Rosh Hodesh Cheshvan!

Every so often, when I happen to have the opportunity to chat with some of our students, we talk a little bit about what is going on in Jewish time - it's an easy topic that most students feel comfortable discussing. Holidays normally pose little problem, but when asking which was the current month in the Jewish calendar, it is not an uncommon occurrence to be met with blank stares and perhaps a shrug or two. This might not happen around some of the bigger holidays (most of the older students know that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur fall in the month of Tishrei), but 9 times out of 10, students are simply unconnected to Jewish time in its more formal, structured sense. This is not to say they are unaware of the Jewish calendar - if asked, it is relatively assured that most kids would know the next big Jewish holiday was either Shabbat or Hanukkah (depending on how literally they decide to interpret the question). While we may feel more comfortable reciting the little song that reminds us which of our secular months have 31, 30 and 28 days in them than remembering when Iyyar falls during the year, celebrating Rosh Hodesh and acknowledging the beginning of a new Jewish month can add something special to an otherwise ordinary Monday.

Today is Rosh Hodesh Cheshvan, the first day of the eighth month in the Jewish calendar. Not much happens in Heshvan, and its lack of holidays has led for it to be called "Mar Cheshvan," "mar" meaning bitter in Hebrew. No holidays, fast days, or anything else of any notable relevance occurs during this month, sandwiched between the festive holidays of Tishrei and the lights of Hanukkah and Kislev. Like most of the Hebrew months, Cheshvan most likely gets its name from a Babylonian word - when consulting Jewish sources, this eighth month of the year is often called "bul," a word closely related to the Hebrew word "mabul," meaning flood. According to tradition, it was on the 17th day of Cheshvan was the start of the great flood that destroyed the world in the time of Noah, his family, and his trusty ark. Just over a year later, on the 27th of Cheshvan, Noah's family safely lands and the waters recede. (Not to worry, but perhaps tuck this little tidbit away as the Washington DC area gets some much needed rain!)

While there are no holidays to celebrate during the month of Cheshvan, the new moon and Rosh Hodesh give us the opportunity to mark the start of a new month in a special way. Do something different or special as a family. Buy a bouquet of fall-hued flowers to grace your Shabbat dinner table this week, or perhaps include a special dish filled with fall produce to celebrate the season. Enjoy these last few days of fall before the colder winter weather arrives (again).

Happy (Mar) Cheshvan!)