By Shira Kaplan
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The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.
The Twelfth Month: Elul
It's Elul! Time keeps doing that thing where it passes!!! On one hand - wow how lucky are we to have reached this point? And on the other hand - we continue our hurtle toward the great unknown. *shrugs*
The month of Elul, as the final month of the Jewish year, is a time for introspection and spiritual work / reflection on the time that has passed since the LAST Elul. It is taught that this month is a time where our words and petitions to G-d are more potent. Also it's my birthday month!
There's a Hasidic idea that in the month of Elul is when "the King is the field." The concept is that a King is returning from a trip and on his way back into the kingdom, he is passing through the fields of his subjects. Once the king reaches the castle though, it will be difficult to get in front of him again. This time of the king being reachable and close by is extremely important to take advantage of - and we look at our closeness to G-d in this month in the same way.
I started this whole podcast really because of Elul. For the past 3 years, I've done a Cheshbon HaNefesh, or an Accounting of the Soul - essentially reflecting on the past year in a concrete way - making lists, assessing yourself honestly, etc. What you liked/disliked, how you want to improve, what you are proud of. Summarizing the past year and taking from this summary key points. AKA - what I'm trying to do right now, in closing out this year-long Rosh Chodesh journey.
If you've been with me from the start, you'll know that another reason I began this podcast / essay series was because I was stressed out about the finality and the seriousness of the Jewish High Holidays.
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The Eleventh Month: Av
Av is, famously, a bummer of a time. Literally (in stark contrast to the happy month of Adar) the Talmud says that when we enter the month of Av, our joy decreases. It's funny language, right? Why not "increase our sadness" - why decrease joy?
The reason sometimes given reminds me of the Winnie the Pooh quote - "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?"
Among other things, we lament the destruction of both of our Temples in Jerusalem during the month of Av, specifically on the 9th of Av - Tisha b'Av (which was observed this past Sunday). The Temple or Beit HaMikdash does the job of being the physical or tangible representation of something very abstract - our connection to G-d.
We decrease our joy rather than increasing our sadness because we're not coming from a place of pure despair. We once had something very special and holy, and one day we will have it again. And this is the great gift AND curse of a very lofty end goal (I.e. - Moshiach / the Messiah coming, and rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash). But how lucky are we to have had it!
We learn that the second Beit HaMikdash was destroyed due to Sinat Chinam, baseless hatred between the Jewish people. But it is also taught that the Jews of this era were occupied with mitzvot and kindness - so how could they have ALSO been baselessly hating one another? We learn that while they were mitzvot-focused, the Jewish community of this era was very sectarian. Each group considered themselves the one and only correct way to observe and live, viewing all other Jews as heretics.
Not even a warm take, but doesn't this sound like today's cultural environment even beyond religion?
It's hard to relate to the destruction of a building we've never even seen, but this polarization and lack of respect we experience in our world today is much more accessible.
So, in this month of Av, we are reminded of a few things:
- just because people existed a while ago doesn't mean they were perfect
- just because we exist now doesn't mean we have a free pass to be imperfect
- respect of all groups is ALWAYS relevant
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The Tenth Month: Tammuz
I will always think of late June / July as schools-over-summer-camp-time. Like mental imagery of over air conditioned echoey hallways and sweltering golden hour mornings. Maybe that's just summer in the south though.... lol.
I don't know if it's the cloudless skies paired with the dry air and crazy strong sun, but my brain associates the peak summer month of Tammuz with slow paces and / or restlessness. I have learned that the cloudlessness of the sky means that Tammuz is a good month to connect with G-d - fewer barriers between us and G-d. This quiet also lends to our connecting with G-d.
Tammuz is the 10th month from Tishrei, but the 4th month from Nisan. Nisan, Iyar, and Sivan are considered the "spring months," and the summer months begin with Tammuz.
The month of Tammuz is a month of transformation - from one end of the spectrum to the other. By definition, Tammuz was a Mesopotamian god of fertility. This juxtaposition of this non-Jewish deity's name and the fact that it's still on our calendar exemplifies this quality of transformation.
Reuven, the tribe of the month, was the first child of Leah and Jacob. Reuven is shown to concern himself with his mother's fertility as well as the status of Leah and Jacob's relationship in the Torah. The connection of Reuven's focus on family life, matched with the origin of Tammuz's name isn't coincidental.
