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Weddings during the Three Weeks

Weddings and eirusin celebrations (the party held in ancient times after eirusin-the initial phase of marriage) are also forbidden during the Nine Days. According to the Ashkenazic custom, weddings are forbidden starting from the Seventeenth of Tamuz. There is a machlokes among contemporary poskim regarding the circumstances under which a wedding may be permitted on the evening of the Seventeenth of Tamuz. During this period, the modern day tenaim may be celebrated with light snacks (e.g. cake, fruit) but dancing is not allowed. A shidduch may be finalized even on Tisha Bav.

(סעיף ב, ס"ק טו, טז ו־יט; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 31)

Hilchos Tefillin 32 (page 89)

מסעיף טז עד אמצע הסעיף הא דמכשרינן

Using a Child to Identify a Letter

Non-Proficient Child

Permitted Repairs Based on a Child's Impression

Using a child to identify a letter

A child may be asked to identify a vav or zayin whose lower leg was partially erased or separated by a crack or hole [that formed after the letter was written]. If the child calls it a vav or zayin it is kosher, but if the child thinks it is a yud it is pasul. Similarly, a child can be used to decide if a long nun looks like a zayin, if a long chaf looks like a reish, if a bais looks like a chaf, etc. Only a child who is not proficient in reading can be used for this job.

(סעיף טז, ס"ק מה, מז ו־נב; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 79)

Non-proficient child

A non-proficient child is defined as one who can recognize a letter but cannot understand what he is reading. Many Acharonim hold that when a child is evaluating a letter, the preceding and succeeding words should be covered so that he is not influenced by them. When dealing with a cracked letter, the separated section should be covered to prevent the child from including it as he reads the letter.

(סעיף טז, וס"ק מח-נא)

Repairs permitted based on a child's impression

If part of a letter was erased or cracked and the remaining part is clearly not the original letter, it is pasul even if a child reads it correctly. For example, if the yud separated from the main body of the aleph, it is pasul even though a child would certainly see it as an aleph. In the case of tefillin, however, such a letter is not considered to have totally lost its form; if a child reads it correctly, the letter can be repaired without violating k'sidran.

(סעיף טז, ס"ק נב, וביה"ל ד"ה מיהו)

There is a halachic notion of the 'os ketana' (size of a small letter) that pertains to many areas of stam. A 'small letter' means a properly formed yud, including its left point.

The measurement of 'os ketana ' is applied to the left leg of the heh, the left base of the tav, the left leg of the kuf, the base of the lamed, and the legs of the letters daled, ches, reish, the straight (or long) chaf, peh and tzadi.