Shaving for business during the Omer or The Three Weeks

Hi,

One who needs to shave for business, and who would lose money if he would not shave, may shave during the days of the Omer and during the first part of the "Three Weeks" period of mourning for the Beit haMikdash. However, he may not shave during the week of Tishah b'Av.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:102)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Switching Omer periods of mourning

Hi,

I observed the "first days" of the Omer last year, refraining from a haircut until after Lag ba'Omer. May I switch to the "second days" this year, observing from Rosh Chodesh until the end of the Omer?

Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that one may switch from one set of 33 days to the other from one year to the next. There are only two caveats:
• One must observe one set of 33 days in entirety; one may not take a haircut before Rosh Chodesh, and again after Lag ba'Omer.
• One may not veer from communal minhag; if a community has a defined practice of observing a specific "half" of the omer, one may not vary from that practice.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 493:3; Chatam Sofer Orach Chaim 142; Mishneh Berurah 493:17; Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:159)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Teaching music during the Omer

Hi,

One may teach music for his livelihood during the Omer, unless he gains pleasure from listening to the music.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:87)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Attending a wedding during the Omer

Hi,

One who observes one period of mourning during Sefirat haOmer, and who is invited to attending a wedding during that time because the families involved are observing a different period of mourning during the Omer, is permitted to attend the wedding and dance and celebrate.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:95)

Pitka tava,
Mordechai

The Omer as Mourning Period

Hi,

To find earlier "Daily Jewish Law" posts on the mourning practices associated with parts of the Omer period, please click here.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Haircuts for Lag ba'Omer this year

Hi,

There is an interesting quirk in this year's calendar: Lag ba'Omer occurs on Motzaei Shabbat and Sunday.

The Rama mentioned an Ashkenazi practice of taking haircuts on the Friday preceding Lag ba'Omer when Lag ba'Omer is a Sunday, in honor of Shabbat. (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 493:2) [Note that this would not affect any of the other mourning practices associated with the first part of the omer, such as listening to musical performances.]

As always, please consult your community's rabbinic authorities in determining your practice.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Haircuts during the Omer - a quirk in this year's calendar

Hi,

As I noted last year:

Taking a haircut is considered to be an act of grooming that increases one's joy, and therefore one does not take a haircut during the mourning period between Pesach and Lag ba'Omer.

In some years - indeed, this year - there is an exception to that rule. If Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of Iyyar) is on Friday, then on that day one honors Rosh Chodesh as well as the Shabbat that comes the next day. In such a case, many authorities rule that one may take a haircut that day, despite its being during the Omer.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 493:2; Mishneh Berurah 493:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Haircuts during the Omer

Hi,

We have been learning about mourning during the Omer period.

Taking a haircut is considered to be an act of grooming that increases one's joy, and therefore one does not take a haircut during this mourning period.

In some years there is an exception to that rule - If Rosh Chodesh (the 1st day of Iyyar) is a Friday, then on that day one honors Rosh Chodesh as well as the Shabbat that comes the next day. In such a case, many authorities rule that one may take a haircut that day, despite its being during the Omer.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 493:2; Mishneh Berurah 493:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Mourning during the Omer, II

Hello,

We have mentioned the practice of mourning during the Omer.

Just as we do not hold weddings during this period, so we do not hold celebrations involving dancing, whether for fun or in honor of a mitzvah.

(Mishneh Berurah 493:3; note that this is commonly understood to include any celebration involving live music)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Mourning during the Omer period

Hello,

During the Omer period we observe a mourning period commemorating the mass deaths of twenty-four thousand students of Rabbi Akiva, who all died during a period of time associated with the Omer. It is not clear whether they died during the beginning or end of the Omer, so some people observe this period of mourning between the end of Passover and Lag ba'Omer, others between the beginning of the month of Iyyar and Shavuot.

The Talmud teaches that the students were punished for not showing each other appropriate respect; surely this is something that is worth mourning even two thousand years later.

During this period we do not hold weddings, although one may get engaged.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 493:1)

Have a good Yom Tov,
Mordechai