The Mishnah, Ta’anit 4:7, continues and writes that one is not to cut one’s hair or do laundry during the week when Tisha B’av occurs, but if Tisha B’av falls on Friday, then one can cut one’s hair and do laundry on Thursday, erev Tisha B'av, out of respect for Shabbat. (With our present day calendar, Tisha B’av cannot be on Friday, but in the time of the Mishnah, the calendar was based on witnesses, and then it was possible that Tisha B’av could be on Friday.)
This Mishnah is surprising since once the previous Mishnah stated that one reduces one’s level of happiness from the beginning of the month, why does the second Mishnah state that the prohibition to cut one’s hair and do laundry is only for the week of Tisha B’av and not from the beginning of the month? Also, if the prohibition of cutting the hair and doing laundry is for the week of Tisha B’av why does the Mishnah allow one to cut their hair and due laundry on erev Tisha B’av when Tisha B’av is on a Friday?
The laws of the Mishnah relate to two conflicting goals. One, a person is supposed to mourn in the period leading up to Tisha B’av, and two, a person is supposed to prepare for Shabbat. These goals conflict when Tisha B’av is on Friday since if the person does not cut his/ her hair or do laundry during the week, then the person will be in mourning for Tisha B’av, but will not be prepared for Shabbat. On the other hand, if a person cuts his/ her hair and does laundry on Thursday, then the person is not entering Tisha B’av in a state of mourning, but will be prepared for Shabbat. When the Mishnah rules that one can cut one’s hair and do laundry on Thursday, then the Mishnah is stating that the preparations for Shabbat take precedence over the mourning in the period leading up to Tisha B’av. This rationale explains why the prohibition to cut one’s hair and do laundry only began during the week of Tisha B’av and not from the beginning of the month since when one starts the prohibitions on the week of Tisha B’av, Sunday, one has not infringed on Shabbat. Furthermore, the idea of reducing one's level of happiness from the beginning of the month of Av and all the prohibitions listed in the Talmud that start from the beginning of the month do not infringe on the celebration of Shabbat.
The Talmud (Ta’anit 29B) quotes a Baraita that if one forgot to do one’s laundry (and apparently cut one’s hair) on Thursday when Tisha B’av falls on Friday, then one can do the laundry on Tisha B’av itself in the afternoon in order to prepare for Shabbat. (However, Abaye criticizes a person who does the laundry on Tisha B’av since he should have done it beforehand.) This Baraita extends the principle of the Mishnah with regard to the importance of Shabbat since according to the Baraita it is more important to prepare for Shabbat then to mourn for Tisha B’av, even on Tisha B’av itself! Similarly, the Talmud continues and states that if Tisha B’av falls out on Sunday, then one eats regular Shabbat meals, even though the rule of the Mishnah (Ta’anit 4:6) is that on erev Tisha B’av one limits one’s consumption. Again, the principle is that Shabbat takes precedence over the mourning for Tisha B’av.
The Talmud then quotes an argument that appears to contradict the ruling that Shabbat is more important than Tisha B’av. The Talmud quotes R. Meir that the prohibition of doing laundry and cutting one’s hair is from the beginning of the month until the fast, Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel that the prohibition is only the week of Tisha B’av and R. Yehuda that the prohibition is for the entire month. The opinions of R. Meir and R. Yehuda imply that the prohibitions of mourning would infringe on Shabbat, but the Talmud concludes that the law is that the prohibitions are only during the week of Tisha B’av and only until Tisha B’av. Thus, the Talmud upholds the principle that Shabbat is more important that Tisha B’av. Another example of this rule that Shabbat takes precedence over Tisha B'av is the Yerushalmi (4:6) quotes that Rebbi ba bar Cohen said before R. Yosi, Rebi Aha in the name of R. Abahu, that when Tisha B'av falls of Shabbat, which means the fast is on Sunday, there is no mourning the week of Tisha B'av and the week afterwards. Thus, celebrating Shabbat removes all of the mourning leading up to Tisha B'av.
