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During the Nine Days, when Klal Yisroel mourns the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash, Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l strongly urged people to maintain personal hygiene and kavod habriyos, criticizing what he viewed as unnecessary stringencies. In one of his well-known derashos, he explained that the basic halachah does not prohibit bathing during the Nine Days, emphasizing the distinction between accepted minhagim and the strict letter of the law.

According to the enactment of Chazal, the prohibition against bathing applies only on Tishah B’Av itself. Over the generations, however, early authorities adopted the custom of refraining from bathing during the days leading up to the fast.

Among Sefardim, the accepted custom is to refrain from bathing in hot water only during the week in which Tishah B’Av falls. By contrast, among Ashkenazim, where the climate was historically cooler and people perspired less, the custom developed to avoid bathing throughout the entire Nine Days, even in cold water.

In his derashah, Rav Ovadia sharply criticized excessive stringencies that, in his view, resulted in unpleasant body odor and caused discomfort to others.

“Go to Bnei Brak and you’ll see—they don’t bathe. There’s sweat there… A person sits next to someone else—and with all due respect—he doesn’t smell good. Did the Torah say to do that? That’s not respect for other people. Someone sits next to him and suffers.”

Rav Ovadia stressed that, according to the minhag of Sefardim, bathing remains permissible even after Rosh Chodesh Av.

“We have the custom to bathe even after Rosh Chodesh Av. Our Chachamim never prohibited bathing. They prohibited it only on Tishah B’Av.”

He continued, “For our Sefardim, even hot water is permitted. Let them keep their own stringencies… They get upset; they don’t want to be lenient.”

Addressing the Ashkenazi minhag, Rav Ovadia related that he had once sought to permit bathing in cold water for laborers who work hard and perspire heavily, but encountered strong opposition.

“Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, alav hashalom, heard that I was being lenient regarding their customs and became very upset. I was afraid—I didn’t want to get involved with the Ashkenazim.”

The posek hador did not mince words when speaking about those who adopt stringencies where the Torah permits leniency, particularly when those chumros come at the expense of others.

“Someone who is machmir about this is a donkey. That’s what I call him—a donkey. He’s not acting like a human being. Why make stringencies against the Torah? What for? If the Torah permits it, do you want to be a big shot and be stricter than the Torah? What do you want? Everything has to be done with sound judgment and common sense… Someone who is machmir, as I said, is a donkey.”

Rav Ovadia concluded that people should follow the minhagim of their forefathers and bathe in accordance with those traditions. He added that women preparing for tevilah, as well as those who customarily immerse for taharah, may bathe and immerse as usual throughout the Nine Days. Only on Tishah B’Av itself does the prohibition on bathing fully apply.

Dear Matzav Inbox,

I don’t know if I’m the only one who’s bothered by this, but every year it gets worse, and this year I finally couldn’t stay quiet.

What in the world has happened to Tisha B’Av?

We all talk about the churban. We’re supposed to cry over the golus. We lament how far we’ve fallen. But then comes Tisha B’Av, and what do so many people spend the day doing? Sitting in front of a screen watching movie after movie after movie.

Seriously? That’s how we’re mourning the Beis Hamikdash?

People will tell you, “They’re inspirational.” So what?

Let’s be honest: Most of these videos have absolutely nothing to do with the churban. Nothing to do with golus. Nothing to do with Kinnos. Nothing to do with why this day even exists. They’re emotional stories, biographies, historical dramas, or productions with a Jewish message. Nice? Maybe. Appropriate for Tisha B’Av? Since when?

We’ve reached the point where people actually look forward to Tisha B’Av because of the movie lineup.

Read that sentence again.

Isn’t that terrifying?

The day we’re supposed to be mourning the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash has become the day people ask, “Which films are coming out this year?”

Something is very wrong.

I don’t understand the logic. On Tisha B’Av we can’t learn regular Torah because Torah brings simchah. We accept that. We put our seforim away except for the parts we’re allowed to learn.

But somehow sitting in front of a giant screen for hours is perfectly fine? How did we get here?

And please don’t tell me, “It’s better than wasting time.” That’s not the point.

The point is that Tisha B’Av isn’t supposed to entertain us. Even meaningful entertainment is still entertainment. The whole purpose of the day is to sit with the pain. To feel the emptiness. To think about what we lost and why we’re still in golus. If we spend the entire day watching productions, when exactly are we supposed to feel the aveilus?

And that’s before getting into another issue. Some of these productions come from places whose hashkafos are, at the very least, debatable. Have they been reviewed and approved by rabbinic authorities? I know for a fact that 90% of them have not. Who is taking achrayus for what’s shown?

Even the ones that are completely fine still don’t belong on the saddest day of the year if they have nothing to do with the churban.

We’re becoming a generation that can’t sit quietly for even one day.

Everything has to be packaged. Produced. Filmed. Projected onto a giant screen.

Are we really incapable of spending Tisha B’Av with an Eicha, a Kinnos, a meaningful conversation, or simply sitting and thinking?

What are we teaching our children? That the highlight of Tisha B’Av is the feature presentation? Where does this end?

We already have advertisements months in advance. Trailers. Premieres.

Before you know it, people will be voting for their favorite Tisha B’Av film. Maybe we’ll even have Jewish Oscars for “Best Tisha B’Av Movie.” I wonder who’s gonna win “Best Actor.” I wonder if he’ll accept his award while wearing his Tisha B’Av shoes.

