The Three Weeks

During the se’uda ha-mafseket, one may eat as much raw food that he wants. If one cooks them, however, they are considered cooked dishes, despite the fact that they are edible even when uncooked.

The Talmud relates how R. Yehuda b. R. Ila’i would act at his se’uda ha-mafseket: He would be given dry bread with salt, and in an undignified place – between the furnace and the oven – eat it with a flask of water, as though in the presence of a newly-deceased relative.

What is the se’uda ha-mafseket? It is the last meal before the fast, eaten after midday.

When Tisha Be-Av falls out on Shabbat, the fast is postponed to Sunday. So when is The Week of Tisha Be-Av?

Shabbat Ĥazon is the Shabbat preceding Tisha Be-Av, on which we read the haftara beginning with the words “The vision of Yeshayahu".

Clothes worn by babies who regularly soil their outfits are not included in the prohibition. Likewise, one may wash sheets and blankets of young children who wet themselves at night.

Even though the Sages prohibited bathing on Tisha Be-Av only, the Rishonim were stringent and would refrain from bathing on the days preceding Tisha Be-Av as well.

The Sages prohibited laundering clothes during the week in which Tisha Be-Av falls. This is an expression of mourning.

A Jewish contractor and Jewish workers may continue building residential homes during the Nine Days in order to sell them, because the units are designed as living quarters and not as luxury homes.

We curtail joyous business transactions during the Nine Days. That is to say, one may not buy luxury items like jewelry, clothing, fancy appliances, new furniture, or a car for personal use.