The most astonishing support for the principle that Shabbat takes precedence over Tisha B’av is from Tosafot (Ta’anit, 30A, traveihu) who writes that even when Tisha B’av was on Thursday, it is permitted to cut one’s hair and do a laundry on Tisha B’av afternoon since there would not be enough time on Friday to prepare for Shabbat. Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein (www.vbm-torah.org/shavuot/20shavin.htm, Daf Kesher #133, vol. 2, pp. 54-56, Yom Yerushalayim 5748) notes that, "Although the Beit Yosef (551, also see comments of the Bach) was astounded by this radical opinion and therefore ascribed it to a mistaken student, the fact that the same comment appears in Tosafot ha-Rosh makes his doubts implausible." Also, Tosafot is just following the rule of the Mishnah that Shabbat has precedence over Tisha B'av. While today Tosafot’s ruling is not applicable since with modern appliance there is enough time on Friday to do a laundry and cut one’s hair, the principle that Shabbat takes precedence over the mourning of Tisha B’av should still apply. Thus, if according to Tosafot, one can cut one’s hair on Tisha B’av for Shabbat, then certainly one is supposed to cut one’s hair (shave) in preparation for Shabbat in the weeks leading up to Tisha B’av.
We see that the practice of French Jewry as of the 11th century was that the prohibition of cutting one’s hair was only for the week of Tisha B’av. Apparently, this remained the practice of all of Jewry up to the 13th or 14th century since the Tur (1275-1340, b. Germany, d. Spain, 551), writes that the prohibition of cutting one’s hair was just the week of Tisha B’av. However, the Tur does add one extra point from the Ramban (1194-1270), that the prohibition to cut one’s hair during the week of Tisha B’av includes facial hair, i.e., shaving.
The Haghot Maimonides (13th century, Germany, on Rambam Mishnah Torah, Laws of Fasts 5:6, comment 5) quotes in the name of Rokeach a compromise between the Semag’s and the Semak’s view that the practice of the rabbis of Germany when Tisha B'av was pushed off to Sunday was to mourn on Sunday through Wednesday but not on Thursday and Friday. Again, from the Sefer Mitzvot Katan and the Rokeach, we see the principle that preparing for Shabbat takes precedence over the mourning leading up to Tisha B’av.
A little bit after the Semag we read of a similar practice from the Sefer Hamichtam (on Ta’anit, Laws of Tisha B’av, R. David ben Levi, Provence, latter half of the 13th century). The Sefer Hamichtam records that when Tisha B’av is on Sunday, according to the law it is permitted to cut one’s hair in the preceding week, but the custom of the elders of Narbonne was not to cut one’s hair in order that one would enter Tisha B’av "disgusting," and the elders criticized a person who wanted to cut his hair. (R. Ovadiah Yosef, Yalkut Yosef, vol. 5, p. 564, follows this opinion.) Was this practice the source for the Semag’s view or was the practice in southern France influenced by the Semag or did the two views develop independently?
In two interesting articles, Yaakov Gartner (1983 and 1985) argues that the movement called Mourners of Zion led to new customs and expansions of old customs of mourning related to Tisha B’av from what is recorded in the Talmud. This group mourned all year for the destruction of the Bet ha-Mikdash by wearing sack cloths, wailing, and not drinking wine or eating meat. Gartner claims that this latter custom led to a custom amongst non-Mourners of Zion in the Geonic period not to eat meat or drink wine for the entire three week period from the 17th of Tammuz to Tisha B’av (see Shulchan Arukh, 551:9). This group developed in the ninth century, their base was in Jerusalem, they were messianic, and they were almost definitely Karaites. Gartner argues that the influence of the Mourners of Zion spread, first to the Rabbinate community in Israel, and then in the Middle Ages to Italy, Germany and France, and this influence can explain the extension of the prohibition to cut one’s hair in the period leading up to Tisha B’av.
