According to the Kabbalistic text Sefer Yetzirah, every month of the Jewish calendar is associated with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a sense (one of the five senses or an emotion), a controlling limb of the body, a zodiac sign and one of the twelve tribes of Israel. These associations give us important clues as to how to live in tune with the spiritual energies of each month, and can help each of us prepare our own personal to-do list for the soul.

Nissan is the first month of the Jewish year. How can Nissan be the first month when we celebrated Rosh Hashanah (which, after all, means "The Beginning of the Year") six months ago in Tishrei?

The answer is that the essence of the Jewish calendar - like Judaism itself - is all about making a fresh start. Every month we have an opportunity to develop new facets of our soul, improve our character and discover previously dormant talents. However, there are certain months when the spiritual energies from Above make our work even easier and Nissan is one of those months.

The first commandment that the Children of Israel received from God was: "This month [Nissan] shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you" (Exodus 12:2).

Chodesh - the Hebrew word for "month" - has the same root as the word chadash, which means "new." Therefore, we can read the above verse as: "This month [Nissan], shall be unto you the beginning of newness."

The "newness" of Nissan, of course, has to do with the holiday of Pesach (Passover). When God took the Jews out of Egypt, He did so for a purpose. He wanted to create something new, so to speak - a people who would embody in their daily lives His ideals, as expressed in His Torah.

Freedom for the Jews, therefore, was not just a state of leaving a bad situation behind. They were expected to use that freedom as a catalyst for positive change. And every year when Pesach comes around, we are expected to make a similar leap to freedom.

Mitzrayim, the Hebrew word for Egypt, means a narrow strait or a boundary. We all have such places in our lives - areas where we feel constricted, emotional walls that we can't break through, self-imposed boundaries that prevent us from actualizing our potential. Nissan is the most propitious time to work on breaking through these barriers, and the spiritual work of Nissan is threefold.

First we must take a close look and acknowledge where Egypt exists in our own lives - what habits have enslaved us, what old ways of thinking have constricted our growth. Until we admit that we are in slavery, we can't leave it.

Second, we must actively choose freedom over slavery. Amazingly enough, at the time of the Exodus, 80 percent of the Jews chose to stay in Egypt and only 20 percent actually went out with Moses. So too do we often choose to remain enslaved to "task masters" such as depression and anger, rather than choose to change.

Finally, we must begin to take the steps necessary to leave our Egypt behind. The redemption only began when the Jews followed God's instructions and took lambs and sacrificed as them as the Pesach sacrifice. It was their actions that set the entire process in motion. Similarly, when we make an effort during Nissan to incorporate positive changes in our lives, this effort will continue to have an impact throughout the entire year.*

Sometimes religious ritual becomes routine. We've been to a lot of Seders in our lives, and by now we can do it in our sleep. But sleep is for the Exile, which is associated with the darkness of night. The whole point of the Haggadah is to wake us up, to get us excited about the Redemption.

Kids can't wait until we get to the point in the Haggadah where they get to say "Ma Nishtana," the Four Questions. Every adult should also have something to say at the Seder; something that excites them, something that has helped them see the Redemption in an entirely new light.

There's a lot of housework that must be done before Pesach. But as we're cleaning the fridge and the stove we shouldn't forget what is the purpose of the work: to prepare us for the Redemption. Therefore, during these last days before Pesach, we should pencil in one or two hours to study the Haggadah and some commentaries, so that we will all be able to say: "Hey! Listen to this!"

(There are many commentaries on the Haggadah, but some great recent ones are the Shlomo Carlebach Haggadah, the Breslov Haggadah and the Holocaust Haggadah.)

Sometimes it's not just ritual that is routine, it's our whole way of looking at the world. People find the Seder boring or meaningless because they don't buy the "punch line" of the story. For them, the Final Redemption sounds like a fairy tale. They can't imagine how the world could ever change so drastically.

When our thinking has become restricted, we can sometimes use our five senses to wake ourselves up - and since the Seder involves all five senses, it is a great time to break out of the rut of routine thinking and living.

Pesach always occurs during the spring and during the spring is when the natural world begins to blossom. When we see for the first time a fruit tree in blossom, we are commanded to say a blessing that expresses gratitude for this miracle of nature. We only say the following blessing once a year and it is usually said in Nissan.

