5 Towns Jewish Times New car sales, according to estimates, are going to be up this year.
Industry professionals are predicting that some 15 million new cars
will be sold this year. But many of the new car models are being
packaged a little bit differently. Both the AAA and Consumer Reports
are warning consumers that many of the 2014 models have an air
compressor and tire sealant instead of the standard spare tire.
All this new car chatter, however, brings up the question as to
whether one may plan to purchase a new car during the first 33 days of
the Counting of the Omer.
The Shulchan Aruch (OC 493:1) tells us that during this period it is
our custom not to conduct weddings. The Mishna Brurah explains that one
should not partake in matters of great joy. “Nonetheless,” he writes,
“if it happens that one has the occasion to recite a Shehecheyanu, then
he may do so.”
This sentence written by the Chofetz Chaim in the early twentieth
century has developed a surprising amount of halachic literature over
the years. What exactly did he mean by the term “if it happens?” Rav
Nissin Karelitz in his Chut HaShani halachic work explains that the
Chofetz Chaim means that one should not plan one’s happy purchases to
occur during this time. In applying his reasoning to our case, one
should not a the outset plan to purchase a car during the Sefirah
period. If, however, one’s previous car has developed problems and a
new car purchase is necessary, then, of course, one may make the
purchase. [...]
