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Cheshvan: Connecting
to
the
Infinite
For more about
Cheshvan, see Holding on to the Inspiration.
Cheshvan
is
unique
because
it is
the
only
month
in the
Jewish
calendar
that
does
not
have a
holiday
or
special
mitzvah
associated
with
it. Yet
its
apparent
emptiness
is
deceiving.
The
Power
of
Eight
Cheshvan
is the
eighth
month
of the
year,
and in
the
Jewish
tradition
"8"
symbolizes
the
power
of the
soul to
transcend
physical
reality
and
become
linked
to the
Infinite
One.
This
aspect
of
"8"
is
reflected
in the
ritual
of
circumcision
and the
holiday
of
Chanukah.
Circumcision
takes
place
on the
eighth
day
from
birth
because
circumcision
marks
the
newborn's
entry
into
the
eternal
Covenant
made
between
God and
the
Jewish
people.
Circumcision
is a
reminder
that
even
though
we live
in a
material
world
with
many
attractions
and
distractions,
our
true
goal in
life is
to
channel
our
powers
and
passions
for the
good so
that we
can
become
closer
to God.
The
eight-day
holiday
of
Chanukah
represents
the
triumph
of
Jewish
belief
over
Hellenism
- a
system
of
thought
which
still
influences
the
world.
The
Greeks
believed
that
once
God set
up the
universe,
so to
speak,
He left
it to
run
according
to
mechanical,
natural
laws.
The
Jews,
on the
other
hand,
know
that
God is
not
only
the
Creator
of the
universe,
but He
is also
actively
involved
in
every
aspect
of His
Creation.
Even
though
the
world
appears
to run
by
itself
like
clockwork,
it
couldn't
last
for a
minute
without
Divine
Providence.
During
the
time of
Mashiach,
when
God's
guiding
presence
will be
revealed
to all,
Cheshvan
- the
eighth
month -
will
finally
receive
its
holiday,
for the
Third
Temple
(may it
be
rebuilt
speedily
and
within
our
days)
will be
inaugurated
during
this
month.
Rain
is a
Blessing
Cheshvan
is
often
referred
to as
Mar-cheshvan.
The
Hebrew
word
"mar"
has two
meanings:
bitter
and a
drop of
water.
Cheshvan
is
"bitter"
because
there
are no
holidays
to
"sweeten"
it. It
is the
month
associated
with
water
because
this is
the
month
when
the
rains
of the
Flood
began
to fall
(on the
17th
of the
month)
and
even
today
it
marks
the
beginning
of the
rainy
season
in the
Land of
Israel.
In
Israel,
we
begin
to pray
for
rain on
the 7th
of
Cheshvan. In
the
Diaspora,
Jews
begin
to say veten
tal
umatar
l'vracha
("and
give
dew and
rain
for a
blessing")
on
either
the 4th
or 5th
of
December.
We
continue
to pray
for
rain
during
the Shemoneh
Esrei prayer
until
Erev
Pesach.
The
Sages
chose
the 7th
of
Cheshvan
to
begin
the
prayer
for
rain
because
by this
date
the
last of
the
pilgrims
who had
come to
the
Temple
in
Jerusalem
for the
holiday
of
Sukkot
had
already
returned
home
and
would
not be
inconvenienced
by the
muddy
roads.
The
7th
of
Cheshvan,
therefore,
can be
seen as
a time
of
spiritual
"descent."
We are
no
longer
intensely
involved
with
the
many
mitzvot
associated
with
Rosh
Hashanah,
Yom
Kippur
and
Sukkot
-
mitzvot
that
bring
us
closer
to God
- and
are
instead
concerned
with
the
more
mundane
worries
of
making
a
living.
However,
Chassidut
sees in
this
date a
potential
for a
very
great
"ascent."
God
wishes
to have
a
"dwelling
place"
in this
physical
world
and so
when we
imbue
all of
our
activities
with
holiness
we
create
this
dwelling
place
all
year
round.
Rain
is one
such
"mundane
activity"
that
can be
imbued
with
this
holiness.
Plentiful
annual
rainfalls
are
crucial
for the
Land of
Israel
since
the
country
lacks
the
deep
lakes
that
can
store
up rain
water
for use
during
dry
years.
But
despite
the
obvious
need
for
rain,
even in
Israel
a
person's
attitude
to it
can
either
be a
"descent"
or an
"ascent."
Adherents
of the
Hellenistic/mechanistic
way of
thought
would
say
that
Israel's
rainfall
is a
result
of
natural
forces.
When
the
weather
patterns
are
right,
it
rains;
when
they
aren't,
it
doesn't.
