It’s Still a Yom Tov!

Prepared for print by Faigy Peritzman

My husband insists we wear Shabbos clothes on Chol Hamoed, but I feel silly, and the kids will ruin theirs. Is this strictly halachah?

It isn’t halachically mandatory to wear Shabbos clothes on Chol Hamoed, but it’s halachically required that Chol Hamoed clothes be clean (as opposed to work clothes, which are often stained). Mishnah Berurah writes that one should wear clothes which are somewhat better or nicer than standard weekday clothes. Still, many communities have a custom to wear Shabbos clothes on Chol Hamoed, and it’s praiseworthy to do so.

Both my husband and I don’t like fleishigs. Wouldn’t it be better for me to serve milchigs on Chol Hamoed so we can enjoy our meals?

You’re not required to eat fleishigs on Chol Hamoed, as the mitzvah of oneg Yom Tov doesn’t apply then. But since the mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov does apply on Chol Hamoed, it’s a mitzvah for those who have simchah from eating fleishigs to do so. If you have more simchah from eating fish or other pareve or dairy foods, then you may fulfill your mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov by eating those foods. The same applies to the concept of drinking wine (or grape juice). If you enjoy it, then it is a mitzvah to drink a revi’is of wine (or grape juice) on Chol Hamoed, at least once a day. If you don’t enjoy it, then the mitzvah of drinking wine isn’t applicable.

During the first days of Yom Tov, the button fell off the new outfit I bought for my daughter. May I sew it back on so she can wear it for the last days as well?

If she has another suitable dress for the last days, then don’t sew the button on Chol Hamoed. If she doesn’t, then sew it on with a shinui — e.g., the button should be sewn loosely, or if the button has four holes, then the thread should be passed through only two of them.

A screw popped out of my bochur’s glasses, and he’s insisting they may not be fixed until after Chol Hamoed. Is he correct?

No, he isn’t. Tightening a screw in a pair of glasses is considered amateur work that is permitted to be done on Chol Hamoed if the glasses are going to be used then.