Elul the month of searching

Elul

Elul is the sixth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar. In Aramaic, Elul means searching, which is what we do to find the deeper meaning of simple terms such as our months. Elul is also called “the month of repentance,” “the month of mercy,” and “the month of forgiveness” for it is the month of ‘Pre-pare,’ preparing to repair. We cannot repair the world alone. We need to be in relationship to repair our torn world. We need to find our sacred partner and rejoin in that partnership. That is why I call it re-pairing. The High HolyDays are the shofar blast call to re-pair with each other, with our G, with our 5 level soul.

Repairing with the Wholly One of Being is not easy. It takes preparation. In order to re-pair we need to pre-pare. Elul then, is also the month of pre-paring to re-pair. In Elul we pare away all the covers, all the armor, all the outer skins. After we have pared away, after we have pre-pared, then we are ready to pair again with G and with our inner deepest soul. Pre-paring leaves us open and ready to re-pair.

The four letters of the name Elul are an acronym for the initial letters of the phrase in the Song of Songs (6:3): "I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me." This is our public acknowledgement of our private need to re-pair with the Wholly One of Being. The words help us pre-pare to re-pair with the Source of All Being. "I am to my beloved" we call out in a consummate desire from the חייה (Hayah) soul of longing to turn once again, to re-turn our soul-root to G. “And my beloved is to me” is the faith we have that when we turn again to G, when we re-turn, G is there. When we pare away all of the unbalancing weight of our mis-steps, our mis-guided actions, our mis-takes for the last year; when we pare away the harsh judgments and anger that we feel to others we are ready to re-pair with our “Beloved” with our G.

In "small numbering (this means that we add the numerical value of the letters which equals 67 and then add 6 and 7 to equal 13,) Elul = 13, alluding to the 13 principles of Divine mercy that are revealed in the month of Elul and that is our mantra for returning to spiritual balance. For the month of Elul, we recite during Slihot, the thirteen attributes, the mantra of pre-paring in order to re-pair with The Source of Mercy. For the world cannot be whole again without re-pair. During Elul, we pre-pare in order to re-pair during the new year, 5770.


Letter: yud.

The yud is the first letter of the Tetragrammaton, that tiny little point of beginning.

All created form begins with an essential "point," of energy and life-force, the point of the letter yud. As we ‘pre-pare’ for the beginning of the spiritual year it is most appropriate for us to focus on that point of beginning.

The word yud means “hand” and was originally a pictograph of a hand pointing. Elul is our pointer, our Yad, to the coming year. It is our direction of focus for the future.

Sign: Betulah (Virgo the virgin)

This is the beloved in waiting, the bride to be. In Judaism we are taught that the verse in Song of Songs "I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me" refers to our desire for G and G’s openness to us.

In Hassidut the verse "I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me" refers, in particular, to the service of prayer of the month of Elul.


The Betulah symbolizes as well the "virgin earth," The earth needs a rectification of action from we two-leggeds and that too is the month of Elul.


Sense: action.

The sense of action is the inner "knowledge" that through devoted deeds of goodness one is always able rectify any blemish and remove any broken state of the soul. This is the sense necessary for the spiritual growth and the point at which Elul is aimed. The sense of action is thus the sense never to despair, never to give up, never to stop. This is the "point," the yud (of Elul), of Divine service. Without it we can never begin, for we can never pre-pare.

The sense of action is the inclination to fix a broken object. Our souls are broken, our people are broken, our country is broken, our world is broken. Elul is a call to action a call to pre-pare to re-pair.

Tribe: Gad.

One meaning of the tribe name Gad (pronounced - god) is “camp.” In Genesis 49:19 in Ya’akov’s blessing to his son it is written: “Gad shall create camps and he shall set the camp to follow" (Genesis 49:19). Gad was setting up a rearguard action with his ‘camp.’
The name Gad means as well "good fortune." This "good fortune" is manifest through good deeds. Good deeds that heal our blemishes and beautify our souls.

The ‘good fortune,’ the ‘good deeds’ of Gad in Kabbalah, refers to the thirteen principles of mercy that are represented by the month of Elul.

When we play the Gematria game we find some fun facts. Gad = 7. Gad was the 7th son of Ya’akov. Good fortune is often translated as Mazal as in “Mazal Tov,” “May the Stars be with you.” Mazal = 77. The middle letter of mazal is zayin = 7. If we take the name Gad (Gimel Zayin) which equals 7 and replace the zayin with them we make a new word. That word is Migdal which means "tower.” The verse states: "A tower [migdal = 77] of might [oz = 77] is the Name of G-d, into it shall run the tzadik and become exalted." (Proverbs 18:10) In Kabbalah, the "tower of might" refers to the bride. The Betulah of Elul also refers to the bride. The Jewish people are the bride of G. And Shabbat is also refered to as the bride. The Tzadik here refers to the groom.


Controller: left hand.

For right handers, the Tfilin shel yad is placed on the left hand. The left hand receives the Tfilin from the right. We place it on the left hand to be near the heart. So the good deeds, the healing acts are done heartfully, as it says in the Shma: “And these word/things you will do soulfully, heartfully, fully.

The month of Av

The Hebrew month of Av is the fifth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.

The name Av may have come from Aviv meaning spring. It may have come from the word for father אב or אבא. Since Hebrew is a root language words build out from the center and so the month of Av could also be derived from the root אבה which means "to be willing,” “to surround,” “to embrace.”

