Amusement Park, Pool, and Sea During the Three Weeks

Greetings,

1. There is no prohibition. Nevertheless, it is better to refrain, especially from Rosh Chodesh Av onward.

2. According to the custom of Sephardim, it is permitted to go to a pool or the sea during the Three Weeks, and even during the week in which Tishah B'Av falls. According to the custom of Ashkenazim, it is permitted only until Rosh Chodesh Av.

According to all customs, one must be especially careful not to swim in places where there is concern for danger throughout the entire Three Weeks, because these days are, Heaven forfend, propitious for undesirable matters.

Sources: The custom of Sephardim is to permit bathing in cold water during the Nine Days, and even during the week in which Tishah B'Av falls; therefore, entry into a pool or the sea is permitted on these days, as explained in Yabia Omer, volume 5 (Orach Chaim, end of siman 41) and in Yechaveh Da'at, volume 1 (siman 38).

And the custom of Ashkenazim is not to bathe even in cold water from Rosh Chodesh Av onward, as written by the Rema in Orach Chaim (siman 551, סעיף 16), and therefore they should not enter a pool or the sea during the Nine Days.

Nevertheless, great caution is required not to swim in places where there is concern for danger throughout all the days of the Three Weeks, and the Chut Ya'ir zt"l already wrote in his work Mikor Chaim (siman 551, סעיף 14) that he saw people refraining from bathing in rivers throughout the Three Weeks because of the danger, since the time is propitious for harm. See also Orchos Rabbeinu, volume 2 (page 129). And see Teshuvot V'Hanhagot, volume 2 (siman 263), which states that one should not sail deep in the sea, up to near a man's height, during the period of Bein HaMetzarim, because these days are, Heaven forfend, propitious for danger, Heaven forfend. See there.

With blessings,

Hillel Meirs