Jewish Months

Enjoy Rebbetzin Chana Bracha’s teachings on some highlights on the cycle of the times based on Sefer Yetzira the most ancient book of Kabbalah attributed to Avraham our father…

Tishrei

• Tishrei: Rectifying the Sense of Touch Wow! Tishrei is the highest of the highest. I feel like on a spiritual roller-coaster embraced and uplifted by Hashem’s love! I express this love towards my close family, by cooking, playing, singing, eating and rejoicing…

Cheshvan

• Cheshvan: Rectifying the Sense of Smell  It is always a bit sad to take down the Sukkah. It is like bidding the Shechina (Divine Feminine Indwelling Presence) farewell…
• Jewish Mother’s Day  It happened again just now, the phone rang and someone asked to speak with my mother!..
• Reb Shlomo and Me  The 16th of Cheshvan is the anniversary of the passing of Reb Shlomo Carlebach – the greatest musician and storyteller of the last century, beloved and missed by his students and all who came to know him. He is called “the sweetest of the sweet..
• Dealing with Interpersonal Challenges  It seems that we are prone to experience interpersonal challenges during the month of Cheshvan…
• Prayer for Rain – Unifying the Physical and Spiritual Realm  “Mar Cheshvan” which this month sometimes is called – in addition to meaning “bitter,” the prefix also means “a drop of water,” because during Cheshvan we begin to pray for rain in Israel…

Kislev

• Kislev: Rectifying the Sense of Sleep  As we ended daylight savings and entered Kislev – one of the darkest months of the year – we also received renewed light, hope and trust…
• Illuminated by the Light of Miracles  In this world we are charged with having to do a lot of effort in order to achieve our goals whether physical or spiritual…
• Kislev: The Months of Dreams  Perhaps you may have experienced intense dreams recently? Sometimes you can get a feeling of what your dream is coming to teach you, while at other times you haven’t gotten a clue?…
• The Secret of the Dreidel, the Four Kingdoms and the Dimensions of the Human Psyche  Playing the dreidel (top) on Chanukah is much more than a children’s game, but where does the minhag (custom) come from, and what does this game have to do with Chanukah?…

Tevet

• Tevet: Rectifying the Sense of Agitation  The month of Tevet is about taking the light of Kislev and bringing it into the very lowest most physical place of our being…
• Strengthening our Walls  The Tenth day of the Tenth Month (Tevet) is a fast day, in commemoration of the siege of Jerusalem, the beginning of the destruction of the Temple, but how is this day relevant to us today?…
• Tevet: Snowed In  So it finally came, the rain, and in its wake the blessed snow. Perhaps not exactly a blessing, but I hope at least a blessing in beautiful, lacy, white disguise…
• Overcoming Anger and Agitation  The month of Tevet gives us the opportunity to deal with anger and transform its power to combat our yetzer hara (evil inclination)…

Shevat

• Shevat: The Month of Spiritual Renewal  The month of Shevat comes upon us at the peak of winter. All the leaves have fallen from the trees, the colorful flowers have withered, and everything seems dead and frozen. At this time we need renewal more than ever…
• Tu B’Shevat – A Time for Hidden Beginnings  This winter has been hard on many levels. The snow was a bittersweet blessing bringing needed water to the land together with causing much damage…
• Tu B’Shevat – The Holiday of Redemption  My favorite holiday –Tu b’Shevat – has arrived. On that holiday, we recognize how these holy fruits are vehicles through which our mutual relationship with Hashem is expressed: Hashem bestows His blessings of fruit upon Israel, and we praise Hashem for the fruits of the Holy Land…
• Reduce and Re-use – The mitzvah of “Bal Tashchit” and Environmental Awareness  Since the Month of Shevat celebrates the New Year of the Trees, and the general mitzvah of “Bal Tashchit” not to destroy and waste is learned out from the prohibition of cutting down fruit trees, it has become a custom to emphasize this mitzvah especially during the month of Shevat. Being a second generation holocaust survivor I very much relate to the mitzvah of avoiding waste…

Adar I (Jewish Leap Year)