This month exemplifies life in that it demonstrates the high and the low and the blending of the two in life. Traditionally the low point on the Jewish calendar is the 9th of Av. We have associated all tragedies in Jewish history with that date. Our sages tell us that on the 9th of Av the sin of the spies and the destruction of both the first and second Temples in Jerusalem occurred. Later Rabbis continued the view associating acts of horror in the Inquisition, and the Holocaust to the 9th of Av. It is not an auspicious time to start something positive such as married life or a business venture. Birth on the other hand has high hopes on that date as we shall discuss further.

But Av also contains a sweet highpoint as well. It contains the Jewish equivalent of the modern Valentine ’s Day, the day of finding one's Bshert one’s soul-mate.

These two dates the 9th and the 15th of Av, the low and the high blend in the teaching of our sages who taught that "the Mashiah will be born on the 9th of Av. We use the imagery of bride and groom in the relationship of Jews and the Mashiah. The Mashiah comes to redeem us to complete us to bring us to spiritual balance just as finding our bride or groom brings us to balance and completes us. After the birth on the 9th of Av the Mashiah will reveal hirself to hir spouse and betroth hir on the 15th of Av.

Letter: tet.

The letter tet, can be thought to resemble a womb. Its number value is 9, corresponding to the 9 months of pregnancy. The 9th of Av is to be the birthday of Mashiah. All these tie in to make the letter tet (the ninth letter of the Alef Bet) to be the letter associated with Av.

Mazal: aryeh (Leo--lion).

The aryeh symbolizes finding spiritual meaning and positive power in the seeming randomness of life. For example: In the words of our sages as found in Yalkut Shimoni, Yermiyahu, 259: “The lion came in the month of the lion and destroyed the lion in order that the lion will come and in the month of the lion and rebuild the lion.” This is a mystical moment of empathy. But to understand this mantra and its meaning, we need to unpack it. "The lion (Nevudchanetzar, who is referred to as a lion in Yermiyahu 4:7) came on the month of the lion (Av) and destroyed the lion (the Temple, more specifically the altar of sacrifice), in order that the lion (referring to G, from the quote in Amos 3:8 'the lion roars, who shall not fear') will come on the month of the lion (Av again) and rebuild the lion (the Temple).

There is a parallel teaching in the Gematria of aryeh. Aryeh = 216 which converts back to gevurah which means power or might. Gevurah is one of the emanations from G on the Sefirotic tree. Gevurah also means discipline, as in the discipline to grow from every experience and to accept that destruction too, is part of growth. Playing the Gematria game again, if you add 216 as 2+1+6 we get 9. The same result as when we add 7+2. When we translate 72 into Hebrew letters we get Hesed which is compassion and loving-kindness, the partner to Gevurah on the Sefirotic tree. Hesed is connected with creation just as its partner and opposite (think Yin Yang), Gevurah is attached to destruction. The Divine power which "builds" all of reality, is Hesed. As it says in Psalm 89:3: "the world is built by Hesed." Thus we find in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1:10) the aryeh appears to the right, the place of Hesed, in the Merkava, Divine Chariot.

Tribe: Shimon.

The name Shimon comes from the word "to hear." The Haet, the missed opportunity of our people to enter the Land of Israel at the time off the spies, on the 9th of Av was because of their speech and our hearing. They spoke fearfully rather than heartfully. We heard fearfully rather than faithfully. Av calls us to listen with more than our ears and speak more deeply than with our tongues.

In Torah, when Moshe blesses every tribe, only Shimon is not blessed. Shimon is the only tribe that Moses did not explicitly bless at the end of the Torah. The Rabbis interpret the reason as having to do with the idolatry that took place at Pe’or. The name Shimon can be divided into the two words which spell sham avon, "there is vanity," for idol worship is “eye-doll” worship the worst form of vanity.


We find another relation of speech to hearing that attaches to Shimon. In the division of the land of Israel to the twelve tribes, Shimon inherited his portion within the larger portion of Yehudah. That happens with no other tribe and therefore stands out as a Remez a key clue for understanding on a deeper level. When we play the Gematria game with the two names Shimon and Yehudah a new clue comes to light: Shimon-466 plus Yehudah-30 = 496 which is malchut or kingdom.

Yehudah corresponds to the month of Nisan. As we have seen before, Nisan is connected to the sense of speech. Shimon corresponds to the month of Av. Shimon is related to Yehudah and Nisan is related to Av through one interpretation of the meaning of Av. The word Av is found in Aviv which means spring and is the name in Torah for the month of Nissan).

There is a powerful lesson here. In both hearing and speaking wonders are wrought and destruction drawn forth


Sense: hearing.

"To hear" in Hebrew means "to understand," “to bring it to heart.” To hear another is to hear with our hearts hir dilemma and empathize with hir. Hearing is receiving which is the literal meaning of the word Kabbalah.

In the beginning of Isaiah (read on the Shabbat before the 9th of Av), it says: "if you are willing (tovu , from the root Av) and hear (the sense of Av), you shall share in the goodness of the land." Empathy then, is the key to sharing the goodness of life with others on this planet. And empathy begins with the ability to hear the voice of the other..

The sense of hearing also represents the sense of inner balance. Imbalance leads to the fall, it is the source of our own destruction. When we truly hear and discern truth flows and falseness fades, as it says in Job 12:11 and 34:3: "the ear discerns words" ozen malin tivchan and the acronym formed by these words is “emet,” “truth.”

