Halakha: Chol HaMo’ed: Festival or regular day?
This is an excerpt from Rabbanit Dr. Adina Sternberg’s new book, מאוהל מועד לימי מועד.
There are times when the best way to describe a phenomenon is with two contradictory terms – an oxymoron, such as a “thundering silence.” The term for the intermediate days of the festivals of Sukkot and Pesach is a shining example of this linguistic paradox – “chol ha-mo’ed,” literally translated as “the mundane [days] of the festival.”
The term chol hamoed indicates that these days contain an inherent tension: are these days “chol” (regular)? or mo’ed (festival)? What is the significance of these intermediate days, between the two first and last days of the festival?
The source for prohibiting work on chol hamoed
Chazal are clear that the days of chol hamoed are different from regular “chol” weekdays, some types of melakha (creative work) are forbidden, in part to distinguish them from regular weekdays.[1] The origin of these prohibitions varies from one source to another – the Torah, the sages, or a middle ground of “masru hakatuv lachakhamim,” the Written Torah gave the sages the leeway to determine the character of the day.[2]
The rabbinic understanding of the significance of chol hamoed is reflected in the various drashot they used to teach what actions are prohibited these days. Some of the sages understood the prohibition stemmed from the sanctity of the days and the obligation to bring offerings to the Temple.[3] According to these explanations, the character of chol hamoed can only be understood if one views the prohibitions detailed in Tractate Mo’ed Katan as a continuation of the positive commandments discussed in Tractate Chagiga (pilgrimage to the Temple and the offerings of olat re’iya and shalmei chagiga).
Other sages give the impression that the festival must be observed or guarded, and there is an element of “atzeret”, cessation throughout the festival.[4] Accordingly, the cessation of melakha stands on its own, independent of the other aspects such as the sanctity of the festival and the sacrificial offerings.
What is the point of this atzira, cessation?
Some sages understood this as a time to visit with one’s rabbi, possibly to make up for the lack of pilgrimage to the Temple.[5] On the other hand, the Talmud Yerushalmi brings the opinion of R. bar Memel, who wanted to abolish the prohibition against working on chol hamoed: “They only prohibited melakha on chol hamoed so they could eat, drink, and toil in the Torah, and they eat and drink and act impetuously.”[6] He believed that the prohibition against working on chol hamoed was originally meant to allow time and space to rejoice in the festival and the Torah, but the reality did not live up to these goals. Nevertheless, other midrashim praise Israel for dedicating this “time off” to rejoicing in God and the Torah.[7]
Free time and free choice
It’s possible that part of the joy of these days is the “freedom” the Torah gives us.[8] The Torah tries to get us out of the mundane, daily grind, to give us time off to enjoy life.[9] Some sages believed this freedom stems from sanctity, and so it should be dedicated to closeness to God and the Temple. Other sages believed that the Torah or sages gave us the freedom to choose how to spend this free time.
The Torah creates a few days of “idleness.” It also hints at the ways we should fill these days. But, ultimately, the decision is left up to the individual, and perhaps on the opportunities and frameworks the people decide to create (or not).[10]
Truth is, idleness itself can be useful. When our schedule is cleared and not immediately filled in with obligations, we have the opportunity to decide how to fill the time on our own. We have to decide what’s important to us and what interests us, what will make the time meaningful and fulfilling. Sometimes, we will spend the entire week in the place of God’s choosing, sometimes we go up for a short pilgrimage, but spend the rest of the time visiting with family or resting. It’s only when we clear our schedules that we have a chance to choose if and how to fill it.
The opportunities to fill this time are there, if we look for them. But at its core, it seems that chol hamoed is about making free time, allowing for some sort of idleness, emptiness, and perhaps even boredom. It’s a time we can stop for a moment, take our mind off the daily grind for a bit, and just be.[11] Then we can decide what and how much to fill it with.
[1] Mishna Mo’ed Katan and throughout the Babylonian Talmud; Sifrei Devarim Piska 140; TB Chagiga 18a.
[2] TB Chagiga 18a; TY Mo’ed Katan 2:3 (81b) compare to TB Mo’ed Katan 11b and Rishonim ad loc.
[3] Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yonatan Chagiga ibid.
[4] Rabbi Yishmael, Rabbi Yossi HaGlili, Rabbi Yoshiyahu, TB Chagiga ibid.
[5] TB Sukka 27b; TB Rosh Hashana 16b. Hints to this custom can be found in Tosefta Yoma 4:5 (Lieberman edition) concerning Yom Kippur and Mishna Eruvin Chapter 3 concerning Shabbat and Rosh Hashana.
[6] TY Mo’ed Katan 2:3 (83b)
[7] Midrash HaGadol Bamidbar 29:35
[8] Rabbi Eliezer praised “lazy people” who wouldn’t leave the sukka throughout the festival, to rejoice with their family. (Sukka 27b)
[9] Halakha permits work when it is “davar ha’aveid,” something that will be lost. (For example TB Mo’ed Katan 10b) On the other hand, Talmudic sources warn against filling the “spare” time with all the things one didn’t get to before the festival. (Mishna Mo’ed Katan 1:10; 2:3; compare to 1:3) To this end, some things that would have been permitted are prohibited, to leave the time free for things that are not part of the day-to-day.
[10] During the First Temple Period, the dedication of the Temple and renewal of the covenant was performed in conjunction with festivals. (Melakhim I 8; Divrei HaYamim II 30; Melakhim II 23:21-24; Divrei HaYamim II 35:1-20; In the Second Temple Period – Nechemiah 8) The Torah itself connects Hakhel to Sukkot. (Devarim 31:10-13)
[11] Experience of “being” instead of “doing.”
