Month: Marchesvan
Sign: Akrav - Scorpio
Planet: Mars
Element: Water
Gender: Female
Human Atribute: Smell
Tribe: Menashe
Movement: Stableization
Forefather: Abraham
Hebrew Letter: Nun
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MARCHESHVAN - Separation and
Return
The potential for separation and the potential for return
are inherent in God's creation. When He created the universes,
God formed the illusion of a separation between Himself and
that which He created. The intent was that the creation would
return by drawing themselves closer to God, and also by them
bringing God into creation.
The Torah outlines many ways to draw closer to God, e.g.
prayer and meditation, study of the Torah, etc. It also outlines
many ways to bring God into the world, e.g. love your fellow
man, honesty in business, etc. When man does good acts, the
presence of God (known as the ("shechinah") rests
among us. (Some mystics have a special prayer they say just
for the return of the Shechinah.) We can bring down an influence
of Godliness into the world. There is a short kabbalistic
statement in the prayer book that can be said before any
good act or mitzvah. It loosely translates as "I am
about to do this act in order to unify God's presence with
His creation." (See Artscroll page 59)
King David's kingdom was divided in the month of MarCheshvan.
This is an extreme example of the potential for separation
during this month. Another expression of this is the generation
of the flood at the time of Noah. Mankind created such a
separation between themselves and God, that His presence
departed from them causing the flood with its incredible
destruction. The sages say that their judgment began in this
month. That judgment continued even after the flood up until
the building of the Temple in Jerusalem many years later,
which brought God's presence back into the world. The power
of separation and return, however, go together. A symbol
of the potential for return is the fact that Noah was able
to exit the ark during the month of MarCheshvan. It's interesting
to note that in the yearly cycle of reading the Torah, the
portion of Noah and the flood falls out in this month. (See
Genesis 6:9)
The scorpion is the astrological sign for this month. Scorpions
can be deadly. This month, with its potential for separation
can also be spiritually "deadly". We can return
to God, or we can separate even more. It's very important
to seize the opportunity not just to do the acts that bring
God into the world, but also to keep as a mental focus at
this time that want to draw down God's presence.
That's the opportunity of the month.
Share it with a friend!
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