The
Torah,
however,
says
otherwise:
For
the
land
that
you go
in to
possess
is not
like
the
land of
Egypt,
from
where
you
came
out,
where
you did
sow
your
seed
and
water
it with
your
foot
like a
garden
of
herbs.
But the
land
that
you go
in to
possess
is a
land of
hills
and
valleys,
which
drink
water
as the
rains
of
heaven
come
down.
It is a
land
that
the
Lord
your
God
cares
for;
the
eyes of
the
Lord
your
God are
always
upon
it,
from
the
beginning
of the
year
even
until
the end
of the
year
(Deuteronomy,
11:10-12).
Accordingly,
the
Sages
of the
Talmud
say
that
rain is
an act
of
chessed
(kindness)
on
God's
part.
When
the
rains
come at
the
proper
time
everything
is
blessed,
and the
Talmud
alerts
us to
be
aware
of the
magnitude
of this
blessing
(Ta'anit
7,8):
- A
day
when
rain
falls
is
as
great
as
the
day
when
the
Torah
was
given.
- A
day
when
rain
falls
is
as
great
as
the
day
when
heaven
and
earth
were
created.
- Great
is
the
day
of
rain
for
even
a
small
coin
in
one's
pocket
is
blessed
by
it…
Although
rain
is
given
as an
act
of
chessed
and
not
because
of
human
merit,
when
people
do
not
deal
honestly
with
one
another
the
rains
cease,
as
the
Sages
say:
- The
rains
are
withheld
only
because
of
the
sin
of
theft…
- The
rains
are
withheld
only
because
of
those
who
bear
slander…
- The
rains
are
withheld
only
because
of
the
arrogant…
Drought
is an
all too
real
phenomena
in
Israel,
but in
Cheshvan
we are
reminded
that
there
was
once a
very
different
punishment
involving
rain
when
people
acted
unjustly
towards
one
another.
We
always
read
the
Torah
portion
of Noah
during
this
month,
which
tells
us that
God
decided
to
destroy
the
world
with a
great
Flood
because
the
world
was
filled
with
violence.
The
Messenger
is the
Message
Only
Noah
was
righteous
in his
generation,
yet
despite
his
righteousness
the
Talmud
holds
Noah at
least
partially
responsible
for the
destruction.
Noah
spent
120
years
building
the ark
and
repeatedly
warned
his
neighbors
that
they
would
be
punished
for
their
transgressions
- yet
no one
paid
any
attention
to him.
The
reason
he was
ignored,
says
the
Midrash,
is
because
Noah,
himself,
did not
fully
believe
in the
truth
of his
message.
Noah
was
enough
of a
tzaddik
(righteous
person)
to
follow
God's
command
and
build
the ark
exactly
according
to
God's
specifications,
but in
his
heart
he did
not
believe
that
God
would
fulfill
His
word
and
destroy
the
world.
Therefore,
Noah
only
entered
the ark
"because
of the
waters
of the
Flood"
(Genesis
7:7)
- i.e.
he fled
to the
ark
only
when
the
rising
waters
forced
him to
do so.
Rebbe
Nachman
of
Breslov
points
out the
Hebrew
word
for the
Flood -
mabul
-
is very
similar
to the
word
for
confusion
- bilbul.
Because
Noah
lacked
complete
faith
in
Divine
Providence,
he was
sending
a mixed
message
- and
he was
ineffective
in
transmitting
the
warning
he had
received
from
God to
others.
The
result
was
that he
witnessed
the
destruction
of his
world.
The
rains
of
blessing
had
turned
into a
curse.
Yet
there
was one
place
that
was not
affected
by the
waters
of the
Flood,
and
this
place
is
mentioned
for the
first
time in
the
Torah
portion
of Lech
Lecha, which
we also
read
during
the
month
of
Cheshvan.
The
Land of
Israel
According
to the
Talmud,
"The
Holy
Land
was not
touched
by the
Flood,"
(Zevachim,
113a).
Rebbe
Nachman
says
that
one
reason
the
waters
of the
Flood
did not
touch
the
Holy
Land is
because
the
Land of
Israel
is
associated
with
faith,
as it
says in
Psalms
37:3:
"Dwell
in the
Land
and
cultivate
faith."
Faith
is the
opposite
of
confusion.
We
don't
have
faith
because
we read
about
the
concept
in some
book or
some
Hebrew
School
teacher
told us
to have
faith
years
ago. We
have
faith
because
we have
seen in
our own
lives
how God
is
guiding
us
every
step of
the
way. If
we
don't
have
this
clarity
of
vision
yet, we
are
expected
to work
on
developing
it.