While usually it is not a big deal not to cut one’s hair for three weeks, for those people who shave every day, or at least every Friday for Shabbat, the expansion of the mourning from the week of the Tisha B’av to the 17th of Tammuz is problematic since they will look disgusting after just a few days of not shaving. It should be noted that if a person chooses not to shave, from the 17th of Tammuz and/ or from Rosh Chodesh Av, then he is making a double expansion, once in reference to the days of mourning and also the Ramban’s expansion from hair cutting to shaving, as the Ramban only proscribed that people should not shave in the week of Tisha B’av. I think that a person who shaves everyday must shave before Shabbat during the three weeks, even by Shabbat Hazon, since otherwise one is making the mourning for Tisha B'av more important than Shabbat, which contradicts the Mishnah and all Ashkenazi practice until the 13th century. If a person makes an effort to look nice on Shabbat Hazon, then how can they not shave and look disgusting?
To summarize, we see that the initial prohibition of cutting one’s hair was only during the week of Tisha B’av, which starts from Sunday, since this gave greater precedence to preparing for Shabbat than for the mourning for Tisha B’av. This approach has remained the Sefardi position, and it was also the Ashkenazi custom until approximately the 13th, 14th centuries. However, at that time, probably due to unknown Karaite influence, some Ashkenazim began to give greater priority to the mourning leading up to Tisha B’av than to Shabbat. With this development, amongst Ashkenazim there first began the custom of not cutting the hair from the beginning of the month of Av, and then the custom developed (middle 15th century?) not to cut one’s hair for the entire three week period. Yet, if one shaves every day, then one must shave on erev Shabbat for Shabbat throughout the three week period following the opinion of the Mishnah, Talmud, Tosafot, the Rosh, the Ran, the Tur, the Sefer Mitzvot Katan and the Rokeach that Shabbat has precedence over the mourning of Tisha B’av.
We are now able to answer our question, how is that the elders of Narbonne could claim that a person should not cut one’s hair in the week preceding Tisha B’av when Tisha B’av was on Sunday when this contradicted the rule of the Mishnah that Shabbat takes precedence over the mourning for Tisha B’av? The answer is that most likely the elder of Narbonne were knowingly or unknowingly influenced by the Karaite Mourners of Zion, for whom the Mishnah was not authoritative, and hence they gave precedence to the mourning on Tisha B’av over preparing for Shabbat.
Gartner (1985, p. 216) notes that the Mourners of Zion saw no reason not to mourn fully on Shabbat. This accords with the Karaite understanding of Shabbat since they believe that one could not have any fire on Shabbat, which meant that for them Shabbat was cold, dark and miserable, see our discussion, "Lighting candles before Shabbat" http://lobashamayim.blogspot.co.il/2013/03/lighting-candles-before-shabbat-and-yom.html. Finally, the idea of looking disgusting accords with the practice of the Mourners of Zion to wear sack clothes all year round.
Interestingly, another custom of mourning in this period comes from Narbonne. Sperber (1995, p. 44) writes that the custom of not getting married during the three weeks from the 17th of Tammuz to Tisha B'av was first mentioned by a scholar from Narbonne, Meir ben Shimon ha-Meili in the same period, the 13th century. Thus, maybe the Mourners of Zion movement had specific success in influencing the Jews of Narbonne.
Once the break from the Mishnah occurred, then it was not long before the custom of not cutting one’s hair before Tisha B’av expanded. The Kol Bo (anonymous, end of 13th century, beginning of 14th century, quoted in the Bet Yosef, u-mah sh-katuv demi sh-takfuhu, and the lengthy Darkei Moshe) in almost a direct quote from the Sefer Hamichtam (does not mention the city Narbonne), writes that while the prohibition of cutting one hair is only the week of Tisha B’av, still the custom of the elders was not to cut their hair even the week before the week of Tisha B'av.
