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...
Sukkot – Hiring a Non-Jew to Build a Sukka
Halachot of the Tefilot and Kiddush of Shemini Aseret
Succot: Are The Lulav and Etrog Mukse on Shabbat?
The Fourth Day of Sukkot – The Ushpizin of Moshe Rabbenu
The Preferred Time for Lulab and Etrog
Succot: The Halachot of Etrog
Is it Permissible to use Zip Ties to Secure the Sechach
May Non-Jew Build Your Sukka?
Announcing the Transition to “Mashib Ha’ru’ah” on Shemini Aseret
When Does One Begin Reciting “Mashib Ha’ruah” on Shemini Aseret if He Prays Alone?
Succot- Performing Hakafot on Shemini Aseret
Shopping on Hol Ha’mo’ed
Succot: Distributing Charity on Ereb Succot
Succot: Spots on the Etrog
Sukkot – Preferences When Purchasing an Etrog
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found