Chapter 195 – Rending of the Garments
195.1) Rend your garments when a relative dies.
195.2) Make the rend near the front of the neck of your garment.
195.3) Rending your garments for a mother or father is different than for other relatives. See the source for details.
195.4) Make the rend on the right side of your garment for all relatives; make it on the left for your parents.
195.5) Rend your garment with your hands or an instrument for a relative; with only your hand for your parents.
195.6) For the seven days of mourning, you need not make a rend every time you change garments; for parents, you must rend your garments ) each time you change clothes.
195.7) You may baste together the rend in the case of a relative’s death after seven days. And completely sew it up after thirty days. For a parent, you may baste it after thirty days and never completely sew it up.
195.8) If you hear of a relative’s death after thirty days, you do not need to rend your garments; for a parent, rend your garment whenever you hear about their death.
195.9) The intervention of a festival cancels the rending rules for death.
195.10) If another death occurs within the first seven days of mourning, you should rend your garments a second time. (See source for details, or consult a rabbi.)
195.11) If you hear of more than one death, you may rend your garment once. However if one death is of a parent, you must rend your garment twice.
195.12) A sick person is exempt from rending his garments on the death of a relative.
195.13) A minor should allow his garment to be slightly rend for him.
195.14) Various regions have various customs for rending garments on festival days. (See source for details, or consult a rabbi.)