Controlling limb: left kidney.

Ok, this is a ‘tuffy’

Kabbalists tell us that the two kidneys are the "male" and "female" advisors of the soul. The right kidney advises how to balance one's character through the process of careful introspection. The left kidney advises how to absorb truth into one's consciousness.

The word for kidney, kulyah, comes from kol, “all.” Kol = 50. The last two letters form the first two letters of G’s name, “The voice of G!” It is something to think about when the kidneys call us to action.

Tamuzing in the Kabbalah

The Month of Tamuz














An interpretation influenced by the Kabbalistic teachings of Sefer Yetzirah

Tamuz is the fourth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.

Tamuz begins the summer season. The three months of this season, Tamuz, Av and Elul, correspond to the three tribes Reuben, Simeon and Gad who were situated on the south side of the Ohel Mo’ed (the Tent of Sacred Meeting).

According to tradition, Tamuz is the month of the misstep of the golden calf, which resulted in Moshe breaking the Tablets that some call the ‘10 commandments’. The 17th of Tamuz, which is given as the date of that infidelity, marks the beginning of the three week period of mourning (ending on the 9th of Av) destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

This is also the month in which the spies sent by Moses traveled through the land of Israel to see it and report to the people. They returned, we are taught, on the eve of the 9th of Av.

Letter: Het.

The form of the letter Het in Torah script is made up of the two previous letters of the Alef Bet, the Vahv and the Zayin connected from above by a thin angled line (^) a bridge joining the two letters into one. The sense associated with Tammuz is sight. In relationship to this, the form of the Het represents the dynamic of incoming light to the eye, which is how we see and the emanation of spiritual light from the eye. We have all observed people who have ‘an intense gaze’. We have met people with some ineffable quality that we see in their eyes. This is the Vahv the spirit light emanating. And our eyes, in the process of observing is represented by the Zayin.

The word Tamuz can be separated into the first two letters which spell "tam" meaning ‘completed (or connected)’ and the last two letters, vahv and zayin which together form the letter Het. Tamuz then is the joining of incoming light and outgoing light. The seeing which is a physical function and the spreading of light, whose source is the spirit. Het is also the first letter of Haet which means sin, or more accurately, missing the mark. Tammuz marks the beginning of a time of many mistakes, missteps, missed marks and missed opportunities, including the Golden Calf and the fearful, faithless report of the spies. Indeed, the Rabbis of old have taught that the destruction of the Temple was due to another Haet, the unjust way that Jews treated Jews. And tradition has dumped all of these moments into the month of Tamuz.

Mazal: Sartan (Cancer, the crab).

One of the meanings of the root of Sartan is seret; a ribbon or "strip," and in Modern Hebrew, a movie or film strip.

One spiritual understanding of the sense of sight which Tamuz represents is the ability to "see through" the mundane everyday aspects of reality and to behold a deeper spiritual reality. In accordance with this thought, the word sartan can be seen as being composed of two words; ‘sar’ and ‘tan’ which can be read as: "remove the mud". We clean away the mud, clear the surface and discover a deeper reality, a divine reality. Hidden in our deepest sadness, our worst failures are the seeds of our spiritual growth, if only we can see through the tears and behold and grab hold of the spiritual opportunity within.

Tribe: Reuben.

The name Reuben can be separated into Reu and ben or “see what is worthy," and that is the deeper meaning of the month of Tamuz. This month of tragedy, of tragic mistakes of judgment, jars our reality and challenges us to see what is truly worthy.

Sense: sight.

Moshe points to that deeper seeing that is available to us. When he quotes G as saying: (Deuteronomy 11:26): "See, I give before you today blessing and curse; and again (Deuteronomy 30:15-19): "See, I have put before you today life and good, and death and evil... chose life." Moshe is offering us a discerning vision of our own seeing. In order to see truly, we have to look deeper than the surface dimension of reality and focus upon reality's profound essence. As written above Tamuz offers a deeper vision, a more meaningful sight than that which lies upon the surface.


Controller: right hand

The right hand, in general, and the index finger, in particular, serves as a pointer, a director of one's eyesight. When reading the Torah scroll, it is a custom to point at every word with a pointer, called a yad (literally ‘hand’).

In traditional Jewish weddings the ring is on the index finger of the bride's right hand. This is an act of focus, a pointer for truly seeing, for seeing truly. It elevates the moment and the couple to the level of looking deeply within. It is the intense expression of love shared by the deep seeing, the never ceasing gaze of the eyes from one to the other; "your eyes are as doves," (Song of Songs 5:12).

But lest we forget, the hand pointing should not be the focus of our attention. The pointer points. The pointer points to the deeper realities of life and the heights of existence. But if we focus on the pointer we will miss all of that heavenly glory.

Sivan, the magic seven, finding the path.

The Month of Sivan

Sivan is the third of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar. The month of the giving of the Torah to Israel.

Letter: zayin.

Sivan is the third month of the year. 3 is a powerful number. It is a number representing balance, for to make something stand we need 3 points on the ground (a tripod). G gave the tripod of Torah, Neviem, and Ketuvim to a tripod of tribes, Kohanim, Leviim and Yisraelim in the third month, Sivan by three leaders Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam." And yet the number most associated with Sivan, because it is the most found in Torah is the number 7 or Zayin.