One of the main events of this month is the fast day of ShveiEsrei b'Tammuz / the 17th of Tammuz, the day that both the Sin of the Golden Calf and the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple in Jerusalem, occurred. It is said that when the Messiah / Moshiach comes, all of our saddest days, (like the 17th of Tammuz), will be our most major holidays. The big ones like Pesach and Sukkot will become secondary because these days will hold the energy of 180 degree transformations - from destruction to rebuilding.
Back to the summer and the quality of change - I feel like kids always come back to school in the fall as transformed people. Maybe tanned, or taller, or weighed down with friendship bracelets, more confident having learned a new skill / hobby... hopefully all positive transformations and growths. So I am tapping into this energy of change and growth in Tammuz.
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The Ninth Month: Sivan
While Sivan is the 9th month from Tishrei (the beginning of the Jewish year), it is the 3rd month from Nisan. Tishrei is the new year for years, but Nisan is the new year for months, because Nisan is when we were first given the commandment of recognizing the beginning of the months.
In Kabbalah, there is a three column system - right, left, and central. This is reflected in the first 3 sefirot, or divine emanations of G-d. We have been thinking a lot about the sefirot these past few weeks because of the role of the sefirot in Sefirat haOmer, the counting of the Omer.
The first sefira is Chesed, or loving kindness. Chesed is characterized by endless giving, flowing. The second sefira is Gevurah, strength. Gevurah is characterized by restriction and receiving. The third sefira is Tiferet, or beauty and is characterized by splendor / harmony. As seen in the diagram above, Tiferet is at the meeting place of Chesed and Gevurah, making it a place of synthesis of the 2. If Chesed is the right and Gevurah is the left, then Tiferet is the central column.
Tiferet represents taking two concepts that on their own are good, and making them even better - transforming and balancing their qualities.
So if we're talking in terms of 1 (Nisan, Chesed), 2 (Iyar, Gevurah), and 3 (Sivan, Tiferet) we see this right, left, center pattern again.
I think of it like this: Nisan (the month we celebrate Passover) is endlessly flowing with the energy of freedom, cherut, connected to the flowing of chesed. Then we have Iyar, the month with the majority of the time we spend counting the Omer. In this month we are working on our character traits, restricting ourselves (like Gevurah) and building up our strength. I also think of it as the time for healing. Literally, for the Jews who were just freed from 200+ years of slavery, but also for modern Jews. We have the hustle and bustle of Passover for the second half of Nisan and then... it's over! We get rest/recovery from the jostling that comes with figurative slavery and corresponding freedom of Passover. Iyar is also said to stand for Ani Hashem Rofecha - אני ה' רופאך - I am G-d your Healer, which completely fits with this image.
So Nisan is flowing and free, Iyar is more stable, growth oriented, and Sivan incorporates those 2 different concepts. To me, Sivan has this characterization because it's the month we celebrate the giving of the Torah. More on that shortly. So, we celebrate the giving of the Torah, Matan Torah, on the holiday of Shavuot. (Shavuot is a harvest festival celebrated 7 weeks, 50 days after the second night of Passover. Over the years and throughout Jewish tradition, Shavuot became associated with the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai, Mount Sinai.)
To have the beautiful, miraculous world that we do, and not have any sort of guidance would be difficult - aka totally unbound free will. This is the existence of only the energy of Nisan / Chesed. To have too harsh of rules, though, would be difficult to maneuver as well. This is in the energy of Iyar / Gevurah, or the idea of determinism, that the world is set by G-d and we have no say.
So Sivan / Tiferet embodies what the Torah is - synthesizing free will with our experience of G-d in the world. There's both - and with the guidance of the Torah we can experience the beauty and harmony - Tiferet.
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The Eighth Month: Iyar
Iyar is unique in a few ways - it's the only month in the year where each day has a special, time-bound mitzvah to perform: the counting of the Omer. We count 49 days - 7 weeks, 7 days, from the evening of the second day of Pesach (Passover) in Nisan (last month) until the 50th day - Shavuot, the holiday where we celebrate the giving of the Torah, in Sivan (next month). The idea is that, like a birthday or any other special event, we are joyously counting our way toward one of the greatest days in Jewish history, refining our character and our behavior, until we reach the day of Matan Torah - the giving of our Torah.
Iyar is also unique in that, in addition to Torah-time observances such as Pesach Sheni and Lag BaOmer, it has quite a few days commemorating / relating to the modern state of Israel.
It is taught that Iyar (אייר) is an acronym for "I am G-d your Healer - Ani Hashem Rofecha - אני יי רופאך"
Iyar comes from the Akkadian "ayari" meaning "rosette, blossom." In the Talmud it is called "Chodesh Ziv," or the month of light.
How do all these names relate to this month?
