Holidays

By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER

Henny Youngman, the stand-up comic known as “The King of the One-Liners,” quipped: “I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up – They have no holidays.”

The month of Mar-Cheshvan (also known as Cheshvan) is notable for its unique and defining lack of all holiday observances. The absence of festivals stands in stark contrast to the month of Tishri, which Mar-Cheshvan immediately follows. During Tishri we mark Rosh Hashanah, observe Yom Kippur, and celebrate Succot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah. Jewish folk wisdom maintains that Mar-Cheshvan is so named because the lack of holidays and festivals renders the month a “bitter” reality: “Mar” means “bitter” in Hebrew (Think “Maror” – Passover’s bitter herbs). “Mar-Cheshvan” – Poor Cheshvan, with its bitter calendrical lot.

While Jewish religious leaders and faithful worshippers alike may not so secretly relish the relative calm of Mar-Cheshvan, it is a good time to reflect on the beautiful gift the Jewish Holiday calendar offers: carefully scheduled, sacrosanct opportunities to renew communal and family bonds, to indulge in immersive prayer, to engage in historical speculation, and to invite a sense of wonder, faith, and Divine Providence.

Believers and skeptics alike can thank God for the blessings of the Holy Days.

That’s no joke.

(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.)