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A Month of Water, Patience, and Actualization
Last month we began a new column with Rabbi Charna Rosenholtz, who is offering a 12-part column exploring the spiritual and psychological wisdom of each Hebrew month. Drawing from Torah, Kabbalah, Mussar, and seasonal awareness, each installment will highlight core themes, practices, and reflections to help ground us in sacred time. Join us on this monthly journey through the Jewish calendar.
The Netivot Shalom teaches that Avraham’s children are blessed to be like the stars, the sand, and the dust—each symbolizing a different path of serving Hashem. The stars represent those who reach lofty awareness and reveal God’s greatness through positive deeds. The sand represents those who guard against wrongdoing and rely on unity, which protects the Jewish People from the “waves” of material temptation. The highest and most enduring level is the dust of the earth, associated with Yaakov. Dust symbolizes profound humility, the foundation of all spiritual service, since humility can survive any situation and sustains the world—just as Yaakov and Moshe embodied lowliness. Because Yaakov’s inheritance is without boundaries, everyone has the potential to reach this humble state, which we echo in our daily prayer: “May my soul be like dust to all.”
The Jewish month of Cheshvan arrives quietly, after the spiritual crescendo of Tishrei. It is in this month that we begin to actualize what Tishrei revealed. The awe of Rosh Hashanah. The clarity of Yom Kippur. The joy of Sukkot. Cheshvan invites us to live our teshuvah. To bring the inspiration down into our daily lives..
According to the Sefer Yetzirah, each Hebrew month corresponds to a letter. Cheshvan is Nun (נ). Nun connects to nefilah—falling—yet every fall carries the possibility of rising. Nun hints at the choice between yetzer hara and yetzer hatov, between diminishing or uplifting the Divine Name in the world. It also links to faith, like a fish hidden beneath the surface, reminding us to trust the unseen. Nun’s shape bows in humility, pointing to the servant-heart of Mashiach, the heir of David, who rises precisely from the place of descent. Cheshvan invites us to grow from our stumbles, return to faith, and rise stronger than before.
Cheshvan is associated with the tribe of Menashe, whose name implies forgetting—but also leaping upward. His name shares letters with neshamah, soul. It is also the month connected to the sense of smell—the only sense that bypasses the rational brain and travels straight into the limbic system. Scent connects us with memory, longing, and mystery.
Sit in silence this month and reflect: Am I embodying what I promised myself in Elul and Tishrei?
This is not the month of grand gestures. It’s the month of inner alignment. The still small voice. As Isaiah says, “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
We are also invited to return to Torah study in a new way. Reb Meir reminds us that Torah study done for its own sake makes the entire world worthwhile. And Hasidic tradition tells us that in Cheshvan, our lips whisper Torah as a continuation of the holy speech of the festivals. The great Maggid of Konitz once said that while his companion searched for spiritual elevation, he toiled in Torah and never let a sin fester. That made all the difference. After the High Holidays, the spiritual flame has been kindled. Now, we keep it lit by wrestling with sacred texts, refining our middot (character traits), and softening the judgments we carry toward ourselves and others.
May this Cheshvan bring you stillness, healing waters, and the courage to live your inner transformation.
With gratitude,
Rabbi Charna Rosenholtz
Founder, Shulchan™: An Online Beit Midrash for Engaging Wisdom
www.shulchan.net
Here is a list of Rabbi Charna’s monthly columns in the series:
