The cooler air and changing leaves inspire a natural turning inwards right about now; the spirit of the Hebrew calendar is in sync with this energy of introspection, but also some spiritual hustle as well. The month of Cheshvan has a rolling up your sleeves and making good on all of last month’s hard spiritual work flavor to it. We just left Tishrei, the holiest of holies of the Hebrew months when we celebrated our New Year (Rosh Hashana), forgave ourselves for the moments we were less than our best (Yom Kippur), feasted on the autumn harvest (Sukkot), and danced with joy for the teachings of the Torah (Simchat Torah). Last month, we honored ourselves, our humanity, and our many opportunities to enjoy direct access to the Divine. Jewish teaching suggests that over the last month we, like our ancestors, ascended to receive life’s gifts and take full advantage of elevated states and experiences. Together, we created a month’s worth of energy that was deep, powerful, honest, emotional, and a joyous. Go us! Now, we have Cheshvan, the only month in the entire Hebrew calendar with no holidays. Building on the stillness of this month, there’s even a tradition of foregoing celebrations such as weddings during Cheshvan. In essence, this month gives us ample room to experience the fullness of the let down.

The Let Down

The let down: we all know that feeling. At some point, huge highs necessarily turn to deep lows. They always go together. You spend a weekend visiting your best friends, laughing, catching up, being together...and then the weekend ends. You go home, back to the grind, and probably feel the withdrawal of the palpable love that was all around you. This was probably true for early Jews returning from Jerusalem after making sacrifices at the Temple during the harvest holidays of Tishrei, and for our ancestors returning from spiritual pilgrimages to visit their Rebbes. Tishrei created the ultimate high, the moment of being closest to the Divine. When the pilgrimage was over and the people journeyed home, it was most likely a time of mourning and shock, a time of depression, or at least a little slumping, as they waded back into the “muck” of life.

Our Hebrew calendar is smart, and intentionally designed. It knows this depressive feeling follows a big high, and urges us to honor this time and be in the thick of this next feeling. Cheshvan asks us to land. We’re invited to use this month as a spiritual tool to bring ourselves back down, planting our feet firmly on the earth.

Cheshvan is when the real work begins

Though our new year came last month, Cheshvan is when the real work begins. On Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we loved our families, fasted to release ourselves of our collective failures, and made promises to do better this year. In Cheshvan, we honor those intentions and take the first steps towards making them real.

In Judaism, we believe every person and every moment has a chance to become holy. We believe what we do and experience has a chance to change the fabric of our lives and the world. Like the Butterfly Effect. Cheshvan is all about figuring out what and how we can do to breakthrough the thick of it, taking ourselves to a new and better place. 

The lotus flower is a Buddhist symbol and the following is a Buddhist teaching, but we love it and feel excited to borrow it because it helps us understand better what type of spiritual work we are doing this month. We hope this teaching helps you blossom this Cheshvan into reflection-fueled action.

The lotus flower has long been a symbol for the unfolding of spirituality. It is one of the most elegant illustrations of the meshing of our human and Divine natures.

The lotus seed is planted and grows in muddy waters, below the surface of the lake, far from the light. Though the light is murky and unclear, the flower blossoms by drawing energy from within. As the bud passes through the muddy waters, it lifts is face to the sunlight and finally emerges. Miraculously, not a trace of soil remains on the flower. It lives in the mud yet is unaffected by it. This is an example for us to be in the world but not be adversely affected by it. The lotus flower teaches us that no matter how muddied the waters of our consciousness may become, clarity can always emerge from our spirit if the Divine Light guides us – even if it is only one tiny lotus blossom at a time.

- Excerpt from “The Secret Power of Yoga”

Jewish tradition believes deeply in the presentness of this life. We are not angels in heaven; we are humans living on land. We are earthly, fleshly beings, the lowest form of divinity, and designed to exist IN this physical world… “the muck.” We do not separate ourselves from society; rather, we connect fully with our communities and neighbors.

As Jewish spiritual questers, our work while on Earth is to elevate ourselves and bring goodness to our time while alive. Our job is to manifest love, unity, peace, and joy, and to know that what we say and how we act matters. Bringing food to a sick friend is holy because it sparks the light. Avoiding gossip and negative speech is holy because we are choosing to stay clear of unkindness. But this act, this being human, is complicated. We have to work hard if we want to break the surface unaffected by the muck of life. Our inner worlds can be messy, and our minds are designed to keep a strong hold on to the negative. Which is just to say  it takes work, it takes commitment, and it takes intention to live the derek --“The way, the truth.”

The “muck” is the point. The “muck” is the journey of life. Noticing and being in the “muck” is what makes us human. Cheshvan is designed to give us the time to let ourselves experience the challenges of  the muck also known as our humanity.

Stay Clear And Awake, Have Faith

Last month, we promised to be better. But our ego is not into change. We must go beyond ourselves to be who we want to be. This month, allow yourself space to notice any resistance you have to change and to making the improvements you promised you’d make in Tishrei. A teacher of At The Well’s has a saying:

Humans are designed to hold a negativity bias; even when we don’t want to, we cling to the darkness, a habit that can amplify itself when we’re trying to make real change. It’s important to stay clear and awake to your intentions during this time. Don’t let your mind keep you mired in the muck.

Faith is when you step forward without seeing clearly where exactly you’re going. Cheshvan asks us to have faith, to find time for engage in  personal reflection, to gauge our progress, and (mud)wrestle with spiritual growth. Cheshvan was not designed to be easy or comfortable or even ecstatic in its discomfort, as Tishrei was. This month, have faith. Plant your lotus flower, and grow towards the light.

What if we all did this? Us sisters from At The Well believe we can, and that our futures are beautiful.

SHARE THIS POST