Haircut During Omer 

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By Rabbi Berach Steinfeld

The Torah tells us that a mitztaer is exempt from the mitzvah of Sukkah. One may say that this exemption of a mitztaer being pattur from Sukkah is only applicable to the mitzva of Sukkah as the Torah commands us to dwell in the Sukkah the same way a person needs to dwell in his house a whole year.

The Radvaz, the Birkei Yosef and the Sdei Chemed all say that a mitztaer is not only pattur from Sukka, but from all other mitzvos too. The Chelkas Yoav differentiates between Sukkah and other mitzvos. Even the slightest tzaar is enough to patter one from the mitzvah of Sukkah; however, regarding other mitzvos one may be patter only if he has a lot of tzaar.

The following question arises in the Shulchan Aruch 472:10. How can the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch who states that despite the fact that one has tzaar from drinking wine one still needs to be mekayem the mitzvah of daled kosos be reconciled according to those opinions who say that the exemption of mitztaer is only regarding Sukkah?

The answer could be that daled kosos is a mitzvah of pirsumei nisa. It is so important, that the halacha states that one is required to sell the shirt off his back if need be, to be mekayem the mitzvah of daled kosos. Therefore, one who is mitztaer is still required to do the mitzvah of daled kosos.

The Shulchan Aruch 291 says that if one has tzaar eating seuda shlishis he is exempt. This would be a proof that mitztaer applies to other mitzvos besides the mitzvah of Sukkah. One may argue with this and say that Seuda Shlishis is different since the mitzvah was given as an Oneg for Shabbos and one who is in pain does not have oneg. One would therefore be exempt from eating Seuda Shlishis if one is in pain.

What is the case regarding a mitzvah MiDerabbonon where Chazal say that “bemakom tzaar lo gozru Rabbonon?” Would this apply in a case where a person needs to shave or take a haircut since he is in pain?

I am not going to pasken here. I will just state various shittos and reasonings. For an actual psak, consult a Rov.

The Radvaz says that since mitztaer is pattur from all mitzvos (not just Sukkah), one may shave or take a haircut during sefirah.

According to the Mishna Berurah one is exempt from eating the third meal on Shabbos if one is in pain because he does not have oneg when in pain. Therefore, this argument does not apply during sefira so one would not be able to shave or take a haircut even if one is in pain.

The Chavos Yair 191 says that there is a rule: (gadol kvod habriyos that it is docheh issurim DeRabbonon) a person’s honor is so important that it supercedes a prohibition that is DeRabbonon. Therefore, a kal v’chomer may be seen, where one is in pain, he most certainly would be exempt.

The Ohr Sameach argues with this and says that bizayon is certainly worse than pain. Regarding Sefira, the halacha might be more lenient since it is just a minhag. One may argue and say that this minhag is based on aveilus for the talmidim of Rabbi Akiva and therefore being in pain might be the exact thing that is required to remind us of the zman of aveilus.

These are just thoughts on this topic, not a psak.


1 COMMENT

  1. Ah, a breath of fresh air! Just a clear, concise erudition on a limited topic, not a convoluted collection of nonsense interspersed with small tidbits of Torah, as is often found here on Matzav and other websites. Thank you, Rabbi, your humility is evident in your writing, and your ability to appropriately approach your reading audience is (IMHO) amazing. Please continue writing!

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