Parshat Terumah: Adar: 30-Day Joy Challenge

A number of years back the 30-Day Challenge craze began. At the time, the Wall Street Journal had a piece on “The Lure of 30-Day Challenges: Better Abs and More”. Here is an excerpted part of the article that sums it up:

The 30-day exercise challenge is increasingly popular, especially as an alternative to New Year’s resolutions, which often fail this time of year. The pitch is to stick with a commitment for a month…Thirty-day challenges push people to chase goals big and small, from cutting out soda to writing a novel… Gyms and yoga studios offer them as a way to win customers, hoping that a 30-day stint will turn into a habit. Some 30-day challenges were one-off experiments, including not watching TV and cutting out sugar.

Nice idea for someone to better themselves. We Jews have been doing something similar for quite some time now. There are two examples in Jewish life that pre-date the recent 30-Day Challenges by thousands of years and, who knows, maybe even gave rise to its resurrection. 

This Shabbat is Rosh Chodesh Adar – the first day of the month of Adar. Adar is famous for Joy and Happiness. The Rabbis in the Talmud declare, “When the month of Adar begins, we increase Joy.” In essence Adar is a 30-Day Challenge where a full month is dedicated to focusing on the positive character trait to live  a happier life.  A full month where we focus on Happiness and Joy each and every day. Adar, being associated with Happiness primarily because the joyous holiday of Purim is in it, is thereby naturally chosen to be the month we double up on in those years when the Jewish calendar adds a month. If you have to double any month of the calendar, you definitely want to pick the one with the most positive energy. 

Another example in Judaism that truly is a 30-Day challenge concerns the mitzva of making a vow. Generally Jewish tradition is not thrilled that people resort to such methods to force a lifestyle change.  We prefer that people not make formal vows. But if and when they do, Jewish tradition teaches that unless there is an exact time specified, a vow is assumed to be for a month. That is the minimum amount of time for a meaningful vow to take effect.

These are two examples we have in Judaism of 30-Day Challenges. But when you think about it, why not have 30-Day Challenges for other mitzvot that will motivate a new level of commitment to mitzva observance and Torah? It would fit it perfectly with the philosophy of the founder of Aish, Rabbi Noah Weinberg זצ”ל, who was a big proponent that Judaism was not all or nothing. 

Rabbi Weinberg was a big believer that whatever steps a person takes to be a more involved Jew, no matter what level or station of life they were at, that was always a plus and to be applauded and celebrated. If you don’t do anything to mark Shabbat but decided to light candles and nothing else, then good for you for doing that. Doing one thing is better than doing nothing at all. And let’s face it, the vast array of mitzvot can be a bit daunting for the novice and understandably can be viewed as too onerous to undertake as a whole without taking steps, one at a time. 

This is the impact of a 30-Day Challenge. It allows people to sample something – see and taste what it is like – without being intimidated by the scary and overwhelming idea of a wholesale lifestyle change. It’s a first step, but a meaningful one since 30 days is a somewhat serious commitment, to get a good sense of what it would be like to incorporate a particular area of improvement and growth in a person’s life. 

Again, Rav Noach used to employ this psychology way back in the day when someone would come to Aish for a short stint but was afraid to stay longer because maybe, horror of horrors, he might like it and end up becoming religious. Rav Noach would assure the fellow that he will throw him out after the beginners programs. Of course he never did, but that is the key. We need to know that there is an exit ramp before we try something that is very different to our present lifestyle. 

There are all kinds of opportunities to use this technique and take yourself to the next level of commitment to Judaism: 30-Day No-Shell-Fish Challenge. 30-Day Tefillin Challenge would include a rest period that many of these challenges have, since you need not put them on during Shabbat. A 30-Day Shabbat Challenge could offer someone the chance to keep a full Shabbat for one whole month. Or maybe the less demanding 30-Day No-Cell-Phone-on-Shabbat Challenge to commit to not using your cell phone for the entire Shabbat day, from Friday night until Saturday night, for a month. A 30-Day Learn-Torah Challenge could be accomplished by reading a different article on aish.com or another website each day (making sure you use a book on Shabbat or go online after Shabbat is over when combined with the above Shabbat challenges). The possibilities are endless. 

Right now there is a challenge in front of each and every one of us. Let’s utilize the power and spirituality of Adar and take the 30-Day Challenge of Joy and Happiness. Wake up each morning for the next 30 days and declare loud and clear, “Thank God I am alive!!” Spend five minutes each day focusing on the myriad of blessings God has given us. And may this challenge be just the beginning and spread beyond 30 days to last a lifetime of Joy and Happiness. 

30 days to us
30 days to love
Each second I’m here thinking what I wanna do
What I wanna do 
When I get to you
One month, four weeks, too many hours

Sun rise, sun fall
I’m growing tired
30 days to love
30 days to love
-The Saturdays