Wow.  What a month.  We’ve just been through a bevy of Jewish Holidays: Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah.  That’s an awful lot of hours clocked in the synagogue.  And an even more awful lot of food.

It’s been, simultaneously, both a fun month, and a difficult one.  Last night, as we marked the closing of Simchat Torah, my friends and I reminisced about our favorite High Holiday tunes, and joked (somewhat seriously) that now that the holidays were over, we wouldn’t see each other again until next year.  But we were also kind of excited – excited to have our regular Sundays back, excited for normal (shorter) synagogue services to resume, excited to not eat quite as much every weekend.

But despite all that excitement, there was still a general sense of gloominess.  Now that the holidays are over, we’ll be entering the holiday-less Jewish month of Cheshvan (in fact, there are no more Jewish holidays until Chanukkah, which this year begins in mid-December).  This month is sometimes also known as “Marcheshvan” – in Hebrew “mar” means “bitter”.  And an entire month with no fun holidays is a bitter month, indeed.

So what can we do to keep away the Marcheshvan blues, and to bring a bit of Jewish joy into our lives?  Well, I have a couple of ideas for ya:

1. Check out the newly redesigned JPS website!  (In particular, check out the all-new feature on the right side, towards the bottom… that’s right, you can now stream the JPS Audio Bible!  Each week, the new Torah portion will be posted, along with the full text, so you can read along as you listen.  Genesis is up right now – check it out!)

2. Find a way to incorporate a bit of Judaism into the upcoming secular holidays.  Thanksgiving (my all-time favorite secular holiday!) is a day ripe for an infusion of spirituality.  Brainstorm with your family how you can make the day meaningful – have a discussion over dinner about the things you are grateful for, compose your own Thanksgiving prayer, or volunteer to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local soup kitchen.  (I’m a bit stuck on Halloween – “act-of-kindness or treat” just seems a little bit lame.  Any ideas?)

3. Stock up on your Chanukkah gifts.  It’s never too early!  (And FYI: JPS is having an early-bird Chanukkah sale – 40% off select titles!)

4. Get involved with Jewish Social Action Month – KolDor has earmarked October 19th – November 17th as a month for Jews to get involved in social action projects.  Check out their site for a listing of volunteer opportunities, or to put up an event of your own!

5. Now that the weather is getting chilly, it’s time to whip out those fleece blankets, brew a cup of steaming hot tea or apple cider, and crack open a good book.  In fact, now that we’re beginning the Torah reading cycle from the top, how about cracking open the Good Book?

Do you have any other creative ideas for brightening up Marcheshvan?  Let me know!
- Naomi