This weekend, we have the opportunity to celebrate that rare, North American Jewish holiday of Challahween, when Halloween coincides with Shabbat. (And of course this year we have the additional conflict of Game 5 of the World Series!) Families may face a choice – do we celebrate Shabbat, do we celebrate Halloween, or do we figure out a way to do both? Is there a “correct” Jewish answer?
Last year, I snapped a sweet photograph of Rafi wearing his Batman costume before school on the morning of Halloween, and “davening” (praying) the morning service out of a children’s prayerbook. This photo exemplified for me what it means to be both a part of, and apart from, our surrounding culture as a Jew, to draw on the language of my teacher and Jewish history expert Dr. Jonathan Sarna. We are a part of our neighbourhoods and school communities, and that calls us to dress up, to decorate our homes, to carve pumpkins, to put out candy for trick or treaters. And, we are a part from secular society, as we maintain our commitments to Jewish community, to Jewish peoplehood, and to Shabbat. This year, Shai (a werewolf) and Rafi (a vampire) will dress up for school, and do some early trick-or-treating, before we come back together as a family for Shabbat dinner (that will definitely include at least one pumpkin dish). Sometimes, we can do both, without worrying that participating in Halloween is a threat to our Judaism or to the Jewish identities of the young people in our lives. Rabbi Dr. Tali Zelkowicz teaches that “Successful Jewish education requires that we face our survivalist anxieties and stop fearing that [our] every decision will either ensure or threaten Jewish continuity. Rather than measuring the effectiveness of Jewish education in outcomes such as Hillel affiliation and in-marriage, we would do better to treat each and every learning moment as an opportunity to embrace the dilemmas of contemporary Jewish life.”
Embrace the challenge – enjoy your Shabbat dinner and your candy, your family time and your trick-or-treating. Share your pictures of what this blend looks like in your home! Shabbat shalom, and happy Challah-ween!
