Clashing Calendars

N o matter when Isru Chag Succos falls out the remains of the long busy chagim hover in the air until after Shabbos Bereishis. Come Monday morning the start of the first full week of school and cheder in over a month many a balabuste heaves a sigh of relief and begins to attack her massive to-do list.

And massive it is. For everything is postponed until “after Yom Tov.” Dentist appointments. Winter coat shopping. Organizing closets. Putting summer clothes in storage and taking winter clothes out. Starting that new diet/shiur/gym commitment. Anything non-urgent yet necessary waits for that anticipated date of Beis Noach.

Alef Noach of 2015 found me on the phone with my sister discussing the impending relief from the endless cycle of challah-fish-chicken soup-kugel that stood between us and all those important things we hoped to accomplish.

“I’ve entered a new stage” said my sister. “Beis Noach no longer heralds the Resumption of Normalcy. I have a bochur now; my family’s bein hazmanim extends until Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan.”