On the Shabbat that occurs during a shiva, all the laws of mourning that apply in private are observed, but not those which are noticeable to other people. Mourners wear Shabbat clothes, including their regular shoes (even if they are made of leather), and leave their house for the synagogue. A mourner should not be called up to the Torah, but if there is no one available to replace him it is permitted for him to be called up, as otherwise this would constitute a noticeable expression of mourning.

By contrast, all the laws of mourning that are observed privately apply even on Shabbat. Mourners during the shiva must abstain from marital relations and bathing for pleasure. Similarly, mourners are prohibited from studying Torah. Nevertheless, if one is accustomed to review the weekly Torah portion with the Aramaic translation [shenayim mikra ve’ehad targum] (see p. 379), he may do so even on the Shabbat during the shiva.

It is permitted to comfort mourners on Shabbat, but the opportunity to visit and comfort him should not purposely be postponed from a weekday to Shabbat. Rather, consolation visits should ideally take place on a weekday. On a practical level as well, mourners generally prefer to take advantage of Shabbat to rest, and they would rather not have to deal with visitors on this day.

It is generally accepted that a mourner enters the synagogue on Friday night only after the congregation has finished singing Lekha Dodi. In many communities the gabbai declares: “Comfort the mourner,” at which point the mourner enters and the community recites to him the formula of consolation, thereby ending the public acknowledgement of his mourning on Shabbat.