So, “Cheshvan” or “MarCheshvan”…?  Many people ask about the two names but we actually have many months with different names.  The Jerusalem Talmud teaches that “the names of the months came up with Israel from Babylonia.  Prior to the Babylonian exile, months were referred to either by ordinal numbers, such as “the first month,” or by names no longer in common use. Indeed, in the Book of Kings, this month is designated “the month of Bul, the eighth month,” reckoned from the springtime month of Nissan.

מרחשון

Scriptures composed after the Babylonian exile (including Esther and Nechemia) refer to various months but never to this one, yielding no definitive biblical indication either way.

Certain scholars propose that “Marcheshvan” derives from an Akkadian term signifying “the eighth month.”

In the Mishnah and Talmud, as well as numerous subsequent authorities, the month is denominated Marcheshvan. This form appears likewise in the dating of Jewish legal instruments and in the benediction over the new month.

The Sefer Yetzirah (the Book of Formation) names this month Cheshvan.  The Zohar similarly designates Cheshvan.  So why both versions?  It stems from a dispute over whether the month’s authentic name is Marcheshvan, or whether Cheshvan is the true name and mar is simply a prefix describing the month.  Here are some interpretations.

Bitterness:  One view holds that mar signifies “bitterness” (cf. the maror consumed at Passover). The month is deemed bitter for several reasons:

● It follows Tishrei which is full of holidays yet contains no holidays itself.

● Sarah (and Rachel) died during this month according to Jewish tradition.

● In the First Temple period, after the division of the tribes of Israel into two kingdoms, Jeroboam, ruler of the northern tribes, established a heathen festival in the month of Cheshvan to rival the divine service in Jerusalem, located in the kingdom of Judah.

A Drop of Water  

Another interpretation takes the Hebrew mar to mean “a drop of water,” as in the verse “like a drop (mar) from a bucket.” See Isaiah 40:15 

הֵ֤ן גֹּויִם֙ כְּמַ֣ר מִדְּלִ֔י וּכְשַׁ֥חַק מֹאזְנַ֖יִם נֶחְשָׁ֑בוּ הֵ֥ן אִיִּ֖ים כַּדַּ֥ק יִטֹּֽול׃

Also related to water drops, we know Jews in the land of Israel commence supplications for rain in this month; thus mar is uttered as a petition for rain. Moreover, the Mabul (Great Flood) in Noah’s era began in this month.  (Commentators note, intriguingly, that the month’s original biblical name, “Bul,” likewise alludes to the Mabul.)   

Head or Master  

A third perspective asserts that, far from negative, the mar in Marcheshvan carries a note of honor, because it can indicate “Master.”  This title is bestowed on King Solomon because he completed construction of the First Temple in this month.

Yet an undercurrent of bitterness persists here too: though finished in Marcheshvan, the Temple was not inaugurated until later, in the month of Etanim or Tishri, thereby depriving the month of a potential festival.  Although the First Temple’s dedication did not occur in Marcheshvan, the Midrash states that the Third Temple will be consecrated in this month.  Hence, far from “bitter,” it will become a month of celebration!  May it come speedily in our days!

Shalom, shalom!

Your friend, 

Joseph Good

Hatikva Ministries & JerusalemTempleStudy.com

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Our featured article by guest writer Victor Schultz (יוסף איתן)

Every Jew Brought the Daily Tamid Offering

Just as the first shaft of sunlight rising over the mount of olives pierced the open Nicanor Gate and struck the 2nd bronze ring in the slaughter area (Mishnah Tamid 3:3), a clock set by Hashem the time arrived, the Court of Israel already filled with hundreds of men, arranged by their district, silently stood by…The Ma’amad leader raised his hand and in perfect unison, they declared aloud, as recorded in Tosefta Ta’anit 3:3 and Yerushalmi Ta’anit 4:2:

Hebrew:

אָנוּ שְׁלוּחֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל… קָרְבָּן זֶה מִמֶּנּוּ וּמִכָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל

English:

“We are the emissaries of Israel… this offering is from us and from all Israel.”

Their voices carried through the Nicanor Gate to the women of the Ma’amad in the Court of Women, who declared with the same words. 

The kohen, standing at the ring with the lamb, responded:

Hebrew:

בָּרוּךְ ה’ מְקַבֵּל אֶתְכֶם!

English:

“Blessed is Hashem … He accepts you!”

With that, the priest slaughtered, captured the blood to be splashed on the northern side of the altar closest him and heaven accepted the tamid as if every Jew … from Dan to Beersheba … had spoken.

