Word Prompt – CHOL HAMOED TRIP – Avi Ganz

Ahhh, Chol HaMoed, the time when fathers take time off of work, the kids fight about where to go, and the moms pack neat sandwiches and snacks for the car. It's the late minyan.... the family brunches in the sukkah, and the soggy matzah and cream cheese with some errant flecks of hard-boiled egg on them at the bottom of the bag at the end of a long day. Chol HaMoed was also the Simchas Beis HaSho’eva and the Korban HaOmer; significant celebrations for Bnei Yisrael as we took stock of the gifts with which we'd been bestowed and offered prayers for continued berachos.

Chol HaMoed represents the "weekdays" or "mundane days" of the holiday. It isn't "less holiday and more mundane," but they are a time to see the festival as it manifests beyond the days during which creative activity is forbidden. Sure, Sukkos and Pesach can be tapped into during their respective days of rest. It may be easier to contemplate their messages when we spend our day away from the noise of the creative world around us. But on Chol HaMoed, instead of withdrawing from one world into another, we add a layer (or layers) of significance to these special times by living both the Chol and the Moed.

As Rav Hutner taught, at the completion of the chag, Yom Tov isn't over: rather, we have gained a Yom Tov. Our experience and our consciousness have taken on new meaning and awareness. Chol HaMoed allows us to apply that consciousness to our daily routines. To a large degree, we can't bring Shabbos into our week, but we can bring Yom Tov into our daily lives. Indeed.