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...
Is it Permissible to Draw Hot Water From an Urn With Ladle on Shabbat?
The Woman’s Obligation in Kiddush
Using a Moistened Cloth or Napkin on Shabbat
Halachot Pertaining to Lel Shabbat: Covering the Table, Reciting Shalom Alechem, and Covering the Bread
The Recitation of “Bo’i Kalla” in Kabbalat Shabbat
Repeating Kiddush for Those Who Have Yet to Hear Kiddush
Cutting a Branch of Hadasim or a Cluster of Grapes on Shabbat
Fasting on Shabbat
When Should One Recite Kiddush and Begin the Shabbat Meal When Accepting Shabbat Early?
Situations Where One May Derive Benefit from a Light Turned on by a Gentile During Shabbat
The Status of Food Cooked by a Gentile on Shabbat; Asking a Gentile to Restore Power in Order to Heat Food on Shabbat
Does Dignity Supersede The Laws of Muktze, Such As In The Case of Tearing Toilet Tissue
Preparing Instant Coffee, Hot Chocolate and Tea on Shabbat
The Custom of Eating Sambusak on Shabbat
Food That Was Purchased Specifically for Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found