Sitting Shiva For A Child Who Intermarried or Converted

I thought that was bubbe meises.

Is it still your child? Born a Jew always a Jew, born your child always your child. Why wouldn’t YOU do the right thing for your family whether they did the right thing or not. How does that absolve you of your obligations to your family members. As others always seem to throw in for lesser important issues, two wrongs don’t make a right. IMHO, if a family member goes off the derech that does not mean that they are no longer you family and you don’t have to carry out your obligations towards them.

Isn’t this an opinion question and not a halacha question? It wasn’t prefaces with what is the halacha regarding….

wanderingchana-

It’s not bubbe maises. I don’t know the exact makor but when I was in a history class my teacher (a brilliant man, and a rav as well) said that it comes from Rabbeinu Gershon who supposedly sat shiva when his son converted to Christianity, though there’s a question about a girsa with the story. It is well known however that R’ Shlomo Eiger sat shiva when his son R’ Leibel became a chosid (I think of the Kotzker). While I’m not suggesting we learn from that, and as the story goes R’ Akiva Eiger, R’ Shlomo’s father, disagreed with him, you certainly see the concept of sitting shiva when someone converts out of the religion. I don’t know what the source for sitting shiva for intermarriage is though.

“A question like this is incontrovertibly a halachic question”

Good.

Ask your LOR.

CLOSED.