Question:
Is one allowed to take music lessons during the 9 days or three weeks? Also is one allowed to travel or do surgery at such a time?
Answer:
Some poskim permit taking music lessons if they are not for pleasure and one will forget some skills in his time off. The Sh”t Tzitz Eliezer 16:19. Kaf Hachayim 551:41 writes that preferably it should not be done, and even if one is lenient it should only be sad songs. Miyum Hahalacha 1:83, Emes Liyaakov 551:footnote 506 also say that it is preferable not to. The Pri Megadim Eshel Avraham 551:10 writes that parallel to the concept of davar ha’aved on chol hamoed, the rabbis permitted somebody who needs to dance or play music for livelihood to do so.
Although there is a practice that a minority of people have not to have meat and wine all of the three weeks, most only refrains from it for the nine days. All of the details are found on the Nine_Days#Eating_Meat_and_Drinking_Wine page.
Laundry is permitted during the three weeks until the nine days. See that page for details.
Cutting nails is permitted during the three weeks until the nine days.
Building and planting is permitted during the three weeks until the nine days.
During the three weeks a Rabbi should be careful not to hit his students and a parent should not hit his
If a Jew has to have a lawsuit with a non-Jew, he should avoid having it with him in Av, as this is a time of ill fortune for a Jew.
Although some have the custom to fast during every day between the seventeenth of tammuz until the ninth of av, this should not be kept by a teacher of torah or somebody who is learning.
One is permitted to recite the beracha of Hagomel at any point during the three weeks, including Shiva Asar BeTamuz and Tisha BeAv.
It is a praiseworthy minhag to recite “tikkun Rachel” after chatzot of the day during the Three Weeks. This is in addition to the praiseworthy minhag to recite “tikkun chatzot” every night after chatzot. “Tikkun Rachel” should not be recited after chatzot of the day on Tish’a Bi’av itself. On Erev Rosh Chodesh, Rosh Chodesh, Erev Shabbos, and Shabbos, “tikkun Rachel” is also not recited during the day. This applies to any day that tachanun is not recited as well, for example a mohel, sandak, and avi haben, should not recite “tikkun Rachel” on the day of the berit milah. “Tikkun Chatzot” is not recited at night during a shemittah year, but a person may nevertheless recite “tikkun Rachel” during the day during the Three Weeks.
One shouldn’t schedule trips and recreational activities for the three weeks. Mikraei Kodesh 5:1 quoting the Masa Chaim of Rav Chaim Palagi that the rabbis of his generation established that people shouldn’t go on trips during the three weeks. He also writes that this is cited by the Sdei Chemed Ben Hametzarim 1:10 and Nitai Gavriel Ben Hametzarim 23 fnt. 7. He also quotes that he heard from Rav Shaul Yisraeli that one shoudln’t go on recreational trips during the three weeks.
Some say that if that is the only time a person has to take these trips with his family or it is for medical reasons it is permitted until the nine days.
During the three weeks one should refrain from going to dangerous places and should be even more careful during the nine days.
If possible, one should avoid flying on an airplane during the nine days.
One should not schedule surgery for during the 3 weeks, and certainly not during the 9 days, unless the doctor insists that it cannot be postponed.
The custom is to read three tragic haftarot during the three weeks followed by 7 consolation haftarot. On the Shabbos prior to Tisha BeAv, Shabbos Chazon, we read Isaiah Perek 1:1-27. It is the final of the three tragic haftarot. |