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At the beginning of the funeral, the mourners stand and tear their shirts. If they did not recite the blessing of “the true Judge” at the time of the death or upon hearing of it, they recite the blessing at the funeral before tearing. The tear is started using a knife or scissors. The members of the burial society can help with this, but the mourners should continue tearing the fabric themselves until the tear is at least eight centimeters long. The tearing gives concrete expression to the mourning. Just as the garment is torn, so the life of the mourners has been torn. Part of them remains alive, and part of them has left with the deceased and gone to another world.
Mourners wear the ripped item of clothing during the whole week of shiva. Only when going to sleep may they change into untorn nightwear. If the torn clothing gets dirty, they may change, but they must tear the new clothing as well. Someone who was dressed in something very expensive before the funeral is allowed to change into something cheaper. (Not only does this preserve the expensive item, but it is also more appropriate to come to a funeral in simpler clothing.) Ideally, anyone present at the time of a person's passing should tear their clothing out of grief, but this is not the custom, possibly so as not to create a situation in which people avoid visiting the critically ill for fear of needing to tear their clothes.
