DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 894 KB)
May a Woman Apply Makeup During Abelut?

Is it permissible for a woman to wear makeup while she is observing Abelut (mourning) for a deceased family member, Heaven forbid? And is there a difference in this regard between the seven-day Shiba period and the thirty-day Sheloshim period, or between a single girl and a married woman?

Rav Shemuel Pinhasi (contemporary), in his work Haim Va’hesed (p. 192), writes that if a new bride is observing Abelut, Heaven forbid, within a month after her wedding, she may nevertheless wear makeup, even during the week of Shiba. As she is a newly-married bride, it is important for her to beautify herself for her new husband, and this overrides the prohibitions of Abelut. Likewise, an unmarried girl who has already begun the process of Shidduchim (dating in search of a marriage partner) may wear makeup during Abelut, in order that she can look her best. Rav Pinhas notes that this ruling applies only to women who had never been married; a divorcee or widow may not wear makeup during Shiba, even if she has begun the process of Shidduchim.

Young girls who have not begun dating, and married women, may not apply makeup during the seven days of Shiba. After the conclusion of Shiba, they may wear makeup, even though they are still within the period of Sheloshim. (This is especially so for Sepharadim, who follow the view that bathing becomes permissible after Shiba, and there are no restrictions against bathing whatsoever during Sheloshim.) This is the ruling of Hacham Ovadia Yosef, in his Yabia Omer (vol. 4, Y.D. 32) and in Yehaveh Da’at (6:35).

The Shulhan Aruch rules that it is permissible for a mourner to comb his or her hair, even during the Shiba period. This applies to both and women. Even though it is forbidden to take a haircut or shave during Shiba, combing is allowed.

Summary: A woman may not apply makeup during the seven-day Shiba observance, unless she is a new bride within thirty days after her wedding, or a single girl who has never been married and is in the process of looking for a marriage partner.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Reciting Birkat Ha'gomel After Childbirth
Reciting Birkat Ha'gomel in Cases of a Recurring Illness, After Fainting, and After a Failed Suicide Attempt
Leaving a Sefer Open After One Finishes Learning
Adding "U'le'chaparat Pesha" in Musaf on Rosh Hodesh During a Leap Year
Birkat Ha'ilanot- Reciting Birkat Ha'ilanot Over the Same Person's Tree Each Year
Wearing A Kippa (Yarmulke)
Extending a Greeting of "Shalom" with One's Head Uncovered
Leaving a Portion of One's Home Unfinished to Commemorate the Temple's Destruction
Hallel: When During the Day May it be Recited, and May One Interrupt to Answer "Amen"?
May a Woman Kiss a Rabbi's Hand When She Approaches for a Blessing?
Employing the Medical Remedies Mentioned in the Talmud
Allowing a Child or Woman to Affix the Sisit Strings Onto a Tallit
When Is It Required and When Is It Not Required To Allow A Kohen To Bypass Waiting On A Line
Affixing the Sisit Strings to the Tallit with the Specific Intent for the Misva
Can A Teacher Punish and Can A Teacher Demand Of Their Students To Divulge A Culprit
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found