Although
a
person
who
works
on
cultivating
faith
will
learn
to see
Divine
Providence
in
every
place
and
every
situation,
nowhere
is
Divine
Providence
more
apparent
than in
the
Land of
Israel.
The
first
time
the
Land of
Israel
is
mentioned
in the
Torah
is in
connection
with
Abraham,
the
first
Jew,
when he
is
commanded
by God
to
leave
his
homeland
behind
and,
"Go
to the
Land I
will
show
you"
(Genesis
12:1).
(N.B.
This
Torah
portion
is
always
read
during
the
week
when
the 7th
of
Cheshvan
falls.
We are
therefore
reminded
to have
faith
that
every
time of
"descent"
- every
seeming
going
down
from
holiness
- is
actually
a time
when we
are
sowing
the
seeds
for a
new and
even
higher
"ascent.")
Once
he is
the
Holy
Land,
Abraham
receives
his
first
commandment
from
God -
the
mitzvah
of
circumcision.
With
the
performance
of this
mitzvah,
Abraham
enters
into a
Covenant
with
God
that
binds
him -
and all
his
descendants
- not
only to
God,
but
also to
the
Land of
Israel:
And
I will
establish
My
Covenant
between
Me and
you and
your
seed
after
you
throughout
the
generations
to be
an
everlasting
Covenant,
to be a
God to
you and
to your
seed
after
you.
And I
will
give to
you,
and to
your
seed
after
you,
the
land of
your
sojournings,
all the
land of
Canaan,
for an
everlasting
possession…This
is My
Covenant
which
you
shall
keep,
between
Me and
you and
your
seed
after
you:
every
male
among
you
shall
be
circumcised...And
he that
is
eight
days
old
shall
be
circumcised…
(Genesis
17:
7-12).
What
was so
special
about
Abraham
that he
deserved
to
enter
into
this
amazing
Covenant
with
God?
According
to
Rabbi
Ezriel
Tauber,
a
modern
lecturer
and
author,
Abraham's
unique
contribution
to the
world
was not
monotheism,
as is
commonly
thought.
In
Biblical
times,
everyone
knew
there
was a
God, a
Creator
of the
universe.
Most
people,
however,
didn't
believe
that
God was
still
actively
involved
with
running
His
world
and so
violence
and
immorality
was
rampant.
Abraham
was the
first
person
who not
only
recognized
his
Creator,
but
also
realized
that he
had a
personal
relationship
with
his
Creator.
Abraham
understood
that
God has
a plan
for the
world -
and if
God has
placed
him in
the
world
then
his
every
action
must be
important
to God.
Once
Abraham
realized
that he
had
this
relationship
with
his
Creator,
he
dedicated
his
life to
performing
God's
Will.
The
Hebrew
word
for
"will"
- ratzon
-
shares
the
same
root as
the
word
for
"land"
- eretz.
The
Land of
Israel
(Eretz
Yisroel)
is the
land
where
God's
Will is
revealed,
and so
it is
no
surprise
that
God
promised
this
land to
Abraham.
But why
was God
so sure
that
Abraham's
legacy
would
be
transmitted
to his
descendants?
Before
God
enters
into
this
Covenant
with
Abraham,
He says
to him:
"Walk
before
Me and
be
whole-hearted
(Genesis
17:1). The
17th
century
commentary
Tz'enah
Ur'enah
comments
that
this
verse
means
"Don't
let
your
body be
divided
- let
what
your
mouth
says
reflect
what
your
heart
feels."
God
knew
that
Abraham's
belief
in Him
was not
just
"lip-service"
- that
his
words
and
deeds
were a
true
reflection
of what
he
believed
in his
heart -
and
that
therefore
Abraham's
message
would
continue
to be
heard
by his
children
for all
time.
For
many of
us,
however,
Abraham's
message
is
getting
lost
amidst
the
flood
of
other
messages
we
receive
every
day
from
our
computers,
TVs and
radios
- and
the
result
is that
we are
in a
closer
relationship
with
our
Palm
Pilots
than
with
God.
Because
we no
longer
fully
see and
believe
that
Divine
Providence
is
guiding
our
lives
at
every
moment,
our
experience
of
being
in the
world
is
often a
feeling
of
being
at sea
instead
of
being
at
home.
Yet
this
experience
is not
new.
Rebbe
Nachman
passed
away
nearly
200
years
ago,
yet he
wrote
often
about
the
difficulty
of
maintaining
one's
faith -
and the
consequences
of not
having
this
faith.