This idea of G-d being our healer, and this time being one of "light" and blossoming feels related to the Israel-centric energy of the month. For thousands of years we were wandering Jews. A people without a protected home - running from place to place seeking refuge from a world with baseless, unwavering hatred for us. This month, unbeknownst to every generation of Jew prior to 1948, though, has become a month that is true to its name. A month of healing, light, and blossoming. It's a month that has become centered around the Jewish Homeland. The Jewish Homeland which has healed, shown light, and blossomed in every sense - literal and metaphorical.
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4 Iyar 1963 - first Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and civilian victims of terror
5 Iyar 1948 - first Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day
10 Iyar 1860 - birth of Theodore Herzl, father of Modern Zionism
13 Iyar 1427 - Jews expelled from Bern, Switzerland
14 Iyar 1933 - Nazis burned thousands of books written by Jews
14 Iyar 1960 - Adolf Eichmann captured in Buenos Aires
15 Iyar 1945 - Dachau concentration camp liberated
16 Iyar 1939 - The Nuremberg laws, depriving Jews the rights to citizenship, were passed by the government of Nazi Germany in 1935. In 1939, on the 16th of Iyar, the laws went into effect in Nazi-allied Hungary
17 Iyar 1945 - Death of Adolf Hitler
18 Iyar 1948 - Israeli Defense Forces are created
20 Iyar 1942 - All pregnant women in the Kovno ghetto are sentenced to death by Nazis
24 Iyar 1945 - Nazi Germany surrenders to Allied Forces
26 Iyar 1945 - Theresienstadt concentration camp liberated
28 Iyar 1967 - Yom Yerushalayim, the reunification of Jerusalem
I kept these dates in month chronology rather than year chronology, because it's moving / insane / frustrating / horribly unfair / disturbing to see what can occur on the same day, different year.
How lucky are we to know this whole list?
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The Seventh Month: Nisan
Right in between the 9th and 10th plagues, G-d gives Moshe (Moses) and Aharon (Aaron) the first mitzvah, the first commandment, to the Jewish people as a whole.
*record scratch*
Wait haven't the Jewish people existed since Avraham (Abraham)? Yes, they have, and even though there were definitely families / clans / groups of Jewish people, we didn't officially become a united nation until the end of our slavery in Mitzrayim (Egypt). With the promise of the Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah) and the promise of the Promised Land, HaEretz HaMuvtachat, all of the families / clans / groups became one - B'nei Yisrael, the children of Israel. Israel being Yaakov (Jacob), the patriarch at the time of the Egyptian slavery.
This first mitzvah, of course, is the commandment to sanctify the new moon as the beginning of a new month - to celebrate Rosh Chodesh, the head of the new month, starting with Chodesh Nisan.
Right before the final plague, Makkat Bechorot - Death of the First Borns, we get this mitzvah. Directly following this final plague, the Jewish people are set free.
Two commentators, Sforno and the Netziv, connect the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh directly to Yetziat Mitzrayim - the Exodus from Egypt.
Sforno emphasizes the fact that as slaves, the Jewish people had no control over their time. They were told when and where to work, when and where to eat, when and where to rest, etc. Rosh Chodesh is a symbol of the autonomy they were now granted as free people, taking back their control by sanctifying the passage of time.
Earlier into Moshe's leadership, the Jewish people are reluctant to listen to his message that G-d will free them soon. The Torah tells us this is due to their Kotzer Ruach, their shortness of breath from hard work. Pharaoh kept them working to the point of exhaustion so they didn't have the mental or physical energy to rebell or desire anything more than what their lives held.
The Netziv points out that the Jewish people had been living under the control of a foreign nation for so long that they needed something to distinguish themselves when emerging into the free world. The Egyptian society was highly connected to the sun, to the solar calendar. Our connection to the moon and the lunar calendar further removes us from that.
There's no one forcing us into labor today, but we easily lose control of our time by submitting to the constant dinging of our phones, computers, TVs, etc. Taking one look at your screen time reminds us of this. We are active in this loss of control though, and there are lots of good, amazing things that we have due to our hyperconnectivity.
And for the same reason kashrut (the laws of keeping kosher), our davening (praying) schedule, and our other unique ways of life keep us reminded who we are, Rosh Chodesh is another example of sanctifying the mundane. We make something as bland as the passing of time a ceremony! There are certain brachot and tefillot (blessings and prayers) for Rosh Chodesh and it has a great all around vibe.
