YULA Girls | Panther Post | Issue I | November 2020

PAGE 2 | NOVEMBER, 2020
Torah
THE PANTHER POST | YULA GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL
Mar Cheshvan...Is it really?
BY ELIANA WAGHALTER ‘24
Cheshvan is known for being
the sad and bitter month that follows
Tishri. It is considered “bitter”
because it follows a month
full of holidays when Cheshvan
is void of any. Should we really
be saying this, though? Are there
really zero holidays in Cheshvan?
In fact, no, there is a holiday in
Cheshvan: Sigd.
50 days after Yom Kippur,
Ethiopian Jews celebrate Sigd;
this holiday has many purposes.
For example, a purpose is
so that the Ethiopians can renew
their acceptance of the Torah.
Sigd was influenced by a verse
in Nechemia, Perek 8, “ Ezra the
Kohen brought the Torah before
the congregation...” During this
time, Ezra gave a Torah to the
people and read it to them.
Thousands of Ethiopian Jews gather to celebrate Sigd in the month of Cheshvan.
When Sigd was observed in
Ethiopia, people would gather
in large groups and travel to
mountain tops where they would
pray to be returned to Israel.
Nowadays, it is a national holiday
in Israel and is observed
differently. The Ethiopian Jews
gather in Yerushalayim where
Kessim (religious leaders), conduct
davening. It resembles Yom
Kippur and Shavuot. It is similar
to Yom Kippur, because they
fast and daven while focusing on
themselves as a religious community.
Sigd also resembles Shavuot
because it is 50 days after Yom
Kippur (29 of Cheshvan), just like
Shavout is 50 days after Peasach.
They also say tehillim, and then
they break the fast with elaborate
celebrations.
In 2008, Uri Ariel (a former
member of Knesset) succeeded
in establishing Sigd as a national
holiday in Israel. However, many
people feel that this holiday is
underrated. We can see by the fact
that we do not acknowledge this
holiday on the Jewish calendar.
We always say that Cheshvan is
a dry month spiritually- it has no
holidays. This holiday dates back
many centuries and because of it,
we now know that Cheshvan is
truly not so “bitter.”
Sharing a
Lulav on the Most
Joyful Holiday
BY ZAHAVAH KAPLAN ‘22
In this period of the pandemic,
some may argue that the holiday
of Sukkot could be unsafe:
family and friends crowded in
a sukkah to eat and celebrate
the holiday together. However,
there is a halacha that keeps one
special Mitzvah separate from
the rest of the people around us:
the halacha to own your personal
Lulav.
Vayikra 23:40 states “And
you shall take for yourselves
on the first day, the fruit of the
hadar tree, date palm fronds, a
branch of a braided tree, and willows
of the brook, and you shall
rejoice before the Lord your God
for a seven day period". In short,
this halacha requires that the set
be under the ownership of one
person performing the Mitzvah
during the first days of Yom Tov.
However, there are many families
who share a Lulav among
themselves and some Shluchim
in Chabad go out of their way
to shake their own lulav with
strangers. Additionally, with
prices ranging from $40 to over
$200, sharing a set is sometimes
the best option. So how can we
share a lulav while also adhering
to halacha?
Within Jewish law, one is
allowed to “give” the set as a
“gift” to the person in need of
the Lulav on the condition that
the person in need will return
it to the owner. Nonetheless, in
order for this to take place, both
parties must be familiar with this
halacha. If the halacha needs
to be explained, it can be done
politely.
Allowing someone to “borrow”
the Arba Minim in a safe
manner is vital during these trying
times; therefore our community
leaders urge us to maintain
our own set of Arba Minim this
year in order to ensure everyone’s
safety .
Have a Shana Tova!
Shuls via
Chagim and
Backyard
Minyanim
BY SHOSHANA ZISBLATT ‘24
The question of the possibility
of minyanim was another
challenge brought on by the
COVID-19 pandemic. When
we are most in need of davening
for everyone’s health and
safety, what is the best way to
conduct minyanim that comply
with the current health guidelines?
Daily minyanim, simchas,
Shabbat, and Yom Tov davening
have been mostly relocated
from shuls to individuals’ homes
when the Corona crisis began.
As the number of cases steadied
and declined, gathering for
minyan became more feasible.
However, the minyanim bear little
resemblance to pre-COVID
times. Most minyanim are held
in residential backyards or in
shul outdoor tents. Even with the
relocation of many minyanim to
the outdoors, several additional
restrictions have been added:
Shuls around the U.S. have adapted to the pandemic
sitution in various ways to ensure people’s safety.
attendance is limited to small
numbers, chairs are kept distanced,
and masks are worn, etc.
As the Yamim Noraim
approached, most shuls in Los
Angeles grappled with how best
to address the holiest of days.
For the most part, shuls offered
satellite minyanim in peoples’
homes and/or offered tent minyanim
in shul outdoor spaces.
Davening was also kept somewhat
shorter, in accordance with
social distancing guidelines.
Although many people worried
about how all this would play
out, for many, the new system
worked. Some explained that
davening in the outdoors helped
them focus and become even
more inspired with their tefillah.
Others suggested that the smaller
minyanim allowed for more concentration
as well, and perhaps
less socializing.
In all, the creative response
of our community leaders to the
question of davening in these
times was a success. Some of
the new customs we have adopted
now could be ones that we
embrace in the future too!