Two lambs, one now and one at the ninth hour from dawn, are Israel’s daily gift to Hashem. Most imagine this as a lone priestly rite, distant and exclusive. But Scripture says otherwise.

“This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the Lord” (Numbers 28:3–8).

You, not just the kohanim. All Israel brought the tamid. Every single day. Every single one of the children of Israel.

How? Through the Anshei Ma’amad, the Men of the Station, lay representatives from each of Israel’s 24 districts. They were not spectators. They were the offerers.

Each district sent at least a minyan, 10 adult Jewish males, to stand in the Court of Israel at the northern end, just past the altar where most holy offerings were slaughtered (Leviticus 1:11). That’s 240 men minimum, one minyan per district, present every morning and evening. But a minyan was only the floor. On ordinary days, dozens more joined. On festival days, hundreds stood in the court and even more in overflow areas.

The math confirms it. The Court of Israel measured 11 cubits wide by 135 cubits long (Mishnah Middot 2:6). That equals nearly 1,500 square cubits. Allowing one cubit per person for standing or prostration, over 1,400 men could fit in full view of the altar. With 240 as the baseline, only 16 percent of the space was used. This left room for five to six times more on busy days.

So on any given tamid, hundreds of laymen stood shoulder to shoulder, representing every corner of Israel. The active priestly course (mishmar) performed the slaughter, the blood service, the burning, all by lot (Mishnah Tamid 3:1) on their behalf. The gift was “from” the people. The Anshei Ma’amad stood in their place, bringing the offering on behalf of their districts.

The Mishnah is explicit.

“The men of the Ma’amad were there for the sake of the offering” (Ta’anit 4:2).

Not to watch. To offer.

This system rotated. Each Ma’amad had its own leaders who selected the minyans. Others joined alongside those officially chosen. Men stood in the Court of Israel; women stood in the Court of Women, both representing their district in the tamid (Ta’anit 4:2–3). Josephus records nearly two million lambs slaughtered during Passover, each feeding 10 to 20 men, women, and children (Jewish War 6.9.3). That means 20 to 40 million meals.

If 1 million eligible Jews (men age 12+, women age 12+) lived in Israel, and 1,000 officially served daily (240 men in the Court of Israel, 760 more men and women in the Court of Women), that created 365,000 annual slots. Over a 60-year lifespan, every Jew could officially participate about 22 times, nearly once every 2.7 years. If there was room, unofficially hundreds of times declaring with the others. If the Temple rose today with 15 million Jews worldwide, and 10,000 served daily (2,000 men in Court of Israel and overflow areas, 8,000 men and women in the Court of Women), that yields 3.65 million annual slots. From age 12 over a 70-year lifespan, every Jewish man and woman could officially participate approximately 17 times, once every 4 years.

This echos the warm treatment of new moon witnesses… welcomed with banquets to encourage participation (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 2:5–6) the Ma’amad system turned Temple service into a national relay for every Jew. No fixed clergy. No “us vs. them.” but all Israel, district by district, bringing Hashem His daily bread.

Once their tamid obligation was fulfilled, the Men of the Station officially assisted in other duties. They guided pilgrims, coordinated offerings, verified the unknown newcomers. But their core act was the tamid: representing the gift.

Picture it: a farmer from Galilee, a merchant from Lod, a reporter from the Golan, all standing together in the Court of Israel, just east of the altar. The shofar is sounded. With their declaration, the lamb is slaughtered at the north side of the altar. The fire is kindled on the wood. In that moment, every Jew in Israel has offered.

This was not symbolic. It was literal. The tamid was a korban tzibur, a public offering, and the public was present.

Most today assume the tamid was “priestly only.” But the Torah says you shall offer. The Mishnah reveals the Ma’amad stood for the offering. The Court of Israel held thousands when needed. The rotation ensured every male served.

You brought the tamid.

Your father did. Your son will.

Not by blood. Not by tribe.

By presence.

The Temple was not a stage for priests. It was Israel’s living altar, and every Jew had a hand on the gift.

When we lost the Temple, we lost the daily act of national giving.

But the model remains.

Sacred service is not for the few. It is from the many.

Until the tamid rises again, let every Jew remember.

You offered. You gave. You brought.

And one day, you will again.

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Wait, wait…there is more!  Want to know more about kosher eating and separation of meat and dairy? [over]

Check out this complimentary video at JerusalemTempleStudy.com called 

The Meat and Cheese Question