The Torah was given on Shabbat, the seventh day of the week. According to Rabbi Yosi, the Torah was given on the seventh day of Sivan. Zivebulun, the tribe of Sivan, begins with the letter zayin.

There are many traditional identifications with zayin. The sages identify the zayin with the word zeh (‘this’), signifying "the transparent plane", that unique level of prophesy given to Moshe, as it says, Moshe saw G “face to face!” (Deut. 34:10) My translation would be that “Moshe got a hit of G’s essence.” Oh and by the way, according to tradition, Moshe was born and passed away on the seventh of Adar which is the 12th month of the year. Zayin + Hey (the word ‘Zeh’, ‘this’) = 12.

The Torah-portions of the month of Sivan are from the beginning of the Book of BaMidbar (Numbers) which means “In the wilderness.” In the third Parsha or portion of BaMidbar, B’Ha'alotcha, there is a very strange occurrence. There are 2 verses which is separated from the Torah text that precedes it and that follows it by two "upside-down nuns" (Bamidbar 10:35, 36). Our sages taught that the purpose of the Nuns (the letter not the women in black habits) was to divide the Torah into seven books, instead of five. The proof text used is from Proverbs, regarding wisdom: "She carved her pillars seven." (Proverbs 9:1). If we take the 7 of this drash and 5 for the normally counted books of Torah we find zayin (7) and hei (5) which spell zeh, that unique level of prophesy that Moshe attained.

Even the shape has power for us. The shape of the letter zayin is a vav with a crown on top. This could play out as 6 days of creation for the vav and the crown being Shabbat. Or, to play the Gematria game, the number of letters in the Asert HaDibrot (called The Ten Commandments) is 620 which = keter, "crown."

Mazal: teomim (Gemini--twins).

The twins refer to the “Two table of the covenant" as we sing in Seders, referring again to the Asert HaDibrot (Ten commandments).

That moment at Sinai when we accepted the covenant is a symbolic wedding between the Jewish people and G. The giving of the Torah to Israel like the Ketubah, the wedding contract. In the Song of Songs (5:2), the highest level of marriage is referred to as bride and groom being identical twins (tamati, which our sages read teomati).

The archetypal twins of the Torah are, Jacob and Esau. These twins opposites, the Yin and Yang of brothers. Jacob represents the Yetzer HaTov the creative positive while Esau represents the Yetzer HaRah the creative negative. We are commanded to love G-d "with all of your heart" and the word heart is written with 2 vets instead of one. The Rabbis interpreted that to mean with both creative aspects of our heart. In the two tables of the covenant, one side addresses the relationship between the human and G and the other relates to societal laws, again the Yin and Yang of life.

Tribe: Zevulun.

Zevulun is commonly pictured as the "worldly one," who supports the Torah study of his scholarly brother, Isaachar. In Kabbalah cause is said to have a higher power than effect. The Arizal explains therefore, that the origin of the soul of Zevulun is in Keter (the highest emanation or above the emanations), and the soul of Isaachar, is in Hochmah below it.

Sense: walking (progress, dynamic).

Here, "walking" means the sense of continuous, ongoing progress. The word Halacha is usually translated as law but in reality it comes from the word for walking and means “the path,” or “the way to go.” Our sages interpret the verse: "the walkings of the world are to Him" (Habakuk 6:4), that he who studies halacha daily will surely merit the world to come. We might put it differently, the person who carefully examines his path will find that it leads to the heights in the world to come.


Controller: left foot.

With regard to any pair of "right" and "left," according to Jewish tradition, the "right" is relatively "spiritual" while the "left" is relatively "physical." In the words of the Lubavither Rebbe in a work called Bati L’Gani (the title comes from a quote from Song of Songs: (I entered my garden”) "He stretched out His right hand and created the heavens and stretched out His left hand and created the earth." So the left foot refers to the physical act of feet which is walking.

Winnie the Pooh's favorite mystical month 'Iyar!'

The Month of Iyar


"Iyar" is the second of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar. In the Bible, the month of Iyar is called the month of "Ziv" (radiance). Iyar comes from the word for light and in the Jastrow dictionary we find Ziv and Iyar snuggling together in meaning. Iyar can also float up as an acronym for "I am G your Healer" (Exodus 15:26). So this is a good time to take our annual physical. And while we are at it, we should probably take a spiritual as well.

Letter: "Vav."

"Vav" in Hebrew grammar is a link. It can mean ‘and’ or ‘but’. Iyar is like the vav, it is a link in the chain of months. The month before is Nisan the time of our escape from the narrow minded, narrow spirited slavery that Egypts represents. Sivan is the month after Iyar, and it represents the offer of the sacred guide to freedom through Shavuot the time of the giving of the Torah. For freedom is not simply the absence of slavery, it is also the nobility of purpose. The link in the chain, which is Iyar, is punctuated by the counting of the Omer which begins in Nisan continues through the entire month of Iyar and ends during Sivan.

Mazal: "Shor" (Taurus-ox).

The "shor" (the left face of the Divine Chariot in Yehezkel’s vision) represents the "animal soul" of the Jew. The month of Iyar is the offering, the opportunity to realize, rectify and reunite our animal aspect with the other aspects of our soul by refining and restoring our innate character traits (see our blog on Omer) as we prepare to receive the gift of the guide, the teachings of Torah in Sivan. In Hebrew, "shor" also means to look or observe. Iyar is our time for looking inward.

