The Adams Street Shul

With the somber Days of Awe and the exhilarating festival of Succot and Simchat Torah still casting their beautiful and inspirational rays over us, we have now reached the month of Cheshvan.

The name of this month is also MarCheshvan. There are two reasons for this. The first is that Mar means “head of” or “first.” Since Cheshvan is the first month after Rosh Hashanah (the New Year), this is the reason for the prefix. The second reason is very interesting. Mar also means “bitter.” Why should there be a bitter aspect to this month? If you check your calendar, you will see that Cheshvan does not include a single holiday—major or minor. In fact, this month does not even claim a fast day!

To me, this lack of excitement that we experienced throughout the previous month affords us a wonderful opportunity. Real life is not lived on the crest. It is the establishment of a meaningful and rewarding routine that defines life. How will we prepare for Shabbat? Will we have friends around our table? Will we make the effort to attend Shabbat services regularly and be on time to start the minyan? What part of our schedule will be devoted to Jewish learning… perhaps starting with the Rabbi’s class? Will we curtail our Lashon Harah (gossip and “evil tongue”)? How much will we allocate to tzedakah (charity)?

There are so many more decisions to make. But, at this moment, we have a tremendous advantage. We are still inspired by the meaningful holidays we just experienced. They certainly should not be an end in themselves—but a bridge to see us through a better year. If we turn our good thoughts into immediate action, the new routine will be a tremendous improvement over the past. So… if there should be anything even slightly mar (bitter) about this month, we can immediately turn it into one of the sweetest months of the year!

--- Rabbi Norbert Weinberg

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