The Nine Days
Our sages said: “From the moment Av begins, we decrease in joy.” The first nine days of this month are the peak of the period of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. Therefore, during these days, mourning practices are observed more strictly than during the “Three Weeks.”
In addition to the mourning customs observed throughout the Days of Bein Hametzarim, during these days, we refrain from the following actions:
- Eating meat and drinking wine.
- Purchasing furniture or new clothes.
- Laundry and ironing clothes.
- Taking baths for pleasure.
- Moving into a new home.
During these days, the fate of the Jewish people is inauspicious, so it is not advisable to schedule legal proceedings during this period.
Throughout one’s life, a Jew is commanded to serve their Creator with joy. King David said in Psalms, “Serve the Lord with joy.” So, how does it reconcile with the sadness of the Nine Days? How do we fulfill the sages’ instruction to “decrease in joy” when the month of Av begins?
The natural state of a person according to Judaism is to be a joyful individual. When the month of Adar arrives, we are commanded to “increase in joy” because it means being even happier than the regular and daily joy throughout the year. Then, when we reach the month of Av, we “decrease in joy” and reduce the extra joy we added in the month of Adar. In essence, we return to the daily joy that accompanies us in the month of Av, which is the regular joy that comes with serving the Creator.