This custom of the Kol Bo was either not known by the Tur or he disregarded it (unlikely) since the Tur only mentions not cutting the hair in the week of Tisha B’av. It is mentioned again in the Maharil (Germany, 1365-1427, Laws of Tisha B’av, p. 239) who first records that cutting the hair is only prohibited in the week of Tisha B’av, and then a second opinion that one should not cut one’s hair from the beginning of the month. Thus, by the 15th century, in Ashkenazi Jewry there had developed a second stage to the prohibition of cutting one’s hair that it began from the beginning of the month of Av instead of the week of Tisha B’av.
The third stage developed just slightly after the second stage. R. Yeshayah of Trani (Trani, Italy, 1235-1300, Piskei HaRiaz, Ta’anit, pp.118,119) first quotes the law as stated in the Mishnah, that the prohibition of cutting one’s hair was only the week of Tisha B’av, but then he notes that in some places the custom was not eat meat or cut one’s hair for the three week period from the 17th of Tammuz to Tisha B’av. This later custom is almost definitely related to the Mourners of Zion since it was their influence that led to the custom of not eating meat for the three weeks, and Trani is located in southern Italy.
Again, the Tur and the Maharil either did not know of this custom or disregarded it, but the custom is quoted again in the period right after the Maharil. R. Isaac Tirna (1385-1450?, Trnova, Czech Republic, Sefer Haminhagim, Laws of Tammuz) writes that one does not cut one’s hair for the entire three week period, and then he mentions the custom of not eating meat during the three weeks.
The Shulchan Arukh (1488-1575), 551:3 writes that one is only prohibited from cutting one’s hair and doing laundry in the week of Tisha B’av. This follows the Mishnah Ta'anit 4:7, and I believe this is the Sefardi custom to this day.
However, the Rama (on 551:4) adds that the custom (amongst Ashkenazim) is to not do haircuts from the 17th of Tammuz through Tisha B'av (based on R. Isaac Tirna) and not to do laundry from Rosh Chodesh Adar through Tisha B'av. The Rama's custom makes the mourning leading up to Tisha B'av more important that celebrating Shabbat, and this was practice that developed amongst Ashkenazim after the big change in the 13th century.
The Arukh Hashulchan (Russia, 1829-1908, 551:16) wonders why the Rama prohibited hair cutting from the 17th of Tammuz while he only prohibited doing laundry from the beginning of the month of Av? He answers that hair cutting is not done as frequently as the laundry, and hence if the prohibition of hair cutting was just from the beginning of the month of Av, it would not be apparent that it is forbidden. This question and answer shows the arbitrariness of the extension of the laws of the Mishnah to nine days for not doing laundry and three weeks for not cutting one's hair.Gartner (1985, p. 216) notes that the Mourners of Zion saw no reason not to mourn fully on Shabbat. This accords with the Karaite understanding of Shabbat since they believe that one could not have any fire on Shabbat, which meant that for them Shabbat was cold, dark and miserable, see our discussion, "Lighting candles before Shabbat" http://lobashamayim.blogspot.co.il/2013/03/lighting-candles-before-shabbat-and-yom.html. Finally, the idea of looking disgusting accords with the practice of the Mourners of Zion to wear sack clothes all year round.
Interestingly, another custom of mourning in this period comes from Narbonne. Sperber (1995, p. 44) writes that the custom of not getting married during the three weeks from the 17th of Tammuz to Tisha B'av was first mentioned by a scholar from Narbonne, Meir ben Shimon ha-Meili in the same period, the 13th century. Thus, maybe the Mourners of Zion movement had specific success in influencing the Jews of Narbonne.
Once the break from the Mishnah occurred, then it was not long before the custom of not cutting one’s hair before Tisha B’av expanded. The Kol Bo (anonymous, end of 13th century, beginning of 14th century, quoted in the Bet Yosef, u-mah sh-katuv demi sh-takfuhu, and the lengthy Darkei Moshe) in almost a direct quote from the Sefer Hamichtam (does not mention the city Narbonne), writes that while the prohibition of cutting one hair is only the week of Tisha B’av, still the custom of the elders was not to cut their hair even the week before the week of Tisha B'av.
