By Hannah Reich Berman

There is little doubt that we are a strange breed. After a full month of chagim we are still focused on holidays. We are never totally relaxed.

The “we” refers to Jewish housewives the world over–primarily Orthodox or Torah-observant housewives. And “holidays” refers not to the ones we just celebrated but to future ones. Our calendars get a good workout!

Oddly, the easiest of the autumn yamim tovim that just passed was Yom Kippur. While fasting and praying all day is tiring and can hardly be considered physically comfortable, it is one day–and one day only. The same cannot be said for Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah this year. Each of those comprised three tough and tiring days and, as joyful as some of those days were, most of us are delighted that they are behind us.

Some of us keep that feeling to ourselves and others are more vocal about it. Nevertheless, we take nothing for granted, so we remain focused on holidays.

Chanukah and Purim are not part of the above equation. Rather, the holiday that I refer to is still a full six months away. That, of course, would be Pesach. And the strange thing about us is the fact that well before Sukkot began, every woman already knew that Passover of 2018 is going to be a breeze. It begins on March 30, and the first bonus is that it is a two-day event. The bigger bonus is that the two days include Shabbat. That means less work for mom and a longer weekday chol ha’moed for the entire family.

There is a reasonable explanation for why we always look ahead. Right smack in the middle of the holidays we just observed, as women were kvetching about all the hard work and the logistics of preparing so many meals for so many people (especially those who were hosting guests), these women, with a big smile, were heard to say, “This is rough, but guess what–Pesach this year is only two days, and one of the two is Shabbat!” And there isn’t a woman alive who isn’t grateful about it.

Perhaps we are not so strange after all, since there is nothing odd about wanting to make life easier. And once all the preparations for Passover are over, the holiday itself will definitely be easier.

But right now, most people are grateful to have a full five-day work week back in their lives. Many are happy because they can get back to their jobs and catch up on the work that they missed, while others (those who have never been gainfully employed and those who are retirees) are grateful for five days of leisure time to shop, go to the gym, play mah-jongg or card games, read a novel, and just generally do what makes them happy. Hooray! That really is the way it is!

Hannah Berman lives in Woodmere and gives private small-group lessons in mah-jongg and canasta. She can be reached at Savtahannah@aol.com or 516-902-3733.

 

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