Baruch Ata A-do-noi, Elo-heinu, Melech HaOlam, sheloh chisar ba'olamoh davar, u'varah voh bri'ot tovot ve'eilanot tovim, le'hanot bahem bnei adam.

Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the Universe, for nothing is lacking in His world, and He created in it good creatures and good trees, to bring pleasure to mankind.

When we speak about the Pesach sacrifice at the Seder, we tell how God "passed over" the houses of the Children of Israel during the plague of the first-born son. This year we can enhance our Seders by making an effort to "pass over" the faults we see in other Jews - whether they be family members, people in our community, or Jews whose religious practices differ from our own. Instead, we can speak about those things that unify us as a people. (See Nissan's "Sense" for more about the connection between Pesach and speech.)

I vividly remember my first Pesach in Jerusalem. I was invited to spend the holiday with friends, and so as I was packing bag on the afternoon before the Seder, I was listening to one of Israel's major radio stations. What was the program that was being aired?

The entire program was devoted to matching up people who had no Seder to go to with people willing to host extra guests. Some of the people who had no Seder to go to were elderly, while others were new immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Some were single people, and some were entire families. The first choice, of course, was to match up people living in the same neighborhood, or at least the same city, and people who lived in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa were easily taken care.

However, then an elderly person living in a small town called in and despite the valiant efforts of the radio announcer no family offered to host the person. Gevalt! Was it possible that in Israel of all places there would be a Jew who could not attend a Seder? At last a man phoned in and said he would host this person.

Where do you live, the radio announcer asked. The man replied that he lived in Haifa. But that's two hours away, the radio announcer exclaimed. You mean you're willing to drive two hours to pick up this person and then drive two hours to get back to your home? Yes, the man replied.

By this time I was crying my eyes out. And never did I feel so strongly that we really are one family. If one of us doesn't have a Seder to go to, we all feel it - and we all need to feel responsible to correct the situation.

Therefore, if you are having a Seder at your home, why not look over your circle of acquaintances and see if there is anyone who might not yet have been invited to a Seder. It never hurts to extend an invitation, and you might have the opportunity to fulfill an important mitzva.

If you are a person who has no place to go but feels shy about asking to be invited, Pesach is the time to swallow your pride. In addition to the ram symbolizing wealth, it also represents pride or haughtiness - and on Pesach we try to rid ourselves of this trait. Many synagogues have a list of people who wish to host guests. You'll be doing them a favor by allowing them to fulfill the mitzva of having guests at the Seder table.

Pesach has many mitzvot associated with it, but one of the primary ones is to tell the story of the Exodus. In fact, even if you are having a Seder alone and even if you "already know the story," you still have to recite the "Maggid" section of the Haggadah out loud.

Why can't we just read "Maggid" silently? One possible reason is because speech has the power to transform worlds.

When we say a blessing over lighting the candles, we are declaring that the sanctity of Shabbat or Yom Tov has now come into our home. When we say Havdalah at the end of the holy day, we are declaring that this special sanctity has departed from our home and that we have returned to the workaday world.

The Chassidic Rebbe Yerachmiel Yisrael of Alexander comments upon the teaching from the Talmud - "According to the wisdom of the son, his father will teach him" (Pesachim 116a) - that what God grants us is dependent upon the nature of our requests.

When we take the Seder seriously and speak about the Exodus and ask questions, we are letting God know that we take the Final Redemption seriously and we want it to come now. If, God forbid, we should spend the evening telling jokes and scoffing at what is written in the Haggadah, we are giving God the opposite message.

This dichotomy is expressed in two Hebrew words mentioned frequently in the Hagaddah: Pesach and Pharaoh.

Pesach can be read as Peh Sach - the mouth that speaks. The earliest use of the root verb si'ach (when spelled with the letter Sin instead of Sameach), is when the Patriarch Yitzchak (Isaac) goes out into the field to meditate (la'suach - Genesis 24:63). According to our tradition, his meditation is the basis for our afternoon prayer of Mincha, and so si'ach has the connotation of speaking to God or saying God's words.

Paro - Hebrew for the word "Pharoah" - on the other hand can be read as Peh Ra - a bad mouth. Gossiping, lying, scoffing, saying angry words, embarrassing or criticizing others - these are all examples of the kind of speech that comes out of a Pharaoh's mouth.