Tribe: Yisachar.

According to tradition, Yisachar is the scholarly tribe of Israel. I imagine them all wearing glasses stoop shouldered and probably talking too much. Tradition teaches that the Sanhedren was mostly composed of scholars from the tribe of Yisachar. It is also taught that man Yisachar was a person of meditation and good council. It is said that he served as the "advisor" to the tribes of Israel.

Sense: Thought in the sense of introspection and calculation

The word Heshbon means accounting, or a bill. In a restaurant, after a meal they make a Heshbon and we pay that Heshbon. The sense attached to Iyar is an introspective calculation. And the word for that in Hebrew, again, is Heshbon. It comes from HShV, meaning to think. But it goes deeper. It is to look in and make an accounting of our spiritual life. The counting of the Omer is a guide to looking inward, making the accounting, and paying our spiritual bills. Sighting in on our soul is called insight. Making a deep accounting of our soul strength and where we need to be, is called Heshbon HaNefesh. What is the bill that must be paid for our lack of inner work.

Controller: Right kidney.

Believe it or not our sages taught that we should “take the kidney’s advice." The kidneys are where we find the "conscience," as it is written "by night my kidneys chastise me" (Tehillim 16:7) They meant something deeper than bladder trouble. This is part of the “Hesbon HaNefesh". This is simply a spiritual ‘check in’. During the counting of the Omer set aside a little time every day for 49 days and do a quick check in with the soul engine seeing if the conscience has been sullied, if there are any holy hurdles to be overcome and any flushing out that needs to be done.

The merry, mystical month of Nisan

The Month of Nisan as seen through the mystic eye


Nisan is the first of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar. "This month [the month of Nisan] shall be for you the first of the months" (Exodus 12:2).

The month of Nisan begins, the spring season. Traditionally the three months of Nisan, Iyar, and Sivan are considered the spring months. This is probably due to the fact that they include the 2 harvest festivals or Hagim of Pesah and Shavuot tied together by the string of Omer counting which begins on the second day of Pesah and culminates on Shavuot. Tradition says that these months are attached to the three tribes of the camp of Judah which are Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. They encamped on the eastern side of the Ohel Mo’ed. In the Torah, Deut. 16.1, Nisan is referred to as "the spring month" (Hodesh Ha'Aviv).

Nisan is "the month of the redemption." Talmud teaches: "In Nisan our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt and in Nisan we will be redeemed" (Tractate Rosh Hashanah 11a). And thus the major holiday during Nisan, in the middle of Nisan, is Pesah.

Name: Nisan

The name Nisan comes from the word Nes meaning miracle. Pesah falls within Nisan and is filled with nissim, miracles. Nisan is the month of nissim.

Letter: Hay.

Our sages teach us that "with the letter ‘hay’ G created this world," (Talmud, Menachot 49b). Nisan is the New Year for the world, the new year of creation. The letter Hay is a breath letter. To pronounce the Hay simply breathe out from your mouth. As G breathed life into Adam and Havah, so too was all of creation birthed with a breath. The exhale of G is the inhale of the universe. As we are partners in creation, when we breathe out, we are breathing into the universe. Our connection to creation, our connection to time and space is as primordial and as powerful as a breath.

Mazal: taleh (Aries the lamb/ram).

The taleh reminds us of the Pesah sacrifice and the first supper (as it were) before we stormed out of Egypt. The evening before we began the march out of Egypt we had a special meal of lamb and Matzah. The ram of Nisan is the wake up call to get going but to move compassionately. When one hears the bleating of sheep, the sound has the power to reach in and excite the Sefirah of Hesed, of compassion. The call of Pesah the holiday of nissim, of miracles, the holiday of Nisan, is the call to move compassionately in our world.

Tribe: Judah.

Judah is the king (first among equals). His name (he was the fourth son of Jacob) means ‘to give thanks,’ which is appropriate for the month of Nisan. The king rules his people with his words, as it is said "for the word of the king is his rule." The month of Nisan is not only the New Year of the world it is "the new year for kings" (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1). We, who live on this planet, live as kings and queens. We mine and build and transform. But our planet will soon revolt against us if we do not renew our relationship as compassionate caregivers rather than ruthless despots.

Sense: Speech, the telling.

The sense of speech is the ability to communication. This world (created by the letter hay of Nisan) was created by words as we read so often in the story of creation; “VaYomer” “and G said!”

Pesah, the Nisan holiday, is the holiday of telling and retelling. It is the holiday of the “Tell Tale Heart.” The Mitzvah is to tell the story heartfully. As it is written in our Haggadah "the more one tells of the Exodus from Egypt, the more is he praiseworthy." The heartful telling of the tale is the most powerful Mitzvah (of speech) of any holiday. We refer to the telling as ‘magid’ and it is the fifth of fifteen steps in the Seder and the longest. Remember the letter that goes with Nisan is hay which has the numerical value of 5. The first word in the 5th step begins with Hay, “Ha Lahma Anyah,” which some translate as “this is the bread of affliction.” But it could also mean; “this bread contains answers.” That breath letter, the 5th letter, begins creation, begins the telling of the story of the universe and the story of a people leaving the narrow confines and entering a wilderness of experience and spirit.

