“Hump Day,” Wednesday, and Yom Revii l’Shabbos

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Artwork: Sisyphus (cropped), by Jeffrey Hummel

“Hump Day,” Wednesday, and Yom Revii l’Shabbos

I was sitting in Starbucks when I heard a customer exclaim to the barista, "happy hump day!" For those who aren’t familiar with this American idiom, here’s an explanation from grammarist.com:

Hump day is an idiom that means Wednesday, a day of the week. The term hump day first appeared in the 1960s in North America, most probably in business offices. Hump day is based on the idea that the work week is a mountain one must climb. The general office work week is Monday through Friday, consisting of five days. This puts Wednesday in the middle, or at the peak or hump of the work week. Monday and Tuesday are the “climbing” days of the week, and are therefore psychologically difficult to get through. Wednesday is the highest part of this climb up a proverbial mountain. The thinking goes that if one can make it to hump day, then Thursday and Friday are an easy slide into the weekend.

Upon hearing the exchange in Starbucks, I immediately thought to myself, “Thank God I’m Jewish.” Allow me to explain.

In the Aseres ha’Dibros in Yisro, the mitzvah of Shabbos is introduced with: “Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it” (Shemos 20:7). Although this is primarily a reference to kiddush, Chazal also say: “Do not count [the days of the week] as others count; rather, count in the name of Shabbos” (Mechilta d’Rebbi Yishmael, Shemos 20:7). In Judaism, we do not refer to the days of the week with proper nouns. Instead, we identify each day by its ordinal relationship to Shabbos. Thus, instead of saying, “Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.” we say, “the 1st day [counting down] to Shabbos, the 2nd day [counting down] to Shabbos, the 3rd day [counting down] to Shabbos, etc.” Ramban (ibid.) provides several rationales for this:

According to the pshat (straightforward meaning), [the Sages] said that it is a mitzvah to remember Shabbos every day so that we neither forget it nor mix it up with other days, for by remembering it continually, we recall the creation every day and gratefully acknowledge that the universe has a Creator, and that He commanded us in this sign, as He said: “for it is a sign between Me and you” (Shemos 31:13), and it is a fundamental principal of our conviction in God.

In other words, this naming convention converts each weekday into a vehicle for remembering Shabbos. According to the Ramban, this accomplishes three things: (a) it reduces the chances of forgetting which day is Shabbos, (b) it reinforces the fundamental truth that Hashem created the universe, and (c) it prompts us to recall, with gratitude, that He commanded us in the institution of Shabbos, which not only preserves the truth of briah yesh me'ayin (creation ex nihilo), but also affords us the many benefits of a day of rest. And while most of us do not actually refer to the days of the week in this manner, we make sure to fulfill this daily recollection at the end of shacharis every morning when we recite the shir shel yom, which is preceded by mentioning the day of the week in accordance with this formula.

How different – and how superior – is our name for this day in comparison to “Wednesday” and “hump day”! According to Wikipedia, “Wednesday” is derived from the Old English Wōdnesdæg and Middle English Wednesdei, meaning “day of Woden,” which is the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the Norse god Odin. Although “Wednesday” is the term we use most often, its origin is undoubtedly pagan. Even if that isn’t halachically problematic, it’s not ideal from a Torah perspective. Calling Wednesday “hump day” underscores the burden of the workweek without any reference to what we are working towards or why we are working. In truth, “hump day” is actually a veiled complaint: “Finally we’re halfway through the toil of this week!” This idiom elevates our own feelings of annoyance and relief to the level of primacy.

In contrast to both of these, “yom revii l’Shabbos” (“the 4th day [counting down] to Shabbos”) is free from these negative associations. Instead, it brings to mind the halachic system, evokes a fundamental idea with far-reaching philosophical and ethical implications, and awakens feelings of gratitude to Hashem for the world we live in, the nation we belong to, and the mitzvos we have been given. That is why hearing “happy hump day!” made me thank God that I am Jewish. And now my hope is that the next time you hear the term "hump day," it causes you to remember Shabbos.

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