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The Sixth Month (Parts I and II):
Adar I and Adar II
One of the things I love a lot about modern Judaism is the day-to-day practicality of it. As you may know, the Hebrew calendar does not exactly line up with the English calendar. The Hebrew calendar in a non-leap year is 11 days shorter than the English calendar.
An 11 day variance isn't that big, but add up many years and we'd be totally off. And yet, year in and year out, we will still celebrate certain holidays and read certain parshiyot ~around~ the same time every year. This is because the Jewish calendar CORRECTS itself 7 times within a 19 year cycle with the שנה מעוברת - Shana Me'uberet, literally a "pregnant year" or a Leap Year. This year is called the "pregnant year" because it has an extra month, Adar I or Adar Aleph, in addition to the "regular" Adar - Adar II. Both of these months of Adar have the same Kabbalistic / Zodiac qualities, so this podcast is a twofer!!
The most memorable part of Adar is that it contains the Jewish holiday of Purim. Purim tells the story of the valiant Jewish Queen Esther and her heroic saving of the Jewish people in the face of the dastardly plan of *GROGGER SOUNDS* Haaammaaaan!
Since there's an Adar Aleph and Adar Bet, there is both Purim Katan (Small Purim) and Purim proper (Adar I - Purim Katan and Adar II - Purim). Both on the 14th days of their respective Adars.
There are certain differences between the two Purims, but still on Purim Katan, we do try to tap into the energy of the holiday. As we have spoken about before, the reason we celebrate certain holidays on certain dates is because the energy of the events still remains symbolically on the date.
Adar comes from "adir / אַדִיר" means strength. It's a powerful month and a lucky month. In the Talmud we read, "משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה" - "When the month of Adar arrives, we increase in our joy!" Some interpret that to mean that each day of Adar, we become happier and happier. There are a few associations / explanations for this, but the easiest explanation is the association with the miraculous, happy holiday of Purim.
The Midrash tells us that Haman looked through all the months in the Jewish year and decided Adar was the perfect month to annihilate the Jews. It's a month without holidays and he learned it was the month that Moshe / Moses passed away. What he didn't know, is that Moshe was also born in this month - and this energy lends to its luck and miraculousness.
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The Fifth Month: Shevat
Hello again! Today is the first day of the fifth month - Shevat. Shevat, like Tevet, is pretty sparse in regard to holidays. The only holiday in this month is Tu BiShevat, meaning the 15th of Shevat.
According to the Mishnah, there are a few "New Years" - there's the New Year for festivals, the first of the month of Nisan. There's the New Year for years, the first of the month of Tishrei (aka Rosh Hashanah, the Head of the Year). And then there's Tu BiShevat - the New Year for for trees.
Though this holiday as become regarded as the Jewish Arbor Day, it actually has a less symbolic purpose. The 15th of Shevat is used as a cutoff date for calculating the beginning of the agricultural cycle in order to determine which trees are "of-age" to be eaten. There is a Torah prohibition against eating fruit from a tree within the first 3 years after planting. This fruit is considered "orlah" and is forbidden to be benefited from.
But back to how we view Tu BiShevat today - In most places in the Northern hemisphere, though, Shevat falls during the dead of winter. Why is the New Year for trees celebrated in a time when those same trees are bare?
Well we're not really celebrating any trees outside of Israel in this case! Most of Israel's rainy season is over by the 15th of Shevat, so it's not so crazy to be celebrating on behalf of our brethren across the Mediterranean.
But even if we are in a slightly warmer time in Israel, shouldn't we still want to celebrate a New Year for trees when we can eat the fruit and enjoy the beauty of the trees? Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, gives an explanation that, at this point the ground has become saturated with the rains of the new year, causing the sap to start rising in the trees, which means that the fruit can begin to bud.
This isn't a holiday celebrating results. It's a holiday celebrating potential. We're celebrating water reaching roots, sap beginning to rise, and the teeny tiny BUDS of fruit - not even the fruit itself.
There's a cliche in the fitness industry that "summer bodies are made in the winter." And while I disagree with this statement's implication that there's a "right" kind of summer body, it does do a good job of illustrating the point.
So much of life is the prep to do the prep to do the work that will eventually lead to some sort of result. But we are a people who don't delay gratification at all, who have every answer at our fingertips. We forget that putting your head down and doing the work doesn't require glancing up at every turn to see what progress you've made.
I love talking about potential. It makes me very hopeful for the future.
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The Fourth Month: Tevet
First thing's first. You may be asking, "Shira, isn't Tevet nearly 2/3rds over with?" To that I would say, "Yes! It surely is."
I will not make excuses. I dropped the ball, y'all!
