# 4058 Hope Against Hope
A young single friend of mine during one of the storms, was tending to his small boat bringing it in from the soaring sea waves. Tragically, the wind was so strong that he was pulled into the sea and was lost. After some days of search by the Coast Guard, air patrols and even the Navy, they gave up.
The parents and brothers want to know, if they have to sit Shiva and recite Kaddish and when should they start.
Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that since he was not married, they can start Shiva and the rest of the mourning practices and traditions when the family also gives up and believes the young relative drowned.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller and Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu Shlit’a
Answered by: Hagaon Rav Shlomo Miller Shlit'a
Published: January 5, 2023