Rabbi's Reveries

Cheshvan, the Month of Shabbat

A few years ago, I was talking to a group of preschoolers and I mentioned that the next holiday after Sukkot and Sh’mini Atzeret-Simchat Torah is Hanukkah. I explain that Cheshvan, the month between Tishrei (with Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Sh’mini Atzeret-Simchat Torah) and Kislev (with Hanukkah), is called “Mar-Cheshvan” (“Bitter Cheshvan”) by the rabbis of the Talmud. The rabbis say that Cheshvan is bitter because it doesn’t have any holidays. One precocious student piped up: “But, Rabbi Gorban, what about Shabbat?”

Shabbat, that simple and unassuming but wonderful holiday that comes every week. It happens so often that it is easy to pass over it (sorry…that was a terrible pun). Who wants to go to services or cook a festive meal again after spending so much time at services and preparing for all the other holidays?

In opposition to this tendency, the rabbis of the Talmud suggest that the rituals and holidays that come frequently take precedence over those that come less frequently (B’rachot 51b). Shabbat, according to this view, is more important than the other holidays. There are even some holidays that will never fall on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday because they might overshadow Shabbat or conflict with the preparations for Shabbat.

But in a packed Jewish holiday season, Shabbat can feel more like a burden than a relief. It’s one more holiday to prepare for, it’s one more day to have to be at the temple.

In Cheshvan, however, Shabbat gets its time to shine, and we get to enjoy it as much as it deserves. Without the distractions of the other holidays, Shabbat feels like a special day. We have the chance to look forward to it, the way our BELC students ask every morning if they get to celebrate Shabbat today. And we have the space to celebrate it as a time to be with family and community, a time for rest and fun, and a time of peace.

It's for these reasons that, with the Ritual Committee’s help, we’ve moved our Kabbalat Shabbat services to 6:30 p.m. year-round. While we know that that time doesn’t work for everyone, the hope is that it’s a good balance between the needs of our various groups. We hope that those of you who work traditional hours can come right after work to share a nosh and start Shabbat.

We hope that those of you with young children can enjoy the snacks, books, and coloring sheets in our Shabbat Kid’s Kits to wind down with community and peace before bedtime (services generally end between 7:30 and 7:45 p.m.).

Although we know it gets dark early, we hope that the earlier time will give those of you who don’t drive at night a chance to come more often. And don’t worry—we will keep streaming so that everyone can access our Shabbat services wherever you are!

We also hope that the earlier time will allow you to gather afterwards for Shabbat dinner in your homes or elsewhere. If you’re willing to have places at your table or if you want to invite those gathered to join you at a restaurant, please let me know. I know that hanging out with others in the community is one of the joys of Shabbat (oneg actually means “joy”), and we hope that you’ll do that over a real meal in addition to the snacks and schmoozing before the service, starting at 5:45 p.m.

May this Cheshvan be sweet with the joy of Shabbat!

L’shalom,

Rabbi Keren Gorban