This custom of the Kol Bo was either not known by the Tur or he disregarded it (unlikely) since the Tur only mentions not cutting the hair in the week of Tisha B’av. It is mentioned again in the Maharil (Germany, 1365-1427, Laws of Tisha B’av, p. 239) who first records that cutting the hair is only prohibited in the week of Tisha B’av, and then a second opinion that one should not cut one’s hair from the beginning of the month. Thus, by the 15th century, in Ashkenazi Jewry there had developed a second stage to the prohibition of cutting one’s hair that it began from the beginning of the month of Av instead of the week of Tisha B’av.
The third stage developed just slightly after the second stage. R. Yeshayah of Trani (Trani, Italy, 1235-1300, Piskei HaRiaz, Ta’anit, pp.118,119) first quotes the law as stated in the Mishnah, that the prohibition of cutting one’s hair was only the week of Tisha B’av, but then he notes that in some places the custom was not eat meat or cut one’s hair for the three week period from the 17th of Tammuz to Tisha B’av. This later custom is almost definitely related to the Mourners of Zion since it was their influence that led to the custom of not eating meat for the three weeks, and Trani is located in southern Italy.
Again, the Tur and the Maharil either did not know of this custom or disregarded it, but the custom is quoted again in the period right after the Maharil. R. Isaac Tirna (1385-1450?, Trnova, Czech Republic, Sefer Haminhagim, Laws of Tammuz) writes that one does not cut one’s hair for the entire three week period, and then he mentions the custom of not eating meat during the three weeks.
The Shulchan Arukh (1488-1575), 551:3 writes that one is only prohibited from cutting one’s hair and doing laundry in the week of Tisha B’av. This follows the Mishnah Ta'anit 4:7, and I believe this is the Sefardi custom to this day.
However, the Rama (on 551:4) adds that the custom (amongst Ashkenazim) is to not do haircuts from the 17th of Tammuz through Tisha B'av (based on R. Isaac Tirna) and not to do laundry from Rosh Chodesh Adar through Tisha B'av. The Rama's custom makes the mourning leading up to Tisha B'av more important that celebrating Shabbat, and this was practice that developed amongst Ashkenazim after the big change in the 13th century.
While usually it is not a big deal not to cut one’s hair for three weeks, for those people who shave every day, or at least every Friday for Shabbat, the expansion of the mourning from the week of the Tisha B’av to the 17th of Tammuz is problematic since they will look disgusting after just a few days of not shaving. It should be noted that if a person chooses not to shave, from the 17th of Tammuz and/ or from Rosh Chodesh Av, then he is making a double expansion, once in reference to the days of mourning and also the Ramban’s expansion from hair cutting to shaving, as the Ramban only proscribed that people should not shave in the week of Tisha B’av. I think that a person who shaves everyday must shave before Shabbat during the three weeks, even by Shabbat Hazon, since otherwise one is making the mourning for Tisha B'av more important than Shabbat, which contradicts the Mishnah and all Ashkenazi practice until the 13th century. If a person makes an effort to look nice on Shabbat Hazon, then how can they not shave and look disgusting?
To summarize, we see that the initial prohibition of cutting one’s hair was only during the week of Tisha B’av, which starts from Sunday, since this gave greater precedence to preparing for Shabbat than for the mourning for Tisha B’av. This approach has remained the Sefardi position, and it was also the Ashkenazi custom until approximately the 13th, 14th centuries. However, at that time, probably due to unknown Karaite influence, some Ashkenazim began to give greater priority to the mourning leading up to Tisha B’av than to Shabbat. With this development, amongst Ashkenazim there first began the custom of not cutting the hair from the beginning of the month of Av, and then the custom developed (middle 15th century?) not to cut one’s hair for the entire three week period. Yet, if one shaves every day, then one must shave on erev Shabbat for Shabbat throughout the three week period following the opinion of the Mishnah, Talmud, Tosafot, the Rosh, the Ran, the Tur, the Sefer Mitzvot Katan and the Rokeach that Shabbat has precedence over the mourning of Tisha B’av.