To illustrate my feelings on still sending this out super duper late, I will tell you a story.
I was on the swim team up until high school. I wasn't very fast. Even so, I still went to the swim meets and swam with intense mediocrity. The swimmers that excelled always impressed me, though. There was this one swimmer, an older boy, who normally placed very high in each race he swam in.
At one summer swim meet, I overheard the coach tell him, "I know backstroke isn't your favorite, but we need people to fill the lanes. Go swim."
This normally very precise and focused swimmer ambled over to the pool with a visibly bad attitude. He swam the 200 meters of backstroke and still placed 8th, but displayed such unimpressive sportsmanship. So unimpressive that I am still telling this story 12 years later.
This swimmer knew he wouldn't place 1st, so he decided he wouldn't try at all. I don't believe in this! I really truly believe in always trying your best and following through, whether or not you think you're going to "look good."
I am telling this anecdote, because I, too, didn't like that I wasn't going to look good by sending this out so late.
I had two options -
1) flop my way through the 200 meter backstroke (aka, give up on having a regular podcast after 2 1/2 years of actually following through)
2) suck it up and not look my best, but be consistent
My pet peeve is when other people aren't consistent or can't follow-through. And my level of distaste to others when they express this personality trait can't begin to compare to the level of distaste I have for MYSELF when I express this personality trait.
I don't think anyone's spiritual wellness is solely coming from this email, but in case it is.... HERE WE GO! 20 days late!!
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A quick idea about Tevet. Tevet's name comes from the word "tov" - good. But the most memorable thing, at least to me, about Tevet is that in it, we have Asara b'Tevet, the 10th of Tevet (over 10 days ago ... lol). Asara b'Tevet is a fast day where we mark the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, which led to the eventual exile of the Jewish people from the Land of Israel. How is this month, one of the darkest and coldest months of the year, a month that's good?
Good is subjective. It's in the eye of the beholder. There is an energy of transformation in Tevet - taking something negative and viewing it in whatever positive light you can. I will give a small, tiny, insignificant example that has nothing to do with a particular virus that is surging again:
Example: It's getting dark super early, but now it's not weird when I eat dinner at 5 PM. Perspective, you know?
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The Third Month: Kislev
We have just completed the month of Cheshvan, or Marcheshvan as it is sometimes called -- "bitter Cheshvan." To a people whose holidays nearly outnumber our non-holidays, Cheshvan is a famously holiday-free month. It serves a stark contrast to the previous intensity of the month of Tishrei, when we have Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, etc.
Now we are entering the month of Kislev. Kislev is the 3rd month. The number 3 is associated with the Divine emanation (sefira) of Tiferet, meaning harmony. Tiferet is the 3rd of the 7 emotional sefirot, or the emotional faculties we can both express and map onto G-d. Tiferet does the job of synthesizing Chesed (Kindness) and Gevurah (Strength), the previous 2 sefirot, into something new. In some ways, free flowing Chesed can be too free, and strongly structured Gevurah can be too structured. Tiferet filters these 2 emanations and creates something harmonious - Tiferet.
Literally, Tiferet means beauty. If we're talking about physical beauty, that's something that our world has been so crippled by. Lately, possessing beauty means to look like the 1% of our population that has a symmetrical face and a great personal trainer (or a great plastic surgeon - I have a great rec if you're in the market for that. Hit up my Very Online uncle Dr. Jonathan Kaplan aka Dr. Bae!!!)
But physical beauty, as aforementioned, also has to deal with balance - symmetry means there are pleasing proportions present. But even if we can connect one aspect of physical beauty to Tiferet, it goes beyond the surface. Tiferet is beauty in harmony, beauty in diversity, in opposites.
We see Tiferet exemplified in music -- it's made up of notes A-G and then semitones, flat tones, sharp tones all in between. Music consists of different, corresponding notes, not just one... that would be super boring. Pieces of art are not made up of one color, but all kinds of shades, too.
We see Tiferet in the functioning - not just the appearance - of the human body. Here's the text of Asher Yatzar, the blessing said after using the bathroom:
"Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who formed humankind with wisdom and created within him many openings and many hollows (cavities). It is obvious and known before Your Throne of Glory that if but one of them were to be ruptured or if one of them were to be blocked it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You (even for a short period of time). Blessed are You, Hashem, Who heals all flesh and acts wondrously."
The human body is made up of 37 trillion cells and 78 organs -- all working harmoniously together. It's a true miracle. We have seen how even a tiny virus like COVID can wrench a body from its normal functioning. We are so vulnerable in this way.
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The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.