Our speech defines who we are, and since very few of us would want to be identified as a Pharaoh, Nissan is a time when we should work hard to rectify our speech.

The Torah has many laws concerned with speech. Although the laws regarding Shmirat Lashon (guarding your tongue) are numerous and complex, there is one first step we can all take: stop speaking negatively about others.

For those of us who are "blessed" with a sharp wit, the temptation to make a snide remark about someone can be tremendous. I remember once - and it wasn't so long ago - I so dearly wanted to say something negative about someone that I had to clamp my mouth shut to keep the words from escaping from my lips.

However, saying something negative does no one any good and can do a lot of harm. Furthermore, our Sages tell us that when we make a conscious effort to keep negative comments to ourselves, we create a great light in the upper worlds - so guarding your tongue is well worth the effort.

For those who wish to learn more about the laws of Shmirat Lashon, there are several books in English based upon the works of the Chofetz Chaim, the 19^th century Torah Sage who first presented these laws in a systematic manner. These books, which are written in an easy-to-use format, can be found in any major Jewish bookstore or through the Internet.

And for those who would like some positive enforcement in this area right now, here is a wonderful prayer written by Rebbe Elimelech of Lyzhansk (18^th century Chassidic rebbe) to say every morning:

The flip side of keeping an eye on your negative speech patterns is trying to strengthen your positive ones. Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, the 20^th century mussar master, often emphasized the importance of hakaros hatov - acknowledging the good.

For Rabbi Dessler, no favor was too small or gift too insignificant. He made a point of acknowledging every kindness done to him with a warm expression of heartfelt thanks. And he was always on the lookout for "excuses" to encourage his students and acquaintances with kind words.

Although most of us will never reach the level of Rabbi Dessler, we can take steps to incorporate hakaros hatov into our daily lives. Every day presents dozens of opportunities to warmly thank family members, friends, business associates, sales people, bus drivers, etc., who do so many things - great and small - that make our lives so much easier and more pleasant.

In Hebrew, we use the same word - davar - to express the concepts of "word" and "thing." From this we learn that every word we speak creates some "thing." And this word/thing we create makes an impression both in this world and the World Above.

When we constantly speak about our fears or the terrible things that might happen to us, we give strength to our enemies by creating a vessel for these fears to materialize. Therefore, in these times especially it is important to remember to speak about good things that have happened to us - or that we would like to see happen.

And we don't need to restrict speaking about the Final Redemption to Seder night. We can use the entire month of Nissan to express our hopes for the speedy coming of Mashiach, may it be soon and in our time.

Where Do You Want to Go Today?

A journey is a lot easier if you know where you want to go. Can you identify what's missing in your spiritual life? Maybe you lack a community who shares your goals. Or perhaps you're frustrated by your lack of knowledge. Do you never have enough time to spend a few minutes in prayer or meditation?

First, identify the main obstacle that's blocking your way. Next write down three steps you can take to get past this obstacle. Then do them.

Sometimes we're feeling so spiritually blocked that we don't even know where to begin. When this happens, a walk in nature can do wonders to open the soul. During Nissan, try to take a half-hour walk in pleasant surroundings at least once a week. Be on the lookout for examples of the miracles of God's Creation. Be aware of how you fit into this picture.

One hundred years ago, the Yiddish author Shalom Aleichem wrote: It's tough to be a Jew.

Even then, he wasn't saying anything new. The present exile - which is compared to night - has lasted almost 2,000 years and during all that time it's always been tough to be a Jew.

When the Baal Shem Tov founded the Chassidic movement more than three hundred years ago, he made a practice of infusing Jewish prayer and ritual with a healthy dose of joy.

Dance and song were the primary tools that were used to fight against the foes of despair and depression - and they are still powerful tools today.

A wonderful Chassidic custom is to finish every Shabbat and Yom Tov meal with a circle dance that includes the entire family (men and women, of course, dance separately). The great thing about dancing in a circle is that you don't have to know any complicated steps - all that's needed is a willingness to take your place in the circle of life and let your heart be filled with joy.

* Please note that the exercises mentioned above should not be construed as medical, psychological, or professional advice, and the author is not responsible for consequences that may result from using these exercises.