ROSH CHODESH CHESHVAN

√ Rosh Chodesh -the beginning of the Hebrew month- is a semi festive day. The hierarchal order of the Jewish festive days is: Shabbat, Yom Tob, Chol haMo'aed, and then Rosh Chodesh. In the times of the Bet haMiqdash, when there was a special qorban (sacrifice) offered in Rosh Chodesh with sounds of Shofar and trumpets, men used to avoid working in Rosh Chodesh. Today, in some communities, mostly Ashkenazi communities, women do not work or refrain from doing certain melakhot during Rosh Chodesh. 

√ In Rosh Chodesh we are indicated to behave and be in a happier mood (ra-ui lismoach bahem). As we said, although it is not forbidden to work on Rosh Chodesh, it is meritorious to celebrate Rosh Chodesh with a special meal (Shulchan Arukh, OH. 419:1). This is done by having some foods on Rosh Chodesh which are considered luxuries foods, particularly meat and wine (By the way, this is the reason why Sephardic communities refrain from eating meat during the month of Ab, only from the second day of Ab, once Rosh Chodesh is over).

√ It is forbidden to fast on Rosh Chodesh. It is also customary to avoid visiting the cemetery on Rosh Chodesh. Most cemeteries are closed for visits on Rosh Chodesh. When the anniversary of a loved one (sal, yohrtzait) falls on Rosh Chodesh it is customary to fast or visit the cemetery before or after Rosh Chodesh. For this same reason -some exceptional cases apart- eulogies should not be delivered on Rosh Chodesh. Depending on the circumstances, rabbis will rather deliver a Debar Tora -general words of Tora wisdom- in honor of the deceased, minimizing personal emotional remarks, which might cause an additional sadness to the audience.

Rosh Chodesh Mar Cheshvan is celebrated today and tomorrow.  

JEWISH WEDDINGS: The origins of the Ketuba

Ketuba means, "that which is written", i.e., a document.  The Ketuba is not a contract between the husband and his wife, rather, the Ketuba is a document which stipulates the obligations of the husband toward his wife, and mainly the terms and compensation  that the husband will grant to his wife in the event that the marriage is, chas veshalom, dissolved. 

The Ketuba, writes Aryeh Kaplan (Made in Heaven, p. 95) "is closely related to the mohar- dowry- mentioned in the Bible. (Exodus 22:5). The mohar was the amount  that a man would agree to pay his bride in the event that the marriage was terminated". 

Most Rabbinic authorities, including Maimonides (Ishut 10:7), wrote that the Ketuba is not mandated by the Tora but was formalized by the Rabbis. Although they might have been a custom of giving a Ketuba even before the Tora was given, this custom was never formulated into Law.  Originally a man could simply put aside an amount of money and that would be his wife's mohar.  The Ketuba, the formal obligation that establishes the sum of money owed to the wife in case of divorce, was established around the year 100 BCE by the Sanhedrin under the leadership of rabbi Shimon ben Shatach, who legislated that a man's entire estate would be mortgaged to the Ketuba. The woman, thus, would be able to collect the Ketuba just as she would any other contracted debt.   Accordingly, and since then, the Rabbis prescribed that it is forbidden for a man to live with his wife unless a Ketuba has been executed and signed.  

Maimonides (ibid.) writes that the Rabbis' establishment of the Ketuba contemplated another important factor: the Ketuba, the future financial obligations of the husband toward his ex-wife, would serve as a deterrent to prevent an impetuous divorce.  

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