• The Secret of the Pregnant Year  Mazal tov it’s our wedding anniversary this Shabbat! This year, is one of the rare occasions when I get to celebrate our real anniversary. Because we were married in Adar alef, our anniversary only occurs seven times every nineteen year, during Jewish ‘leap year’ – In Hebrew שנת העיבור/shenat haibur…
• Adar Alef: The Power of the Pregnant Month  Adar is the month of good fortune, and now we have the double good fortune to have two months of Adar…
• Ponderings Pertaining to Purim Katan  We are arriving at the zenith of Adar Alef with Purim Katan and Shushan Purim Katan. Usually, these days pass us by without having any significance in most of our lives other than seeing them written in the calendar. I was wondering since Purim Katan does have a name, it’s not just like any other day, perhaps it is supposed to be celebrated in some way?…
• Adar: The Blessed Month of Transformation  During the month of Adar, I am usually on my go-around- annual North America tour, even though its often freezing. I believe the reason Hashem sends me during Adar most years is because Adar is known to be the month of success and victory…

Adar

• The Feminine Aspect of Zayin Adar  On Zayin Adar, we celebrate the birthday and the day of Moshe Rabbeinu’s passing. At this time, Moshe’s mazal (spiritual influence) shines most powerfully, and as the leader of Israel, he draws down Hashem’s blessings to all of us. Since seven represents a complete cycle, the seventh of Adar inspires us to serve Hashem in a complete manner…
• Esther: The Inner Mystery of Glowing in the Dark  As Purim is upon us once again and we celebrate with laughter, a festive Purim party, (mishteh) and lots of goodies we remember Esther and listen to her story, both at night and during the day. We must remember Esther in our deepest darkness as well as in the times of our greatest light…
• “Clothes Create Folks”  I’m the proud owner of a synthetic pink wig; I bought it near the central bus station for NIS 20! When I made my entry to the Central Synagogue Megillah reading it was pleasant to see the heads of the little girls turn in delight, something I hadn’t expected…
• Blessing Hashem for the Freedom of Spring  I love spring in Israel, especially in the Judean hills. At this time Hashem shows his love for me by presenting me with a new bouquet of live flowers every day. I thank Him by doing the best I can to take care of the precious flowery land that He has entrusted in my hands…

Nissan

• Nissan: Rectifying the Sense of Speech  One of the reasons I usually don’t leave my home and garden during spring is that this is the loveliest time here in Bat Ayin and especially in my garden (I am biased). It was so special having my students bless together with me on the flowering fruit trees surrounded by spring flowers, butterflies and flower buds…
• Tapping Into the Energy of Shabbat HaGadol (A Once a Year Opportunity)  We did it! We got ready for Pesach, (almost at least). The house is almost shining waiting for bedikat hachametz – Checking for chametz…
• Pesach: A Meat and Potatoes Holiday? The Mystery of Healthy Eating During Pesach  After having slaved for weeks to prepare for Pesach, we have finally been liberated. Now is the time to free ourselves from our daily routine and enjoy the renewal of this blessed holiday…
• The Challenge of Retaining the Pesach Emunah (Faith) in Miracles  We worked so hard to arrive at Pesach, we cleaned and scrubbed while the dust danced to the rhythm of our heavy-duty carpet beater. And now, it’s all over…. What can we take with us from Pesach? What is the message of Pesach that we need to breath into the rest of the year?…

Iyar

• Iyar: Connecting Physical with Spiritual Redemption  The month of Iyar is a month of great beginnings. In this month the erection of both the first and second Temple began,  in this month the beginning of the Third Temple Period was initiated with part of the Land of Israel returning to the hands of the Jewish people…
• Iyar: Rectifying the Sense of Thought  Whereas the month of Nissan is about physical freedom, the month of Iyar is about integrating this freedom into the inner chambers of our being: Our inner thought…
• The Holy Fires of Lag B’Omer  I’m happy to return home from a successful North America tour just in time for Lag b’Omer, which is one of these hidden holidays which we celebrate “big time” in Bat Ayin…
• Yom Yerushalayim – A Milestone of Redemption  This coming Tuesday evening we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim – a holiday that has gained great significance in my life. This is in contrast to my early ba’al teshuva days when I was surrounded by people who didn’t make much out of Yom Ha’atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim. It seems to me that politics has taken over and blurred the desire for truth…

