Rosh Chodesh Tevet always coincides with the sixth day of Chanukah. This year, that celebration falls on Shabbat, occasioning a day of uncommon pageantry and procedural complexity. Shabbat morning services feature the reading of three separate Torah Scrolls: one each for the weekly Portion, the reading for Chanukah, and a passage concerning Rosh Chodesh.
For me personally, the significance of this extraordinary Shabbat, December 8, 2018, is further compounded, as that date marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of my mother, Anne Prouser, of blessed memory.
The use of three separate Torah Scrolls is demanded by tradition, so as not unduly to inconvenience the congregation by compelling them to wait while a single Torah is rolled from one reading to the next (Yoma 70A). Rather, the three scrolls are set to the proper passages in advance. As our ritual observances multiply, our ethical sensitivity — our concern for the comfort and convenience of others — must also be redoubled (or tripled!!). It is in a similar spirit that we customarily place coins in a pushke (charity box) just prior to lighting candles on Shabbat and Holy Days. We enter a period of heightened spiritual activity by first practicing principled human kindness – a discipline I gratefully learned at my mother’s knee.
(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and is the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.)
Rosh Chodesh Tevet always coincides with the sixth day of Chanukah. This year, that celebration falls on Shabbat, occasioning a day of uncommon pageantry and procedural complexity. Shabbat morning services feature the reading of three separate Torah Scrolls: one each for the weekly Portion, the reading for Chanukah, and a passage concerning Rosh Chodesh.