חול המועד

We are now beginning the phase of the holiday known as חול המועד. The tractate in the Talmud that deals with these laws is known as מועד קטן, or the small festival.

It is interesting that the Minhag of Eretz Yisrael, is not to put on Tefillin during Chol HAmoed, but in Chutz L’Aretz, Tefillin is worn.

The reason for this is that most people work on חול המועד outside of Israel. For them, it is more חול, profane, than מועד, festive. In Israel, most work places are closed.

Despite this being true, our physical presence in Eretz Yisrael, lends itself to more holiness than in חוץ לארץ.

This is one of the explanations as to why there is a two day Yom Tov outside of Israel. It takes them two days to achieve the holiness we achieve in one day here in Israel.