12), what does he say about the mitzvah of comforting mourners?

Accepted Answer

It is a rabbinical enactment that falls under the category of loving your neighbor, and visiting the sick and comforting mourners are among the acts that have no fixed measure

Question 44

What is the 'three-day' distinction within shiva according to the Shulchan Aruch?

Accepted Answer

The first three days are for weeping, and the remaining days are for eulogizing; during the first three days even a visitor who did not know the deceased should weep

Question 45

According to the Talmud (Shabbat 152a), what does it teach about the soul after death?

Accepted Answer

The soul hovers near the body for the first three days hoping to return, and then departs when it sees the face change

Question 46

What is the halachah regarding a mourner putting on tefillin on the first day of shiva?

Accepted Answer

On the first day of mourning, a mourner does not wear tefillin, based on the verse said to Ezekiel: 'Bind your turban upon you'

Question 47

What does the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 376) say about the obligation to rend one's garment (keriah)?

Accepted Answer

Keriah is performed while standing, and for a parent one tears on the left side and never fully mends it

Question 48

According to the Rema, what is the custom regarding the mourner leaving the house during shiva?

Accepted Answer

The mourner should not leave the shiva house during the seven days, except on Shabbat to attend synagogue

Question 49

What is the halachic basis for the custom of pouring out water from vessels in the house of the deceased?

Accepted Answer

Various reasons are given, including the idea that the Angel of Death dips his sword in the water, and it serves as a way to notify neighbors of the death without speaking

Question 50

According to the Talmud (Moed Katan 27b), what reform did Rabban Gamliel institute regarding burial?

Accepted Answer

He instituted that all be buried in simple linen shrouds (tachrichim), so the poor would not be embarrassed

Question 51

What is the halachic ruling about a mourner who hears of a death more than 30 days after it occurred?

Accepted Answer

They observe a single day of symbolic mourning (shmuah rechokah) – sitting for a brief period

Question 52

What does the Talmud (Sanhedrin 46b-47a) say about the purpose of burial?

Accepted Answer

Burial achieves atonement (kaparah) for the deceased and is a positive commandment

Question 53

According to the Shulchan Aruch, what are the restrictions during the twelve months of mourning for a parent?

Accepted Answer

The mourner avoids celebrations, music, and new clothing, and recites Kaddish

Question 54

What is the halachah regarding an onen (before burial) and eating?

Accepted Answer

An onen eats but does not recite blessings on food according to some opinions, since they are exempt from mitzvot

Question 55

According to the Talmud, what is the significance of the shloshim (30-day) period?

Accepted Answer

Thirty days is the period it takes for the full intensity of grief to diminish, as the Talmud derives from the mourning for Moses

Question 56

What is the halachic ruling regarding mourning on Chol HaMoed (intermediate days of a festival)?

Accepted Answer

If a death occurs on Chol HaMoed, burial is performed but shiva does not begin until after the festival ends

Question 57

What does the Talmud (Berakhot 58b) teach about visiting a mourner?

Accepted Answer

One should not speak until the mourner speaks first

Question 58

What is the halachah about a convert mourning for non-Jewish parents?

Accepted Answer

A convert is not obligated by strict halachah but may mourn and recite Kaddish out of respect (kavod)

Question 59

What is the significance of the 'Tzidduk HaDin' prayer recited at the burial?

Accepted Answer

It is a declaration accepting God's just judgment, affirming that God's ways are righteous even in the face of death

Question 60

According to the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 340), what is the obligation of keriah for hearing news of the death of a Torah scholar?

Accepted Answer

All who are present at the death of a Torah scholar must rend their garments, as the loss of Torah is mourned by all of Israel

Question 61

According to the Zohar (Parashat Vayechi), what happens to the soul during the seven days of shiva?

Accepted Answer

The soul goes back and forth between the grave and the house of mourning, mourning for the body and mourning for the living

Question 62

What does the Rambam (Hilchot Avel 14:1) teach about the nature of mourning?

Accepted Answer

Although mourning practices are rabbinic in origin, the first day of mourning is a Torah obligation derived from 'and its end shall be like a bitter day'

Question 63

According to the Talmud (Moed Katan 25a), what determines whether a eulogy (hesped) is primarily for the honor of the deceased or for the living?

Accepted Answer

The Talmud discusses whether hesped is for the honor of the deceased (yekara d'shichva) or the honor of the living, with practical differences for someone who requested no eulogy

Question 64

What does the Arizal teach about the mystical purpose of the tahara (ritual washing of the body)?

Accepted Answer

The tahara purifies the soul and helps it detach from the physical body, corresponding to the purification of the spiritual vessels

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