The redemption from Egypt can symbolize "freedom of speech." Slaves don’t even have the right to speak for themselves. Egypt was the silent pain of narrowness. The Midbar, the wilderness was the place of words that open up worlds. Indeed Midbar means, not only wilderness but also speech.

Controller: right foot.

In Judges we hear "walkers on the way, speak". Torah is our sacred guide. Talking Torah leads to walking Torah, that is living Torah. Mysteries are revealed. The Shema says that we should talk Torah when we are at home and as we walk on the way. Nisan comes to remind us not just to talk the talk but also to walk the walk.

Be Happy, its Adar

The Month of Adar

According to Sefer Yetzirah, each month of the Jewish year has attributes that correspond to
• a letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
• a zodiac sign,
• one of the twelve tribes of Israel,
• a sense, and
• a part of the body that correspond to it.

Adar is the twelfth month of the Jewish calendar.

Adar is the month of good fortune. There is a saying: Mishenichnas Adar marbim besimcha. “When Adar enters, our joy increases” (Ta'anit 29a).

The only holiday in Adar (excluding, of course, Shabbat) is Purim. The name of the holiday has to do with how Haman decided the day on which he would slaughter the Jews. And every year we celebrate the turning of the tables on the hatred and ego and evil the Haman represents. We increase joy. "When Adar enters we increase in joy." We end the Jewish year in joy. We begin the Jewish year in joy. Pesah, the first holiday of the year celebrates freedom and rebirth and abundance. Purim celebrates relief and release from fear and xenophobia. And in our joy we put moderation aside and don the giddy excess of oppression ended. "Joy breaks through all barriers." The joyous time at the end of the year is wedged into the beginning of the next year.

Letter: kuf.

There is a disagreement regarding the origin of the letter Kuf. Some say that, as the name implies it was a picture of a monkey. Others say that the picture was of a face. I wonder if that was why my father’s nickname for me was ‘monkey face’. I am sure that he was blessing me that I should live for 100 years for Kuf has the numerical value of one hundred. Or maybe he used it as a humorous form of endearment. Kuf becomes the symbol of laughter in the month of Adar. In accordance with the idiom "as a monkey in the face of man," the kuf also symbolizes masquerade. And on Purim we hide behind masks and we are not alone. In the Purim story of Megilat Esther, we do not find G mentioned even once. G hides in the story of Purim requiring us to seek G. In this cosmic game of hide and seek we grow from the game. On Purim we reach a higher level as we seek the existential hiddeness of G in our lives.

Mazal: dagim (Pisces-fish).

There is a story told of Rabbi Akiba who was teaching Torah in direct defiance of the Roman rulers. When approached by one Papus Ben Yehuda and criticized him, Rabbi Akiba responded: “I will give you a parable: A fox was once walking alongside a river in which fish were frantically scurrying from one place to another. When he asked them for the cause of their flight they explained that they were escaping fishermen who were trying to catch and kill them. The fox suggested that they would be safe from danger if they joined him in his den. To which the fish replied: ‘If we are so endangered in our natural habitat, what chance would we have outside our natural space!?!?!’

“We Jews,” concluded Rabbi Akiva, “are like the fish in the story, for Torah is to us what water is to the fish. If while we are learning Torah, of which it is written; ‘It is your life and length of days,’ we are in danger, what chance do we have for survival if we abandon it?”

Tribe: Naftali.

In Kabbalah, the name Naftali is read (as two words): nofet li, "sweetness to me." The mitzvah on Purim is to reach a high level of joy as our sages have said (and been misinterpreted by so many): "one is obligated on Purim to become ‘sweet’, until he is unable to tell the difference between the words; 'cursed be Haman' and 'blessed be Mordechai.'" In Gematria those two phrases each equal 502. In the days of Mashiah, evil will fall away and the concept of differentiation between good and evil will lose all meaning. Life will be simple and sweet.

Sense: laughter (tzchok).

Laughter is the best medicine we are taught. Sarah was barren for ninety years. When she is informed that she will give birth, she laughs. The word for being fruitful, as in ‘be fruitful and multiply’ is Pru a metathesis of Pur the singular of Purim. Purim is a time for us to become pregnant with laughter and joy.

Part of the body: spleen (techol).

Our sages have written; "the spleen laughs." A paradox at best since for millennia the spleen was considered the seat of the ‘black humor,’ the source of depression and despair. We could simply say that ‘black humor’ refers to the types of jokes that we share on Purim. And to that end "black humor" in Hebrew is "marah shechorah". Metahesize the letters and it spells "hirhur sameach" "a happy thought!" And maybe that is the great lesson of Purim. We turn a frown upside down.

The Meaning of the month of Shevat and the Mystery of Tu B'Shvat

The Meaning behind the Name

Shvat is the eleventh of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar. We often refer to Tishrei as Rosh HaShanah, the head of the year, the New Year. However, it is not the first month on our calendar, as it is in other calendars. The first month in the Hebrew calendar is the spring month of Nisan, when Pesah appears.

The fifteenth day of Shvat, Tu B'Shvat is called the "New Year of Trees." The "New Year of Trees" is the day from which the new year was reckoned (and still is in Israel) for the fruit of the trees with regard to the mitzvah of 'ma'aser' the tithe or tax that was given to the Temple, the government and the poor.

Traditionally, we celebrate Tu B'Shvat (the 15th of Shevat) eating fruit, especially of the seven species which grow in the land of Israel is blessed.

