Rosh Kodesh
The Following are special dates for our serious consideration that we might take the time to honour theme. May these enrich your walk with the Creator of the Heavens.
YeshaYahu (Isaiah) 66: 22-23 “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me,” says YHWH (the Lord), “So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says YHWH (the Lord.) Shalom!
Cheshvan- the month of caring for Others
Introduction
Cheshvan (in Hebrew: חֶשְׁוַן), or as it is also known, Mar-Cheshvan, is the eighth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.
In modern times, this month has become known as Cheshvan or MarCheshvan, which seems to have originated at the time that Jews came back to Israel after the Babylonian Exile. The prefix Mar (which means bitter) is a reference to this month having no festivals or rejoicing, but much suffering for Jews throughout the ages. The flood also began on the 17th of Cheshvan, and ended the following year on the 27th of Cheshvan. On the following day, the 28th of Cheshvan, Noah brought his sacrifice to Elohim [God] and Elohim [God] swore never again to bring a flood upon the earth to destroy all mankind, and then revealed the sign of His covenant with the world, the rainbow.
Cheshvan is the only month which has no holidays or special mitzvot. We are taught that it is “reserved” for the time of Mashiach, who will inaugurate the third Temple in Cheshvan.
Ritual Practices: Cheshvan always has a two-day Rosh Chodesh, the second of which, the first of the new month, always falls on a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Shabbat.
On the seventh day of Cheshvan those living in Israel begin requesting rain by adding “Veten Tal U’Matar” to their Shmone Esre prayers. If no rain has fallen by the 17th, a drought is feared and ritual fasting and special prayer begins.
Letter: Nun (נ)
The letter nun is considered to be the letter of Mashiach, as is said (with reference to Mashiach): “Before the sun, his name is Ye-non [from nun]” (Psalms 72:17).
As a verb-root, nun means “to reign.” As a noun, it means “the heir to the throne” (from nin).
Cheshvan, the eighth month, is the month of Mashiach, because eight signifies the eternal revelation of the supernatural (the consummate state of rectified nature being the secret of the number seven). Whereas in our present reality, the “harp” played by King David and used in the Temple has seven strings, the harp of Mashiach possesses eight strings. Just as 8 transcends 7, so does 50 (the numerical value of nun) transcend 49 = 7x7.
In our present reality, the nun is bent over, confined by the boundaries of nature. With the coming of Mashiach, the nun will “straighten out” (the shape of the final nun – ן), and will break through the boundaries of nature also descending (“below the line”) into the subterranean realms of reality in order to reveal there, God’s all-encompassing Infinite light.
Mazal: Akrav (Scorpio – the Scorpion)
Our sages teach us that the scorpion (עַקְרָב) is the deadliest member of the general category of poisonous creatures whose archetypal figure is the primordial snake of Eden. The Hebrew word for “scorpion,” derives from the word meaning “heel” (עַקֵב) aqev as is said:
“And you [the snake] shall bite him [man] at the heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Thus, the scorpion symbolizes the consummate “bite” of the snake at the heel of man.
The soul of Mashiach and his continuous state of consciousness manifest the ultimate rectification of “heat,” “burning” solely in his love for Elohim/God and Israel, as well as that of “cold”-absolutely “cold” to the false vanities of this world.) This is the secret of the well-known gematria that “Mashiach” (מָשִׁיחַ) equals “snake” (נָחָשׁ).
Indeed, the Mashiach is also numerically related to the scorpion since “Mashiach” (358) plus 14 is equal to 372, the value of “scorpion.” 14 is the value of David (דָוִד) and the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is nun, the letter of the month of Cheshvan. Furthermore, the root-letters of Cheshvan are chet-shin-nun and they permute to spell “snake.”
Tribe: Menasheh
Menasheh is the firstborn of Joseph. Deriving from the word “to forget” (literally “to leap, up and away”), Menasheh suggests the power of the tzadik (Joseph) to make us forget the hardships, trials and tribulations of this world, with the coming of Mashiach. By the power and sense of Menasheh, all of the pain of this world will transform and metamorphose into the pleasure of the Messianic era.
The name Menasheh (מְנַשֶׁה) permutes to spell “soul” (נְשָׁמָה). Menasheh represents the sense to reveal the Divine soul in Israel. In one place in the Bible, Mosheh [Moses] is called Menasheh, for Menasheh is Moses (מֹשֶׁה) with an additional nun (the letter of Cheshvan).
Sense: Smell
The sense of smell is the most spiritual of all senses. The Hebrew word for “smell” (רֵיחַ) is related to the word for “spirit” (רוּחַ). The sages teach us that smell is the one and only sense that “the soul enjoys and not the body.” As noted, in Hebrew, “soul” is a permutation of Menasheh.
The sense of smell is the only sense (of the five senses) that did not participate, and thereby was not blemished or polluted, in the primordial sin of man in the Garden of Eden. It is the sense which saved the Jewish people in the time of Mordechai and Esther, who are called Mor veHadas (“myrrh and myrtle,” the two primary sources of fragrance).
