Shabbat Clothes on Weekdays During the Year of Mourning
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Question
Is there a custom among Ashkenazim not to wear Shabbat clothes during the 12 months of mourning for a father or mother?
Answer
The custom is not to wear Shabbat clothes on weekdays throughout the entire 12 months.
Source
The Rema writes in Siman 389, paragraph 3: "Some say it is forbidden to wear Shabbat clothes during the first four weeks, but afterwards it is permitted, even for a father and mother, and also to make new clothes, but the custom is to forbid it for the entire 12 months."
See in Shut Teshuva Me-Ahava, Chay YD, in the notes to Siman 389, Teshuva 402: "I was uncertain whether the custom of prohibition applies to new clothes, which are more stringent than Shabbat clothes, or to both — Shabbat clothes and new clothes, see in DM."
In practice, as the poskim write, the custom is to wear Shabbat clothes on Shabbat, even during the seven days, according to the opinion of the Gra, but on weekdays the custom is not to wear Shabbat clothes throughout the entire 12 months of mourning for a father or mother. This is also explained in Chavot Da'at and in Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Siman 341, paragraph 10.
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