MarCheshvan
Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Weinberg
There are always questions in regards to what the month of Cheshvan is supposed to mean to us. It is a month that is seemingly devoid of anything special- so what are we supposed to be focusing on and feeling during this month?
The Bnei Yisaschar writes that Hashem appointed each month with different attributes. Cheshvan was given: Shevet Menashe, the letter Nun, the intestine, and the Mazal of the month is the scorpion.
Let’s work backwards and try to understand why each of these things was attributed to this specific month.
Menashe- named because Hashem helped him forget all his troubles. What’s the negative of Menashe? We just had Tishrei and felt so inspired, and now we are left with nothing. That excitement that we just had is no longer with us. Were starting to lose ourselves again!
Nun- We know that there is no letter Nun in Ashrey. Why? Because the letter Nun hints to falling. This is the same feeling that we see comes from Menashe- we feel like we are slipping and that we are not as strong as we were in Tishrei.
Intestines- Shem Mishmuel writes that the intestines are cold. Bloodless appearance because they are white, part of that cold image and lack of Avodat Hashem.
Scorpion- known as the most dangerous animal. The Mishna that tells us that if there is a snake around your leg, you should continue to daven and you should not let it effect you. We can work with the snake and deal with it, but the Mishna tells us that when it comes to a scorpion we cannot act this way, and if it shows up then you must run for your life. Why is this fitting? It paints this struggle that we are trying to portray. The scorpion holds us back from allowing us to continue doing our Avodah that we have been trying to perfect.
So it is true that Cheshvan seems empty, but now is the time to work the plan that we have been cultivating since the Chagim! We made commitments in Tishrei- so now lets put it into action. Were we real in Tishrei or were we all talk?
How does Tishrei end? Simchat torah and the Hakafot- what’s the idea of Hakafot? The Chidushay Harim explains that “Makif” means to give on credit- Hashem has been giving us loans the whole month of Tishrei. He has been giving us Mitzvot and things for a whole month, and now Hashem wants to see if were going to pay back our loans.
Parshat Lech Lecha- Avraham sets his mind to go to Kna’an and he goes. The Chofetz Chaim explains that we need to strive to be like Avraham Avinu. How so? Avraham follows through with what he says he is going to do, and he stays strong to the commitment that he made to go to Kna’an. In contrast, Terach stops in Charan and decides not to follow through with his plan. Avraham goes the way all, and this is a big lesson that we must all learn from him. We have all made commitments that we said we were going to keep, and now is the time to act like Avraham Avinu and stick to those promises that we made.
Rashi (13:3) tells us that when Avraham was returning from Egypt to go back to Kna’an, he went back to same hotels that he went to on the way, because he wanted to pay back his debt, and pay back his Hakafot- just like the Chidushay Harim says, that we must pay back the debt we owe G-d.
Mesechet Yuma- Any Talmid Chacham who’s inside and outside are not parallel, is not really a Talmid Chacham. What is Rava talking about? The Mizbeach wasn’t mamash gold all the way through; it was three boxes: gold, wood, and than another layer of gold. There is wood in the inside, so it was not fully gold through and through. So how can we compare a Talmid Chacham to that and tell him that if he’s not like that, he’s not a Talmid Chacham? It makes no sense!
What’s Pshat? Sometimes you need to use wood to get back to gold. Wood being the Yetzer Hara, you try to utilize that to get back to the good. The good months are the shiny gold on the outside, and the “boring” months are the ones that require wood. Those months require us to work for what we want, which is to be Ovday Hashem. We have to put up the fight and finish the job, even when it’s not so shiny. This is a Klal in life that we always encounter “ Gold, Wood, Gold.” The Avodah is to push through and come out on top even during the times that are not so easy. It is the Marchesvan’s that define u, and make us what we are.
EXAMPLE: Exodus from Egypt= Gold
Midbar= Wood
Matan Torah= Gold
The Luchot were created in a way that the words penetrated all the way through. What’s the point of this?
Rav Hirsch- “ The words of Sinia must grip us not only superficially and one-sidedly. It must penetrate us through and through, it must set its stamp indelibly on every side of our being, and whichever way we are turned, the writing of G-d must be visible on us clearly and legibly. Be a Jew through and through. Whichever way you are turned, you are a Jew.” No matter what is going on, we must act like a complete Jew.
Now that we have seen something redeemable for MarCheshvan, let’s try to flip around all the things we spoke about earlier as being negative, and try to see them for the Tov.
Intestines- Torah is a set and it works together and nothing can be left out. The intestines are part of the body, and without one wouldn’t be able to survive. Jewish calendar year is also a set, and you can’t choose when you want to give it your all. Each month is vital for your existence, just like the Intestines. Cheshvan is just as important as Tishrei.
Nun- We said it’s a Nefila- all the things you took upon yourself you are now drowning in! Shem Mishmuel- the falling is itself a way to pick yourself up, it’s a month where you look like you are falling but you can jump up and spring forward. It’s not separate, because hidden within the fall is a way to pick yourself up.
Scorpion- it has the word “kar” in it but it also has the word “karov”- close. Tishrei is not so far away as we think, it’s still close, and we can grasp it easily.
wow thanks so much!
ReplyDelete