It sounds ridiculous.

Years ago, what we’re doing today would also have sounded ridiculous.

I know that some people think that others feel inspired by these films. But good intentions don’t automatically make something appropriate.

Maybe it’s time for all of us to ask a very uncomfortable question: Are these productions helping us mourn the churban or are they helping us avoid mourning the churban?

Those are two very different things.

We’re living in a generation drowning in distractions. Must Tisha B’Av become another one?

It’s a sick world when we can spend hours watching movies on the very day we are supposed to be sitting on the floor crying over the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash.

Maybe instead of asking what new movie is coming out this Tisha B’Av, we should be asking why we’re still in golus. That question is infinitely more important.

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The chairman of Israel’s State Employees Union says Tax Authority workers will not resume operations in Bnei Brak despite a meeting between the city’s mayor and the head of the Israel Tax Authority, insisting that employee safety remains unresolved.

Although Bnei Brak Mayor Chanoch Zeibert met Sunday with Israel Tax Authority Director Shay Aharonovitch and the two sides later issued a joint statement, the State Employees Union made clear that the meeting has not altered its position.

Speaking with Israeli media, State Employees Union chairman Attorney Ofir Elkalei said the union’s directive barring Tax Authority employees from returning to work in Bnei Brak remains fully in effect.

“The blood of Tax Authority employees is not hefker. A highly publicized meeting with the mayor still does not guarantee the safety of Tax Authority employees,” Elkalei said. “Unfortunately, there has been no discussion whatsoever with the workers’ representatives on this issue, and another attack could happen as soon as tomorrow.”

Elkalei stressed that the union’s policy has not changed.

“Therefore, Tax Authority employees will not return to work in the city of Bnei Brak until we know how their safety will be protected while they are carrying out their duties.”

He added that neither the meeting nor the coordinated announcement issued by the municipality and the Tax Authority affects the union’s decision.

“Aharonovitch can go back to work,” Elkalei concluded, “but the employees are not returning to Bnei Brak.”

{Matzav.com}

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., blasted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday over the mayor’s suggestion that local authorities could attempt to arrest Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu during his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, dismissing the proposal as both unrealistic and outside the mayor’s authority.

Speaking on Fox News, Fetterman ridiculed Mamdani’s remarks, arguing that the mayor has neither the legal power nor the jurisdiction to carry out such an action.

“[He’s] such a tough guy to say that kind of thing. He has no way to do that,” Fetterman said, adding, “America’s not even part of that corrupt court,” referring to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.

Fetterman went on to urge the mayor to focus on problems facing New York City rather than international affairs.

“He’s just a clown to even say that, so he won’t try that. Just sit down and focus on other… problems that they have in New York. That’s really not your purview. You and I know that. Sit down.”

The senator’s comments came after Mamdani told The New York Times that his administration is examining whether city officials possess the legal authority to detain Netanyahu during the Israeli leader’s expected appearance at the U.N. General Assembly. Mamdani called Netanyahu a “war criminal” and said he “belongs in The Hague.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office fired back Sunday with a sharply worded statement rejecting both the ICC’s authority and Mamdani’s remarks.

“The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis. Its bogus arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu was issued by a disgraced former ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, a few days before allegations of sexual misconduct against him became public. It was a clear attempt by Khan to divert public attention and seek protection from scrutiny.”

The statement also accused Mamdani of attempting to distract from local issues by targeting Israel.

“Instead of backing Khan’s criminal behaviour, Mr. Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York. Like Karim Khan, Mamdani appears interested in diverting public attention from his follies and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East.”

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court, and therefore does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction over American citizens or allied nations such as Israel.

Fetterman, who has emerged as one of Israel’s strongest supporters among congressional Democrats, has increasingly found himself at odds with the progressive wing of his party over Middle East policy. During Sunday’s interview, he also reflected on his close friendship with the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, praising both his bipartisan approach and unwavering support for Israel. Graham’s sister is now being encouraged to seek the Senate seat he vacated.

“I’m proud to call Senator Graham as a friend. You know, we bonded over our love and devotion to Israel. You know, the Senator, he was working on important, important work. Yeah, he was a great American. It doesn’t mean that he was just a Republican. That doesn’t change that he’s a great American,” said Fetterman.

He continued by praising Graham’s work ethic and willingness to work across party lines.

“If anything, that poor man worked to death. He was always committed to get things done and work together. You know, he was a very bipartisan guy. Yeah, there might be some professional wrestling kind of stuff in public, but in privately, he was always the first guy to cross the bridge and to find a way forward and be very, very agreeable. You know, you can’t fill those shoes without a doubt, but I think it’s also fantastic that his sister now, it seems like she’s going to be able to carry on that legacy.”

Fetterman concluded by warning that if the Democratic Party continues embracing anti-Israel voices, he may ultimately reconsider whether he still belongs in the party.

“That would force me to kind of reevaluate should I remain as a Democrat,” he shared, later adding, “If we became the kind of party that would embrace someone like Hasan Piker, maybe my party doesn’t want like a reasonable commonsense kind of Democrat that reminds people that standing with Israel… used to be part of our core values and one of the reasons why I’ve been I’m proud to be a Democrat.”20