Daily Learning: Singing, Haircuts, and a Powerful Lesson of Faith During the Three Weeks

Two Daily Halachot from Hidabroot, based on Halacha and Aggadah and the rulings of Maran Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Is Singing Permitted During the Three Weeks?

Singing without musical accompaniment is permitted during the Three Weeks, even when it is not connected to a mitzvah celebration.

This certainly applies to singing during prayer. Enhancing one's prayers with a pleasant voice is not only permitted but encouraged, and there is no reason to refrain from doing so during this period.

Dancing, however, is prohibited during the Three Weeks, even without musical accompaniment.

Is It Permitted to Get a Haircut or Shave During the Three Weeks?

Sephardic custom: It is customary to continue getting haircuts and shaving until the week in which Tisha B'Av falls.

Ashkenazic custom: Haircuts and shaving are avoided from the Seventeenth of Tammuz until the Tenth of Av. However, if a brit milah takes place during this period, the three principal participants in the circumcision — the mohel, the sandak, and the baby's father, may shave and get haircuts, unless the brit falls during the week in which Tisha B'Av occurs. In that case, even they do not receive this leniency.

Ashkenazic girls and women are permitted to have haircuts during this period.

Daily Inspiration

"Hold My Hand"

A little girl and her father were crossing a river together. Concerned for his daughter's safety, the father said, "Please hold my hand so you won't fall into the water."

The little girl looked into her father's worried eyes and gently replied, "No, Daddy. You hold my hand."

Surprised, the father asked, "What's the difference, sweetheart? I just want to make sure you're safe."

With a warm smile, she answered, "If I'm holding your hand and something happens, I might let go. But if you're holding my hand, I know that no matter what happens, you'll never let go of me."

When we go through difficult times, it is important to remember that the Creator is always with us, holding us firmly even when we cannot feel His presence.

No matter what happens, He never gives up on us. At times we may feel alone in our struggles, but the truth is that even in our darkest moments, God does not abandon us. He is there, holding our hand, and He never will let go.