The three weeks have always been designated as a time of at least partial mourning, leading up to the nine days when the mourning becomes much more intense. Thus, there are traditions that people do not shave or take haircuts during the three weeks and a host of other prohibitions that by tradition have become forbidden.
There is also a vast difference in the way this mourning plays out for Ashkanazim and for Sefardim, in which the latter basically display open mourning only on the week of Tisha B’Av itself.
Thus, there is no question that at least for the Ashkanazim the three weeks are a time for contemplation and introspection.
That being said, the majority feeling among poskim is that vacations and family outings are permitted during this time at least for the weeks prior to Rosh Chodesh Av, when the nine days begin before Tisha B’Av. However, I believe that if one does go on a family vacation they should “turn it down” a little in deference to the time that they are in, in that we have started the mourning period commemorating the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.
– Rabbi Mordechai Weiss lives in Efrat, Israel, and previously served as an elementary and high school principal in New Jersey and Connecticut. He was also the founder and rav of Young Israel of Margate, N.J. His email is [email protected].
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While it is preferably not to go on family outings during this inauspicious time (Megillat Eicha states that Kol metzareha hisiguha bein ha’metzarim – we succumbed to our enemies during the Three Weeks), sometimes work and other schedules do not allow an alternative. People need a vacation and seize the opportunity when available. Thus, if necessary, family outings during the Three Weeks are permitted while avoiding musical events and more risky activities. It is even more desired to avoid such trips during the Nine Days.
– Rabbi Chaim Jachter is a prominent rabbi who serves as the rabbi at Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck, and is a popular Torah teacher at the Torah Academy of Bergen County. He also serves as a Dayan on the Beth Din of Elizabeth and has acquired an international reputation of excellence in the area of Get administration. He has authored sixteen books on issues ranging from contemporary Halacha, Tanach, Aggada, and Jewish Thought all available on Amazon.
