The Three Weeks

What Are The Special Laws Of The 9 Days? (For Ashkenazim)

Explaining the Laws of the Three Weeks

The three-week period between Shiva Asar B’Tammuz and Tisha B’Av is kept by Klal Yisrael as a time of mourning. In this article, we will review and explain the halachos that apply during the Three Weeks.

23. “The Week of Tisha Be-Av” when Tisha Be-Av is Postponed to Sunday

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

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

22. Shabbat Hazon

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

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

20. Children’s Clothing and Hospital Garb

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

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.

21. Bathing

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

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.

19. The Prohibition on Laundry

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

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

17. The Laws of Building during the Nine Days

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

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.

18. The Laws of Business Transactions During the Nine Days

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

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.

16. Building and Planting During the Nine Days

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

Since we curtail our joy from the beginning of Av, one may not build anything that brings joy during the Nine Days.

15. Meat and Wine on Shabbat Hazon and at a Se’udat Mitzva

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

We eat meat and drink wine on Shabbat Ĥazon, as we do on every other Shabbat of the year.

14. The Laws of Eating Meat and Drinking Wine

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

The prohibition on eating meat includes all types of meat. One who is even slightly ill may eat meat and drink wine, if it helps him.

13. Meat and Wine

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

The Rishonim had a custom to refrain from eating meat and drinking wine during the period of mourning over the destruction of the Temple.

12. When Av Arrives, we Curtail our Joy

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

The Sages state in the Mishna (Ta’anit 26b), “When Av arrives, we curtail our joy,” because this is a period of mourning over the Temple’s destruction. Therefore, one should not engage in joyous activities.

11. Shaving One’s Beard During the Three Weeks

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

Ashkenazim and some Sephardim is to refrain from cutting one’s hair during the entirety of the Three Weeks. Regarding shaving one’s beard, however, a question arises.

10. Haircuts

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

The Sages instituted prohibitions against cutting one’s hair and washing one’s clothes during the week of Tisha Be-Av.

9. Marriage and Engagement

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

It is customary in most Jewish communities that no weddings are held during the Three Weeks. Until the first of Av, one may hold a modest, small-scale engagement party.

8. In Which Cases May One Recite She-heheyanu?

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

One who is presented the opportunity to perform a mitzva that requires one to recite She-heĥeyanu.According to most poskim, one may recite She-heĥeyanu on the Shabbatot of the Three Weeks.

7. Reciting She-heheyanu During the Three Weeks

Chapter 8: The Customs of the Three Weeks

Some of the greatest Rishonim would refrain from eating a new fruit or buying a new garment during the Three Weeks, in order to avoid reciting She-heĥeyanu.