HALACHA ON - LINE

In Memory of Rabbi Dov Ber Rosenblum z''l
a dedicated Torah scholar whose greatest love was the study and clarification of Halacha

The Laws of the Three Weeks                      vol.4, no. 24

  The three weeks between the Fast of the Seventeenth of Tamuz and Tisha B’av are observed with various customs of mourning.

Weddings:    During this period weddings should not be performed . Engagement celebrations may take place.  However, after Rosh Chodesh Av one should not serve a festive meal.

Music:    One should not listen to music during the three weeks.  One should not practice music after Rosh Chodesh Av.  A professional musician may perform in a gentile’s establishment until Rosh Chodesh Av.

Shehechianu:  One should try to avoid situations which obligate the reciting of a shehechianu blessing.  Therefore one should not eat new fruits or buy new clothing during the three weeks.  However, a shechianu is recited on a mitzvah like pidyon haben (redemption of the first born son). Many authorities permit eating a new fruit or wearing a new garment on Shabbos and a shehecheianu may then be said.

Haircuts:     The custom is to refrain from taking haircuts or shaving during this period.  A person who needs to shave for business purposes should at least refrain after Rosh Chodesh Av, or at least during the week in which Tisha B’av falls.  Cutting nails is only prohibited during the week in which Tisha B’av falls. According to some authorities a married woman or a woman of marriageable age may shave her legs even during the Nine Days. In honor of a bris milah which takes place before the week in which Tisha B’av falls,  the father, the mohel and the sandek may cut their hair and shave.


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