Question:
It is my roommate’s birthday and she is in the year of aveilus for a family member. Would it be permissible to buy a gift (a Shabbos lamp, that I know she really wants) and designate for the room she shares with another roommate? After the year of aveilus, I would then tell her to keep the lamp.
Really I am buying it for her though…so is this a sneaky way of “getting around the halacha”?
Answer:
This would be permissible, however if you actually give it to the general members of the room, you may need the roommate’s permission to give it to her at the end of the year. You mentioned a family member, the year long period of Aveilus is only applicable for one mourning a mother or father.