Sivan

• Shavuot- The Holiday of Perfected Relationships  Shavuot is a special holiday for me, this year it celebrates 34 years from the beginning of my Teshuva process. I remember my first Shavuot when Rabbi Goldstein said, “Now that you have received the Torah, what are you going to do with it? Can you give it back? No! You’ve got to keep it!”…
• The Month of Sivan: Megillat Ruth and the Holiday of Shavuot  Every Shavuot we read the Scroll of Ruth to remind ourselves that we, too, were converts when we received the Torah at Mount Sinai. The Talmud teaches us that the souls of the future righteous converts were actually there, with us at Mount Sinai, and received the Torah together with us.  Therefore, we must be careful not to discriminate against righteous converts…
• The Month of Sivan: Rectifying the Sense of Motion  Sivan is a time for gaining clarity of vision, discovering our life’s purpose and receiving guidance and direction on how to actualize our goals…
• Squeezing out the Last Drops of the Light of Sivan  We are now at the end of the month of Sivan, with one leg stepping forward into the month of Tamuz. I hope to squeeze out the last drops of the light of Sivan before entering the heavier months of Tamuz and Av…

Tamuz

• Tamuz: Rectifying the Sense of Vision  Vision is the sense of the month of Tamuz. This is the time to tap into the knowledge that superficial reality does not necessarily reflect inner truth…
• Tamuz: Do you want to be a student of Avraham Avinu or a student of Bilam the wicked?  Tamuz is a challenging month of being tested.  Ya’acov and Esav divided the year between them.  In the end Ya’acov was able to recover most of the months of the year, yet Tamuz and Av remained under the domain of Esav.   Therefore, we must work hard to overcome the many challenges of this month, and reach deeply into our hidden resources to stay focused and connected…
• The World is Created for the Sake of Redeeming the Eyes of Tamuz and Av  There are so many teachings about the power of the eyes with reference to the Month of Tamuz. Our eyes influence our entire word view and perception of reality…
• The Month of Tamuz: Between Weeping and Joy  Baruch Hashem, our midrasha is going strong! Our students are bravely strengthening their emunah as we all witness Hashem’s love for us and the amazing miracles of his protection…

Av

• The Month of Av: Moving from Hearing to Seeing  We are entering the month of Av in trepidation, Israel is at war, Israelis are staying home, refraining from vacationing while our brave soldiers are fighting on the front line…
• Tisha B’Av Torah – Yearning to Rebuild  When I first came to Israel, to the Kotel (Western Wall) I was impressed with the Golden Mosque. When the woman from the Yeshiva, whom I had just met, told me, “We are going to get rid of it and build our own Temple in its place,” I was appalled…
• Tu b’Av and the Rise of the Feminine  Tub’Av is a day veiled in secret, not much attention has been given to this holiday until recently. When we inaugurated Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin with our first Tub’Av seminar, no-one had hardly heard about this mystical holiday. Yet, Tub’Av is mentioned in the Bible…
• Listening to Hashem’s Messages in our Lives  This morning, when I went out to water my garden, I was met with a cold shower from a humongous hole in our new garden hose, which my husband had just bought and hooked up yesterday…

Elul 

• Elul: Rectifying the Sense of Action  The month of Elul is in the air, in the abundant morning dew with its silvery haze and in the red ripening of the pomegranates promising a fruitful year. Since Tub Av I feel an increasing tug in my heart, waking me up and urging me to sharpen and fine tune my path…
• Elul and Rectifying Homosexuality  The month of Elul is all about Teshuvah (repentance). More literally Teshuvah is about return, return to our original purpose of creation…
• The King is in the Energy Field  Most of us have heard that during Elul the King is in the field. Yet, what does that really mean and what does it demand of me? If the King is in the field must I stop my work, clean my fingernails and change into my Shabbat dress to greet Him…
• Final Spiritual Tune-Up as the Year Closes  The dear month of Elul which Hashem granted us to come close to Him in preparation for the High Holidays is coming towards an end. It seems like this month is too short. There is so much we need to accomplice to better ourselves and give ourselves a final tune-up…