Resuming Normalcy

With Tisha b’av and its restrictions behind us, we can now resume our every-day lives.

Tradition teaches that the enemies of Israel lit the Holy Temple aflame at the very end of the 9th of Av, and the Temple burned through the next day. As such, our custom is to maintain most of the mourning rites associated with the Nine Days until halachic noon* of the 10th of Av. We postpone haircuts, laundry, bathing for pleasure, eating meat and drinking wine until that time. However, when the 9th of Av falls on Shabbat, as it did this year, we can resume our normal lives after the end of the fast on Sunday night (although Ashkenazim still refrain from eating meat and drinking wine until the following morning).

One of the restrictions during this period is the prohibition of music. The Jewish legal codes rule that marriages should not take place during the mourning period over the Temple. For Ashkenazic Jews, that translates into not scheduling weddings from the fast of the 17th of Tammuz through Tisha b’av. Most Sephardic Jews practice the custom not to get married only during the week in which Tisha b’av occurs, although others are more restrictive.

During ancient times, live music was the only way music was heard. So postponing weddings, almost de facto, meant that no one would be listening to music at all. With the advent of recorded music, the sages needed to apply the ancient law regarding weddings to listening to joyous music. Nuanced differences of opinion exist in regard to listening to music during the Three Weeks, and other periods of mourning. Halachic decisors must rule based on different factors, among which are: live music versus recorded music; pensive ballads versus celebratory and joyous tunes; acapella versus orchestral; and the motivation for hearing the music (i.e. wanting to enjoy the music, versus background music). In general, more leniency is found with regard to listening to recorded, pensive, acapella and background music.

NOTE: As with all Treats dealing with halacha (points of Jewish law), one should consult one’s local rabbi for practical application.

*One can calculate a halachic hour by taking the length of the day from sunrise to sunset (some say from dawn to dusk) and dividing it by twelve. Thus, halachic hours in the winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) are shorter and halachic hours in the summer are longer.