Shailos regarding the 9 days, by Rabbi Wolhendler - Bais Horaah Lamdeiny Chukecha - Status Island

We're gonna address a few that were sent in by status island followers. And it shouldn't be. So the first question is if you're allowed to put on new titus in the nine days and in the three weeks. So with the three weeks with new clothing is new clothing that's a big deal. It's a new suit, a new dress, a new pair of tittis. For the most part, generally speaking, unless it's a expensive woolen titus, but normally a titus is not uh an exciting item. So, in the 3 weeks, it would be permitted, but in the 9 days, you can't put on any freshly laundering uh any any fresh clothes. So, it wouldn't be recommended. Another question was, can I put on a new sweater or a new watch during the nine days? So, I guess it's cold at night and there's air conditioning and they want to put on a sweater. They don't have a sweater. They only have a new sweater that they never wore before and now it's the nine days. Am I allowed to wrap myself with a new sweater for warmth, not because I'm getting dressed up or new watch? The idea isn't that it's a it's a fashion accessory. The idea is that it's something technical. I need a watch. I need to be able to tell time. So, the answer is that for the nine days, we don't put on anything new. We don't do anything exciting if it's really such a case where it's just cold and I just need to cover myself with something. So then we won't say that you should freeze because the only thing you have is new and you never wore it before in such a case. And also if your mamas just need to tell time, okay, it's a technicality. It's not something new. Somebody asked an interesting question. What's with can I buy in the nine days a new suit to have when Msiah comes? So it it's an interesting question. I'm sure there's going to be people who are Mahm and people who are Michael because it's sad to be Mahmed that the actual shopping is exciting and uh so even though you're buying it for for Msiah on the other hand you're buying it so you're not being from the gulas and from the but at the end of the day the nine days is a period of mourning for the gulas. It's not a period of preparation for Msiah. We think about Msiah and we hope for Msiah and we d for Msiah but the time of the nine days is to be spent in mourning not in celebrating. So even though there are certain because Mashiah was born on tishov so there's certain that we do on tishov but to start doing new things and we're going to go out shopping for a new suit for when Msiah comes there's maybe if somebody really has maybe there's a but I think it's better to be moving on this is the of buying clothing of eating meat so somebody asked if it's permitted for kids to eat meat and until what age. So the is says that young children are allowed to eat meat as some who are if I'm not mistaken is m what we follow is we follow the if if a child is young enough that he's he's not abandon yet and let's say at least until the age of six for sure you can give the children meat especially if it's a child who needs it they don't eat any other protein and they eat the chicken. So you can give the you can give them chicken definitely until the age of six. And if somebody has a problem with their child and the child is a little bit older and they still feel that the child needs meat, they could ask a shila. It could be that we could be m older also. And then somebody asked if somebody is allergic to dairy and even fish. He can't eat too much fish because it has mercury if he's allowed to eat meat. And the answers in such a case would be m chicken for sure which means not mus and meaning it depends the not eating meat is a mik. So it's a strong mig and we follow this mig but when it comes to a matter of health where somebody needs for their health to eat um we're m and doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman or pregnant there's no difference between men men and women if somebody's pregnant obviously it's a more of a more of a reason to be m because they obviously have a health issue that they need uh that they need a hat. The next category of questions was about a sem. So the first question was how many people can join in the sem? Do you need to wash the sem and are there any restrictions? And then the other question was is there an Indian to make a sem or should you just be m and not make a and just eat meat. So the other question of if there's an Indian there's an Indian depends who you ask. There's definitely inish communities there was an Indian to I know in they make a big deal out of it that the rabbi said to make and other that there's an Indian to to make and to eat but we're not talking now we're talking so there's no to make there's an that is a is to eat meat now if there's a then you're allowed to you're allowed to eat meat. Um however the sh is who's allowed to. So in in this is also um but pashis anybody who would come to the cm uh throughout the year can participate in the cm in the nine days. Assam who are Mhmed that only a minion meaning the person who learned his parents and and another 10 people um only they can join in the you can have more people participate but the is that whoever is sh to the can come participate and it means people who um all year round would participate in the in the cm. So uh when the question was how many people could join we won't limit it to only a minion but it has to be people who are sh to the do you need to wash or not you don't have to wash you're part of the even if you don't wash um if there are any restrictions so some people have this thing that if they finish the any time between before they keep it of and then from pan they keep it for the nine days and um that's not it's not appropriate. If you if you if you finish a you can make a butka to to save a sem for the nine days is is not appropriate. Although there are some people who do that okay I think that uh covers that question and then there were another two questions. I think one of them was a joke. uh some person asked how how do I feel the while I'm looking for killers in these and then the other person said how do I feel the while seeing other people's killers so first of all when you see other killers that's that's how you feel the the but this person is asking how do I feel the I don't feel it I'm looking for killers I'm looking to get out of it how do I get to feel it so I want to share with you uh from so Around probably 15 years ago by now, there was the a song that uh was ubiquitous. Wherever you went, you heard this song and nobody knew what it means. People understood that even in a concealment that's concealed concealment still Hashem is there with you. If you look in the what is saying he's saying like this he says sometimes in aem you have you have that feeling you have the emotion and you're feeling the nine days and you're feeling the and you're crying toe sometimes you have that you have your ups and he says sometimes you have your downs you have there's a concealment you don't feel hashem and that's what is all about that hashem says there's a concealment you won't feel me. So, but still even when there's a concealment, you still have that s I remember what it was like when I was on the up. Now I'm on a down. Now I don't feel it, but I remember once upon a time I used to feel it and I feel bad about it. I wish I could feel it. So sometimes you feel it and sometimes you wish you could feel it. But then there's another level which is the it's so concealed that you didn't even know. You don't even wish you could feel it. You say I want I want out of it. I want the killers. It's not that I want the killers but really I would have wanted to feel it. You don't feel it and you don't even feel that you're missing something. So says even when you don't feel it and you don't feel that you don't feel it still Hashem is still there. You still you follow the to you do the mitzvah. You practice whatever it is that the tora lays out for you. You follow the rules. You go along with Hashem and don't let go of Hashem whatever you do. And that's that's the test of gulas. Hashem says you're going to be in Gulas. In the times of his revelations and now this concealment and not only concealment there such a thick concealment that we don't even know how concealed we are. We're so far we don't even we don't even think about how far we are. But still, this is where we say even though we're so far from you, Hashem, we're still going to follow. We're still going to hold on. And in the of loyally holding on even when we don't feel anything, that's what's going to bring the Oman.