The 15th day of the 11th month alludes to G's ineffable Name: Yod and Hey and Vahv and another Hey. The first two letters, Yod and Hey are often referred to as the upper level (also called the hidden level), the Heavenly Realm, and equal 15. The last two letters, Vahv and Hey refer to the lower level or revealed level, the Earthly Realm, and equal 11.

Tu B'Shvat is the 15th day of the 11th month. The unification of the two is one of the secrets of Kabbalah and Tu B'Shvat represents the mystical time to renew our commitment to "living heavenly days on earth."

The mystical view of the Tree of Life is that of uniting heaven and earth. The four letter name of G, also called the Tetragrammaton, is associated with the mystical view of the "Tree of Life," and so is associated with the month of Shvat. Shvat therefore is the month of unification of the upper and lower realm. Put differently, this month represents, in Kabbalah, the opportunity of bringing heaven and earth together.

The Letter for this month is Tzadi.

The letter Tzadi represents the word Tzadik which means righteous one. Tradition teaches us that there are 36 anonymous, perfectly righteous people in the world and through them the balance of the world is maintained.

The shape of the final Tzadi (ץ) can be seen as a tree.

In the Torah, the human is called Etz HaSadeh ("the tree of the field"). The gematria of Etz HaSadeh is 474 which is also the numerical value of Da'at, which means knowledge and is part of the 10 Sefirot (or the hidden 11th sefira, depending on one's view). It refers to a knowledge that can be shared with others. After the spiritual 'hit' of Hochmah, that 'aha' moment of awareness and the Binah, the mindful understanding of that moment, comes Da'at, the ability to share the knowledge. This is the power of human "sacred inter-connection," which, in Hebrew is 'Mitzvah.'

The month of Shevat is the month of sacred inter-connection.

The Mazal (zodiac sign) for the month is Aquarius, the water bearer.

In Israel, around this time, the first buds begin to see light. The rain has brought life to the earth and the water nourishes the roots of the tree. The buds just begin to appear. What greater sign of hope could be found in nature?

The Ba'al Shem Tov said that when one meets a water-carrier carrying pitchers full of water, it is a sign of blessing. Symbolically, a Tzadik is a water carrier. S/he is the one who waters our parched souls.

In Amos (5:24) we read, "let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." According to the Rabbis of old, water refers to Torah. There is a famous Drash (expounding) in Talmud (Baba Kamma 17a) that states "Aine mayim elah Torah" which basically calls us to interpret the term "water" as Torah.

Therefore the month of Shvat calls us to return to the study of Torah so that we may bud anew. The eating of the fruits of Shvat is symbolic of munching the sweet fruits of Torah.

The Tribe assigned to this month is Asher.

The name "Asher" means 'pleasure' and 'joy.' Asher represents the joy of learning the joy of diving into the waters of Torah.

Asher personifies the olive tree. Olives were more than food in ancient Israel. They were also the source of light and sacred light. Oil was used in lamps and most especially in the sacred Menorah of the Temple. The story of the miracle of the oil at Hanukah refers to olive oil which was, according to tradition, Asher's portion in the land of Israel. In addition, anyone anointed for leadership as king, priest, prophet or warrior was anointed with olive oil. The word for anointed is 'Mashiah'. Of the seven species of the land of Israel, the olive is the sixth.

The sixth Sefirah in Kabbalah is Yesod, the foundation for all action. Tzedaka or right action is the foundation of the world. The Tzadik righteousness is the Yesod, the foundation for right action. Olive oil represents the Tzadik who waters us with Torah as we bud in the betterment of this world.

The Sense attributed to this month is eating, taste ('achilah,' 'ta'am').

The sense of eating can be viewed on a higher level as Tzedaka, right action. When the very act of sustaining the body is elevated in a soulful manner, the action is a form of Tzedaka. In Talmud the Rabbis wrote: "The Tzadik eats to satisfy his soul."

The meaning of the month of Kislev

The Month of Kislev
(References include Sefer Yetzirah, Torah, Talmud and the teachings of our Rabbis and my own interpretations.)


Kislev is the ninth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.

Kislev is the month of Hanukah, called the festival of lights.

The name Kislev derives from the Hebrew word for "security" and "trust." Both are found in the month of Kislev. Kislev is the Yin and Yang, the Netzah and Hod of doing and being. Hanukah reflects the active, in the war of liberation led by the Hashmonaim (Maacabees). This small group of guerilla warriors stood up to the mightiest nation of the time, Greece. They did not fight for independence; they did not fight to avoid the tribute demanded by the Greeks. They fought for religious freedom. Unlike the terrorists who struck in Mumbai, who fight to inflict their perverted views on others, the Hashmonaim fought only for the right to worship in our own way.

But Kislev is also a month of rest. It is the month in which the days are shortest and the nights are longest and there is a sense of sleep. In much of the USA the earth rests under a blanket of snow. Good rest reflects an intrinsic trust, trust in HaShem. Our morning blessings begin with the words “Thanks (G) for returning my soul!” We wake with a gentle acknowledgement of the trust that allows us to drift into soulful rest.


The letter which symbolizes this month is the sameh. The name Sameh means "to support." When we sleep we feel G’s support. As the pillow supports our head, our faith in G supports our soul. Support requires trust, the essence of the month of Kislev. As it is written in Thilim, Psalms: "G supports (someh) all the fallen and raises the bent over;" "Even when he falls he will not be allowed to fall to the ground, for G will support (yismoh) his hand." It is also related to the word for the ordination of a Rabbi (Smihah).

