Face, Hands, and Feet in Hot Water During the Thirty Days of Mourning
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Question
Is it permitted to wash one's face, hands, and feet in hot water during the thirty days of mourning?
Answer
One should not wash their face, hands, and feet in hot water, only in cold. However, those who are lenient have authorities to rely on.
Source
In the Rema, Siman 381, Seif 1, there is a version that states "but nowadays it is customary to prohibit any washing for 30 days," and in the Shach, it is written that this is a scribal error and it should say "to prohibit washing for 30 days," since it is permitted in cold water. The poskim disagree on the Shach's opinion whether he permitted washing the entire body in cold water or only the face, hands, and feet. In the R' Akiva Eiger, it is explicitly written that the Rema prohibits the face, hands, and feet in hot water, but according to the A"R, the Shach wrote to permit the entire body in cold water, thus it is not similar to the prohibition of washing during the seven days, and therefore the face, hands, and feet in hot water are certainly permitted. Practically, regarding washing the entire body, it is written in the Pitchei Teshuva in the name of Teshuot Chen Siman 31, that a pious person should be stringent with himself, but for others, one should rule leniently. However, regarding the face, hands, and feet, we did not find a ruling to be lenient, and although the reason for the decree that one might come to cut hair does not apply to washing the face, hands, and feet in hot water, nevertheless, there are those who wrote that no distinction is made and the custom prohibits all types of washing that are prohibited during the seven days.