Halachot and Customs
Bar Mitzvah during the Three Weeks
Question
Hi, I’m invited to a bar mitzvah for my friend’s brother during the Three Weeks (July 28), and my friend said she thinks they spoke with a rabbi, but I’m really not sure that’s true. Is it permitted for me to go to the bar mitzvah? She’ll be hurt if I don’t go.
Thank you
Answer
Greetings,
It is permitted to hold a bar mitzvah meal during the Three Weeks. And according to the opinion of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef zt"l (Responsa Yechaveh Daat, part 6, siman 34, and Chazon Ovadia, Four Fasts, pages 151, 153), if the bar mitzvah takes place on the day the boy turns 13 years old, it is also permitted to play musical instruments at this meal.
With blessings,
Hillel Meirs