The shape of the sameh is a circle, which represents the all-encompassing omnipresence of G. The circle is sanctity without end. Our Tzitzit and Tallit have four fringy corners. They symbolize the edges of sanctity. Our tradition suggests that even G wears a Tallit and we cling to the Tzitzit, we cling to the edges of sanctity. The circle is sanctity without corners, without end. The all of the circle represents the all of G. And yet the Sameh is not a perfect circle. There is a tiny tail that stands to the side. Even in G’s completeness, there is room for us to cling to G’s Tzitzit. This is our trust, our security, our ability to cling to faith in the most trying of times.


The astrological sign or Mazal is the "keshet" (Sagittarius--bow). The bow has its double meaning, its own Yin and Yang, Netzah and Hod. On the one hand it is the bow of war, the bow of the fight for freedom characterized by the Maccabees. On the other hand the word Keshet (bow) refers to the rainbow, the first and most visible sign of peace and promise.

We can make a further connection with the Bow. The ‘art of the bow’ is ascribed to the tribe of Benjamin which is attached to the month of Kislev. The Hashmonaem were of the tribe of Levi, the tribe without land holdings. They were the keepers of the Temple; they were the keepers of ritual. Rituals from their time resonate through our modern services. The Temple in which they served was located in Jerusalem which is located within the borders of the tribe of Benjamin, the bowman.

The two bows (semi-circles), the bow of war and the bow of peace unite together to form the complete circle of the sameh of sanctity, the Sameh of Kislev.

The tribe ascribed to Kislev is Benjamin. As mentioned above, Benjamin is the tribe most gifted with the "art" of the bow. In the land given to Benjamin is the Temple in Jerusalem. The blessing of Moses to Benjamin in the end of Torah: "To Benjamin he said: the beloved of G-d, He shall dwell in trust over him, He hovers over him all the day, and between his shoulders He rests" (Deuteronomy 33:12). Here we see that Benjamin symbolizes both trust and rest, the sense of the month of Kislev.


The sense attributed to Kislev is sleep (sheina). Kislev is the month in which the shortest days and longest nights occur. It is not unreasonable therefore that the sense attributed would be sleep. The sense of sleep is the tranquility and restfulness that comes with the security that comes from faith. It is written in the blessings at the end of Leviticus (26:5-6): "And you shall dwell securely in your land. And I shall give peace in the land, and you shall lie down without fear...." This is the dream and hope that we carry even in the darkest of months, the darkest of times.

According to Kyudo, the ancient Japanese art of Zen Archery, the very talent to connect archer, bow, arrow, flight and target depends upon a most tranquil inner spirit. A tranquil spirit is one that releases inner tumult and turmoil before releasing the arrow. The sense of sleep entails the ability to release stress, and the best release of stress is trust and faith.

When one releases the tensions of the material world in trust, good dreams follow. Good dreams at night reflect good thoughts throughout the day, especially the optimistic attitude and consciousness, reflected in the maxim found in Hassidut and in so many like minded, hope filled, faith paths: "Think good, it will be good."

The body part that is related to Kislev is the belly (keiva). Keiva means "belly" in a general sense. It refers to that region of the body, similar to the Japanese Hara or center, where the power of Ki is found. In Kabbalah, this reflects the Yesod. For some the Yesod refers to male genitals or the womb. I find more meaning in the idea that this is our center and centering tool. Again when we find our center, we find rest.

The word keiva derives from kav, which means "measure." A tranquil belly is one who knows its proper measure. By centering, by finding our ‘measure’ we find an inner peace, the tranquility and security of connectedness.

In the Torah portions read during the month of Kislev, we find most of the dreams mentioned in the entire Torah. Throughout the five books of the Torah, we find ten explicit dreams and all in the Book of Genesis. The first dream is that of Avimelech, King of Gerar and it appears in the Torah portion of Vayeira, read in the month of Heshvan. The other nine dreams appear in the Torah portions of Vayeitzei, Vayeishev, and Mikeitz, all read during the month of Kislev. This might be a power point for us. Maybe during the month of Kislev we might journal our dream journeys and reflect upon them, shed some light as it were.

Each month is also assigned a gemstone. That is the stone from the Hoshen Mishpat the breastplate of the Kohanim that included one gemstone for each of the twelve tribes. Kislev’s stone is the amethyst (ahlama in Hebrew). The Radak sees the word Halam or dream as the root of Ahlama. This month is about secure rest, peaceful dreams and deep insight.


Mental and Physical Health are a part of rest and security and so are attached to the month of Kislev. Turn the Hebrew root halam and it becomes hahlama, or general "health" (meaning both mental and physical) as well as "recovery". In thanking God after being sick and recovering, King Hizkiyahu prays (Isaiah 38:16), "restore me (from the root halam) and make me live." Some compare the dream to sweat. In each case there is a process of recovery. The dream brings from the unconscious to the conscious. Sweat brings from inside the body to the outside. Each can be viewed as a part of the process of recovery. The physical sweat signals the beginning of recovery from an illness. The spiritual dream signals something deep inside that needs to be recovered, revealed and, perhaps healed.

The holiday found in Kislev is Hanukah, the festival of lights. May this Hanukah bring healing to our spirit, good dreams of hope to our souls and deeds that will bring rest and security to a troubled world.