Where Frequency Matters
‘… We Forbid Haircutting and Laundering…’
(Yevamos 43b)
The Gemara, citing a Mishnah (Ta’anis 26b), states that it is forbidden to take a haircut or launder clothing during the week Tisha B’Av occurs (that is, starting on the Sunday before Tisha B’Av, until after Tisha B’Av). [It is also forbidden to wear freshly laundered clothing during that period – Ran, Ta’anis 26b.]
Which Week?
If the Ninth of Av falls on a Sabbath, the fast of Tisha B’Av is observed on Sunday. The Yerushalmi (J.T. Ta’anis 4:6) maintains that in such a year the restrictions against taking a haircut and laundering clothing during the week of Tisha B’Av do not apply, because Tisha B’Av is observed on Sunday and the week preceding Tisha B’Av is not considered “the week of Tisha B’Av.”
The Semag (cited by the Tur, Orach Chayyim 551:4), however, maintains that when the Ninth of Av falls on a Sabbath, the preceding week is considered the week of Tisha B’Av even though the fast is delayed until Sunday.
Not Relevant Due To An Ashkenazi Restriction
Rema (Orach Chayyim 551:3-4) notes that the prevailing custom [among Ashkenazi Jewry] is to refrain from laundering clothing during the entire Nine Days (i.e., from Rosh Chodesh Av until after Tisha B’Av), not just during the week when Tisha B’Av occurs. Also, our custom is to refrain from cutting the hair during the entire Three Weeks (i.e., from the 17th of Tammuz until after Tisha B’Av). Accordingly, the above cited dispute is generally not relevant.
It is noteworthy that there are several cases in which the authorities attach significance to the week when Tisha B’Av occurs, and accordingly there are situations in which the above cited dispute has relevance even according to the custom of the Ashkenazim.
Nothing Left To Wear
Eliyahu Rabbah (Orach Chayyim 551) rules that if one has only one shirt and it became soiled, he is permitted to wash it during the Nine Days, before the week when Tisha B’Av occurs. Some authorities apply the same leniency to one who has several changes of clothes that have all become soiled. Since he is left without a change of clothes, he is permitted to launder them before the Sabbath preceding Tisha B’Av (provided they are the type of clothes that need frequent changing – see Mishna Berura O.C. ad loc.).
A Child’s Haircut
Chayyei Adam (133:17-18) rules that Rema’s minhag to refrain from cutting the hair during the entire Three Weeks pertains only to an adult, but it is permitted to give a child a haircut prior to the week of Tisha B’Av. Eliyahu Rabbah (Orach Chayyim ad loc., cited by the Mishnah Berura) disagrees and maintains that even a child’s hair should not be cut during the Three Weeks.
Upsherin
Toras Yekusiel (Earlier Edition, Responsum 47) rules that even according to Eliyahu Rabbah, who forbids giving a child a haircut during the Three Weeks, it is permitted to give a child his first haircut on his third birthday (upsherin) during the Three Weeks – before the week during which Tisha B’Av occurs. He maintains that for those who have the custom to give a child his first haircut on his third birthday, it is considered a mitzvah and is therefore permitted during the Three Weeks. [Others, however, maintain that the haircut of a three-year-old child should be delayed until after Tisha B’Av – or advanced to before the 17th of Tammuz (Nit’ei Gavriel, Orach Chayyim 551:27).]
Bris – Bar Mitzvah
Some authorities (Sha’arei Teshuva, O.C. s.k. 3) permit the father of a baby being circumcised, as well as the mohel and the sandak, to cut their hair on the day of the bris if it is prior to the week in which Tisha B’Av occurs. Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac Liebes, late Av Beth Din of Iggud HaRabbonim (Responsa Beth Avi, Vol. 2:58), also permits a boy to have his hair cut before the week in which Tisha B’Av occurs in honor of his impending bar mitzvah (see Piskei Teshuvos, Orach Chayyim 551:6, Note 44).
