Rabbi Yehuda Finchas
Ikey looked down sheepishly, “Rabbi, I know we don’t listen to music during Bein Hametzarim – the ‘Three Weeks’ between the 17th of Tamuz and Tisha B’Av. But I’ve been feeling anxious. Music usually helps me calm down. Since I stopped listening to music, I feel worse. Am I allowed to listen, or do I need to push through?” Sandra has the blues after her third child. She’s not sleeping well, which makes things worse. “Rabbi, is there any leniency?” she asked. “Without music, I can barely function.” This question sits at the intersection of halacha and mental health – and the Sephardic poskim have addressed it.
The Nature of the Prohibition
Hacham Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, in Responsa Yechave Da’at (1:45, 6:34), explains that following the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, Chazal instituted restrictions on music. The Gemara (Sotah 48a) describes a world in which song was diminished, rooted in the verse from Eicha (5:14), and the Rambam (Hilchot Ta’aniyot 5:14) codifies that one should refrain from instrumental music as an expression of mourning. The Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 560:3) adopts this approach.
Hacham Ovadia concludes that even for those who are lenient and listen to music during the rest of the year, during the days of Sefirat HaOmer and Bein Hametzarim, the minhag is that even forms of music that are permitted during the year are avoided as part of the national mourning.
Music As Healing
Hacham Ben Zion Abba Shaul, zt”l, establishes a carefully defined approach depending on the severity of the illness. When a person is suffering from depression, he permits listening to music until Rosh Chodesh Av. And where one is classified as a choleh atzabim – a person with a significant mental or nervous disorder – he permits listening even after Rosh Chodesh Av, and in extreme situations even on Tisha B’Av itself, since refraining could pose a real danger (Or L’Tzion Vol. 3, Ch. 25, Sec. 2).
This is no longer about enhancing mood. It is about refuah – healing. Similarly, other authorities write explicitly that Chazal never prohibited music used for healing. Hacham Yitzchak Yosef, shlit”a, (Yalkut Yosef Shavuot, p. 422) reinforces this approach. For a bedridden patient who would benefit from hearing music for recovery, he rules directly: “Healing the body is a great mitzvah, and there is no prohibition in a case of illness.” He cites Rabbi Nissim Karelitz and Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, who both permitted music for the sick or depressed during these restricted periods, adding that it should be done in private, such as with earphones.
The original decree was directed at simha – joy that leads to levity and distraction.
But where music serves to prevent psychological harm, it is no longer an expression of simha – it is a tool of refuah. As the verse states, “Ruach ish yechalkel machalehu”– a person’s spirit sustains him in illness (Mishlei 18:14). Strengthening that spirit is itself part of the healing process.
The Rambam provides general grounding for all of this in his Shemonah Perakim (Ch. 5). When overcome by mara shechora – melancholy – a person should relieve it through music and pleasant surroundings. The purpose is to promote health. Health enables the soul to pursue knowledge of Hashem. As he writes in his Regimen of Health, constant anxiety damages the body, and the physician’s first task is to remove sources of emotional distress.
A Delicate Balance
For Ikey and Sandra, the halachic path is clear. If they listen to music simply to enhance their mood, it is not permitted. But if their struggle reaches the level of genuine distress – anxiety or depression – then the halacha does not demand that they suffer. In such a case, music is not a violation of mourning, but a necessary means of preserving their health.
Mental health conditions may permit music, and in severe cases even on Tisha B’Av itself. Each individual must have their condition assessed and consult with a qualified posek, accordingly.
Rabbi Yehuda Finchas is a worldwide expert, lecturer, and author on Medical Halacha. He heads the Torat Habayit Medical Halacha Institute. He is the author of Brain Death in Halacha and the Tower of Babel Syndrome and Nutrition and Hydration in Halacha. To contact Rabbi Finchas, email rabbi@torathabayit.com.