Furthermore, it is explicitly stated that the sense of Mashiach is the sense of smell.
“And he shall smell with the awe of EL YAH [God]”—”he shall judge by smell” (rather than by sight or hearing. [Isaiah 11:3; Sanhedrin 93b).
By his sense of smell (his “holy spirit”) the Mashiach will know how to connect each Israelite soul to its Divine root, and thereby identify its tribe (branch) in Israel.
All of the sacrifices in the Temple service are meant to produce a “satisfying aroma” (רֵיחַ נִיחוֹחַ) and please the Divine sense of smell, which symbolizes EL’s [God’s] “satisfaction” with the service of His children Israel in particular and with creation in general. The sages interpret the phrase “satisfying aroma” as “I am satisfied, for I have spoken and My will has been fulfilled.” This Divine satisfaction with man and creation was first expressed on the 28th of Cheshvan, when Noah offered his sacrifice to Elohim [God]. Due to His satisfaction, Elohim [God] swore to Noah never again to destroy the world by flood. As is expressed explicitly in laws of the Torah, it is the fats of the intestines that when offered on the altar produce the “satisfying” aroma for EL YAH [God].
Color: Violet
Events during Cheshvan:
1. Methushelah the only righteous person alive apart from Noach at the time of the Mabul [the flood] died on the 11th of Cheshvan.
2. Our Matriach Rachel died in childbirth on the 11th of Cheshvan.
3. Binyamin the 12th son of Ya’acov [Jacob] is also born at the death of Rachel.
4. The construction of the first Beit HaMikdash [the Temple] was concluded.
5. During Cheshvan all the tribes will unite under the reign of Mashiach ben David [The Messiah son of David] with the construction of the 3rd Beit HaMikdash.
6. The Mabul [the flood began on the 17th of Cheshvan.
7. Yeravam [Jeraboam] ben Nevat fabricated a festival on the 15th of Cheshvan to replace the festival of Sukkot [the feast of Tabernacles].
Conclusion:
Cheshvan has certainly been a difficult & bitter month but from that bitterness there must be potential for sweetness so if we inject sweetness symbolized by honey into the World by respecting and caring for others , helping others improve both physically & spiritually we can fill the month of Cheshvan with everlasting sweetness.
Bein Adam L’chaveiro [for his kindness to the son of Adam]
Noach’s generation deserved to be wiped out since the earth was filled with violence. Three people are especially associated with Cheshvan for their kindness as they excelled in their care & concern for others:
Methushelach- It is said he had great care for his wicked generation & warned them every day saying, “repent for if you do not, YHWH will flood the world; your corpses will float in the water like flasks.”
Rachel- Our matriarch is best known for her selfless action to save her sister from disgrace. She gave all the codes that Ya’acov had given her so Ya’acov would think that she was Rachel. “I even crept under the marital bed & when Yaacov addressed Leah she remained silent & I spoke from under the bed. I treated her with kindness & did not let jealousy get the better of me”.
Binyamin- He had ten children while his brother Yoseph was in Mitsrayim [Egypt] & named all of them with words that expressed the pain of loosing his brother.
Appropriately these three people associated with Cheshvan excelled in their interactions with others. May these examples be our guide for this month that we are able to put ourselves into the shoes of others in need & imagine that we are experiencing all their pain.
Events in Cheshvan
1 CHESHVAN – Yeshua / Jesus sends out 35 pairs of disciples on assignment until Hannukah. See Luke 10: 1-24. (Michael Rood’s Astronomically & Agriculturally Corrected Biblical Hebrew Calendar)
11 CHESHVAN – (circa 2105 BCE) Methuselah dies at age 969.
11 CHESHVAN – (circa 1553 BCE) Death of Rachel, wife of Jacob (Israel), while giving birth to Benjamin.
12 CHESHVAN – (1995) Assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
15 CHESHVAN – (165 BCE) Death of Mattityahu, who began the Maccabean revolt in the city of Modin.
16 CHESHVAN – (1938) Kristallnacht/Pogromnacht. 1,400 synagogues and numerous copies of the Tanakh are purposefully and systematically set on fire and allowed to burn in Nazi Germany.
17 CHESHVAN – (circa 960 BCE) The First Temple is completed by King Solomon; It was not inaugurated until the following year in the month of Tishrei.
17 CHESHVAN – The Great Flood began on the 17th of Cheshvan and ended the following year on the 27th of Cheshvan, lasting one year and 10 days. (A Time to Advance: Understanding the Significance of the Hebrew Tribes and Months by Chuck D. Pierce)
28 CHESHVAN – The 28th of Cheshvan, Noah brought his sacrifice to God, and God swore never again to destroy all mankind with a flood. He then revealed the sign of His covenant with the world—the rainbow. (A Time to Advance: Understanding the Significance of the Hebrew Tribes and Months by Chuck D. Pierce)
