B"H
Last Thursday night, 7th of Tevet - 24th of December, is known as "Nittle Nacht (Night)", and the custom is that we don’t learn Torah this night till midnight, (see Rama on Shulchan Aruch, letters of the Chatam Sofer and others) Kabbalisticly the reason is, as is known from the Rebbe Rasha"b the 5th Chabad Lubavitch Rebbe Shalom Dov Baer, 1860 - 1920, the reason is so as to not be “adding Chayus” spiritual life and strenth to him and his followers.
The Rebbe says in a Sicha that we shouldn't "waste our time" but involve ourselves in something like chess which exercises the mind or any other chore that needs to be done. And the Rebbe related a story in the Sicha where a Bochur would save all the sewing of the buttons on his cloths to “Nittle Nacht” to be productive in a “non adding Chayus” way.
Details about the Nittle Night on "Hirhurim".
Chess in Chabad during the Nittle Night
They cancelled my son's mishmor that evening (with no explanation). Perhaps this is the reason why.
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