New Cheshvan Holidays

The Jewish month after Tishrei has no Biblical nor rabbinic holidays contained therein. While most people refer to our current month as Cheshvan, according to most sources its proper name is Marcheshvan or M’rachsh’van. Marcheshvan is probably derived from its location in the calendar. In Akkadian (Babylonian/Assyrian), “w” (vav) and “m” (mem) sounds can interchange. As a result, Marcheshvan which is from the two words “m’rach” and “shvan,” would have been “warh” and “shman,” in Akkadian, corresponding to the Hebrew “yerech shmini,” thus “eighth month.” When the eighth month is mentioned in the Mishnah and Talmud, it is referred to as Marcheshvan. Throughout all of Rashi’s Biblical and Talmudic commentary, he also refers to the month as Marcheshvan.

Some people erroneously think that the correct name for this month is Cheshvan, and the prefix “Mar” was added because it’s the Hebrew word for “bitter”.  According to this theory, Cheshvan is “bitter” because there are no Jewish holidays contained therein, and the bitterness is even more pronounced due to the abundance of holidays in the previous month of Tishrei. Even though this is false, this misconception has halachic implications. Since the mistaken practice of simply calling the month Cheshvan is so widespread, either Cheshvan or the two-word Mar Cheshvan is now acceptable, post facto, if erroneously used in a legal document such as a get (Aruch Hashulchan, Even Ha’ezer 126:17).

In Israel today, Cheshvan contains two Jewish holidays. On the 29^th of Cheshvan is the holiday of Sigd. Sigd is a holiday of the Ethiopian Jewish community, known as "Beta Israel". The Knesset legislated the Sigd Law-2008, declaring the 29th of Cheshvan as a national holiday. The name of the holiday is derived from the Hebrew word for prostration, "sgida".

During Sigd, which is celebrated on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan – 50 days after Yom Kippur (similar to the holiday of Shavuot, celebrated 50 days after Passover), the community marks the renewal of the covenant between the Jewish people, God and His Torah. During the holiday members of the community travel to Jerusalem and visit the Wailing Wall and the promenade in the city's “Armon Hanatziv” neighborhood. The holiday serves as an annual gathering of the entire Ethiopian community, and its members view it as an opportunity to strengthen the connection with their roots and culture.

The Kessim (Ethiopian Jewish religious leaders), dressed in their traditional robes, carry the Torah scrolls while holding multi-colored umbrellas. They stand on an elevated stage, read excerpts from the Bible and recite prayers before members of the community, also in Hebrew. Public officials attend the celebration and greet the audience, and many of the community members continue to fast until late in the afternoon.

And this past week, on the 7^th of Cheshvan, was Yom HaAliyah, the newest Cheshvan Jewish holiday. It is an Israeli national holiday established to acknowledge Aliyah, immigration to the Jewish state, as a core value of the State of Israel, and honor the ongoing contributions of Olim to Israeli society. Originally, the proposed date was the 21st of Tevet, Eliezer ben Yehuda’s birthday, since he was the one who revived the Hebrew language. They felt that his birthday would be the best day to celebrate since Modern Hebrew is the tie that connects all of the immigrants to the State of Israel and gives them a common language. Then people began to celebrate Yom Ha’Aliyah on the 10th of Nisan, the date that B’nai Yisrael crossed the Jordan River 3500 years ago when the entire nation made aliyah and entered the land with Yehoshua bin Nun. However, the date was rejected since the 10th of Nisan falls out during Pesach vacation and would not be celebrated properly. The final date that was decided on is the 7th of Cheshvan which always falls out during the week that we read Parshat Lech Lecha, where we read about Avraham and Sarah’s aliyah to the Land of Israel.

The 7^th of Cheshvan is also the date on which in Israel, the request for rain is included in the weekday Amidah. It emerges that in modern times, after a busy month of Biblical Tishrei holidays, Cheshvan is an opportunity for us to celebrate the modern miracle of the State of Israel and the ingathering of Jewish exiles from around the globe.