According
to
Rebbe
Nachman,
the
main
reason
for
exile -
both
spiritual
exile
and
physical
exile
from
the
Land of
Israel
- is
lack of
faith:
a lack
of
faith
in
Divine
Providence,
a lack
of
faith
in
one's
prayers,
a lack
of
faith
in the
holiness
and
significance
of the
Holy
Land (Likutey
Moharan
I, 7:1
and I,
9:6).
The
remedy
for
exile,
therefore,
is to
restore
this
faith.
Since
the
month
of
Cheshvan
does
not
have
any
holidays
or
special
mitzvot,
it can
be an
excellent
time to
get
back to
basics
and
work on
strengthening
our
relationship
with
God.
And
while
the
shofar
and the
sukkah
of
Tishrei
inspired
us to
reach
up to
God,
Cheshvan's
"quiet
time"
offers
an
opportunity
to dig
deeper
- an
example
that
was
given
to us
by
Abraham's
son,
the
Patriarch
Isaac.
Uncovering
the
Spark
of
Holiness
On
the
third
Shabbat
of
Cheshvan
we read
the
Torah
portion
of Vayeira,
which
introduces
us to
Isaac.
Whereas
Abraham's
life
was
dedicated
to
bringing
holiness
down
into
this
world
by
spreading
awareness
of
God's
goodness
and
bounty,
Isaac
was
concerned
with
revealing
holiness
that
already
exists
in this
world -
as
shown
by his
preoccupation
with
digging
wells.
The
Lubavitcher
Rebbe
points
out
that
when
someone
digs a
well,
he is
not
creating
a new
source
of
water.
Rather,
he is
removing
all the
rocks
and
soil
that
previously
concealed
the
already
existing
water
from
the
human
eye. On
a
spiritual
level,
Isaac
is
teaching
us that
we all
have
deep
inside
us a
"pintele
Yid"
- a
Jewish
spark -
that is
a
vibrant
source
of
living
waters.
By
digging
deep
and
revealing
this
spark,
we let
our
natural
desire
for
goodness,
faith
and
love of
God to
flow
freely
in our
daily
life.
Isaac
had to
dig
many
wells
before
he was
successful.
We read
a few
weeks
later
in Toldot
that
his
enemies
stopped
up the
wells
he had
dug
again
and
again.
Yet
Isaac
did not
give
up. He
eventually
dug a
well
that
his
enemies
could
not
touch,
and he
named
the
place
Rechovot
- which
means a
place
of
spaciousness.
Digging
our own
wells -
revealing
this
broad
expanse
of
spirituality
that we
each
have
inside
- is an
ongoing
task,
but
there
is a
date in
Cheshvan
that
can
serve
as a
focal
point
for
this
effort.
The
Yarzheit
of
Rachel
Imanu
The
Matriarch
Rachel,
wife of
Jacob
and
mother
of
Josef
and
Benjamin,
passed
away on
the 11th
of
Cheshvan .
Rachel
is
considered
to be
the
spiritual
mother
of the
entire
Jewish
people
and her
tomb,
located
on the
outskirts
of
Bethlehem,
is our
third
holiest
site.
After
the
destruction
of the
First
Temple,
the
Jews
passed
by
Rachel's
tomb on
their
way
into
exile.
The
prophet
Jeremiah
vividly
describes
how
Rachel
pleaded
with
God
when
she saw
her
descendents
being
forced
out of
the
Land of
Israel:
Thus
says
the
Lord:
A
voice
is
heard
in
Ramah,
lamentation
and
bitter
weeping;
Rachel
is
weeping
for her
children;
she
refuses
to be
comforted
for her
children,
because
they
are
not.
Thus
says
the
Lord:
Refrain
your
voice
from
weeping
and
your
eyes
from
tears,
because
there
is a
reward
for
your
work,
says
the
Lord,
and
they
shall
return
from
the
land of
the
enemy.
And
there
is hope
for
your
future,
says
the
Lord,
and
your
children
shall
return
to
their
border
(Jeremiah
31:14-16).
According
to
Chassidut,
Rachel
weeps
for
both
the
physical
and
spiritual
exile
of her
children.
Through
her
tears
and
heartfelt
prayers
- and
her
persistence
- she
personifies
the
ability
of the
soul to
connect
with
God and
arouse
His
attribute
of
mercy.
Her
yarhtzeit,
therefore,
can be
a
powerful
time to
ask God
to
redeem
us from
our
personal
exile
and our
exile
as a
People
so that
we can
once
again
serve
Him
wholeheartedly
in the
Land of
Israel. |
