Chol Hamoed: The Intermediate Days of Sukkot
The six days from the sixteenth until the twenty-first of Tishrei are known as Chol Hamoed. These days are like regular weekdays (chol), but they also are part of the holiday (moed) of Sukkot. In Israel, Chol Hamoed is six days long on Sukkot, but in the Diaspora, due to the extra day of Yom Tov, it is only five days long.
These days should be dedicated to holiday festivities, to Torah study, and to spiritual growth. The following is a list of some special customs associated with Chol Hamoed.
- On every morning of Chol Hamoed, one should recite the blessing over the lulav at the beginning of the day, in the sukkah, following the same procedure described earlier. Only after this has been done may one eat or drink.
- Tefillin are not worn at the Shacharit prayers of the Intermediate Days, but married men do wear a tallit.
- It is a mitzvah to rejoice on Chol Hamoed and to honor it by wearing beautiful, clean clothes and eating festive meals.
- Since we are required to rejoice on Sukkot and wine has a particular ability to create joy, men are required to drink a reviit (at least 86 ml) of wine every day on Chol Hamoed.
- In the Grace After Meals of Chol Hamoed, Yaaleh V’Yavo is recited.
If a person did not perform the mitzvah of taking the Four Species on the first day of the holiday, he should recite the blessing of shehecheyanu whenever he performs the mitzvah for the first time during the holiday.
The Shacharit and Mussaf Services
The standard weekday Shacharit is recited, but Tachanun is omitted. Yaaleh V’Yavo is inserted in the Shemoneh Esrei.
The Shemoneh Esrei is followed by the Whole Hallel and the appropriate Hoshanot service for that day, both of which are recited while the Four Species are held. The procedure on Chol Hamoed is identical to the one we describe above for the first day of the festival.
We then recite the Song of the Day and Psalm 27, which are followed by the Torah reading. A single Torah scroll is removed from the Ark, from which a passage dealing with the sacrificial offerings of the holiday is read. Four honorees are called up to read from the Torah.
The Torah scroll is then returned to the Ark while Yehalelu is recited. This is followed by Ashrei, Uva Letzion, and the Shemoneh Esrei of Mussaf for the Three Festivals.
Sukkot is the only one of the Three Festivals in which the sacrificial offerings in the Holy Temple changed on a daily basis. One should be careful to remain aware of which day of the holiday it is, in order to be able to recite the appropriate passage during Mussaf.
The prayer service concludes with Kaveh (“Hope to G-d”), Ein K’Elokeinu (“There is none like our G-d”), and Aleinu, as well as the daily recitation of Psalms.
The prayers and Torah readings for the Sukkot holiday are clearly delineated in the standard siddur.
The Minchah and Maariv Services
The Minchah and Maariv prayers of Chol Hamoed are identical to those of the regular days of the year, except for the fact that Tachanun is omitted from Minchah and Yaaleh V’Yavo is inserted in every Shemoneh Esrei.
Visiting the Western Wall
On Sukkot, when the Holy Temple still stood, the entire Jewish people would travel en masse to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the Biblical precept requiring them to do so. Nowadays, some people commemorate this ancient practice by visiting the last remnant of the Temple still in existence—the Western Wall.
It is a particularly moving experience to be present at the Mussaf service at the Western Wall when hundreds of Kohanim join together to bestow a blessing on a huge crowd of people.
Permitted and Forbidden Activities on Chol
Hamoed
Food Preparation
On Chol Hamoed, it is permissible to do anything necessary for the preparation of food for the holiday. These activities include grinding, squeezing, lighting a fire, cooking, and baking.
It is also permissible to repair the appliances used for preparing food for the holiday, such as a refrigerator, a mixer, a food processor, a microwave, and so forth. If it is possible to delay the repair until after the holiday, however, it is preferable to do so.
A car in a garage, however, cannot be repaired on Chol Hamoed even on the grounds that it is used only for transporting food.
Situations of Loss
Davar Ha’aveid, a situation of loss, is another category of activity that is permitted on Chol Hamoed. This category encompasses any activity that must be performed on Chol Hamoed in order to prevent a financial loss. This dispensation applies only to a loss, not to a failure to profit.
One may write on Chol Hamoed only if the information will be forgotten if it is not written down immediately. When it is necessary to write, one must begin by writing the words “due to the sanctity of the holiday.” This applies to typing on a computer, as well.
Assorted Activities
- It is prohibited to take a haircut, shave, or cut one’s fingernails on Chol Hamoed.
- It is prohibited to launder clothes on Chol Hamoed. It is permissible to launder the clothing of babies, who soil their clothes frequently.
- It is prohibited to work in a store, to engage in commerce, and to buy or sell anything. It is permissible to purchase items that are necessary for the holiday itself.
