When a family member passes away, Heaven forbid, during a holiday, the observance of Abelut (mourning) does not begin until after the holiday. Burials, however, are performed on Hol Ha’mo’ed. The question thus arises as to whether the restrictions of Aninut, which apply from the time of a family member’s death until the burial, apply. Are family members bound by the laws of Aninut, or are these restrictions waived in deference to the holiday?
The Halacha in such a case is that Aninut does, in fact, apply during Hol Ha’mo’ed. The laws of Aninut were instituted because family members are required to make burial arrangements, and thus since burials are performed during Hol Ha’mo’ed, the laws of Abelut apply, as well.
It should be noted that the custom of the Syrian Jewish community is to perform burials on Yom Tob Sheni. By extension, then, the laws of Aninut would similarly apply on Yom Tob Sheni.
An interesting question arises in the particular situation of one who is buried during Hol Ha’mo’ed Pesah, when there is a Misva of Sefirat Ha’omer. During Aninut, one does not observe any Misvot, and, as such, he is exempt from counting the Omer. Certainly, then, an Onen (person observing Aninut) may not count the Omer with a Beracha, since he is not obligated in the Misva. He might, however, wish to count without a Beracha, so that after the burial he may resume counting with a Beracha. Indeed, the Noda Bi’yehuda (Rav Yehezkel Landau of Prague, 1713-1793) ruled that an Onen can count the Omer and may then resume counting with a Beracha.
Hacham Ovadia Yosef, however, in his work Yabia Omer (vol. 3, Orah Haim 28), disagrees. He writes that since an Onen is exempt from the obligation of Sefirat Ha’omer, his counting does not qualify as a formal Halachic counting, and thus he would still be considered as having missed a day. As such, he would not continue counting with a Beracha after the burial. In Hacham Ovadia’s view, an Onen is exempt from Misvot to the extent that even if he does count the Omer, his counting is of no Halachic significance. This is also the ruling of Rav Shemuel Pinhasi (contemporary), in his work Haim Va’hesed (p. 70; listen to audio recording for precise citation).
Summary: If one’s family member passes away during a holiday, Heaven forbid, even though the laws of mourning do not take effect until after the holiday, the laws of Aninut apply on Hol Ha’mo’ed until the burial. If somebody in this situation on Hol Ha’mo’ed Pesah counts the Omer before the burial, he nevertheless must count henceforth without a Beracha, since he is exempt from Misvot before the burial and thus his counting at that point is Halachically insignificant.
