The Month of Tishrei: A Time of Rebirth and Upward Movement | The Spiral of Time series

From the Inside Flap\\nCalendars are scripts; they provide the storyline and stage directions for the year based on movements of the earth in relation to other celestial bodies. In the story of terrestrial time there is most often one primary protagonist in relation to the earth: the sun or the moon. Throughout the world, virtually every calendar tells the story of the earth's correspondence with one of these two celestial characters as they chart their path across the sky -- every calendar, that is,except for the Hebrew calendar. In our calendar, there are two simultaneous and interlocking stories functioning within the year; we collate and count time by both the solar and lunar cycles. From the lunar cycle we count the months of the year. From the solar cycle, we count the days of the year. Thus, there are two different calendrical 'new years'. The lunar cycle begins with the first month of the year, Nisan, while the solar cycle begins with the first day of the year, Rosh Hashanah, the first day of Tishrei. In other words, Tishrei starts the new year of the days,Nisan the new year of the months.\\nMonths themselves are connected to the experience of newness and rebirth, as manifest in the monthly renewal of the moon. This is explicitly reflected in the Hebrew words Chodesh / month and Chidush/ renewal. In contrast, years and days are connected to the experience of routine, order, and predictability. This is reflected in the Hebrew word Shana / year, which is connected to the word Yashan / old. Tishrei is the beginning of the new Shana.\\nNisan begins the spring and summer months, and the new year of 'the miraculous'; of redemption,freedom, and revelation from Above. All of this represents a movement from Above to below. Tishrei begins the fall and winter months, and the new year of'the orderly'; of our own Avodah /spiritual-mental-emotional work. This represents a movement from below to Above.\\nNew beginnings are exciting, stimulating a sense of Hischadshus/ newness, rebirth, hope, possibility, and openness to the unexpected.Regarding such beginnings, Rav Eleazer of Worms (c. 1176-1238), the author of Sefer Rokeach, teaches, אין חוזק כחוזק החסידות בתחלתו/ (loosely translated) "there is no strength like the strength of a person beginning a new path of Chassidus /piety." Rebbe Tzadok of Lublin comments,כי על ידי האור הגדול בוער בלבו חשק ורצון לקדושה בכל תוקףועוז / "since through this great light, there is aroused in his heart a deep longing and desire for holiness, with tremendous urgency and power" (Pri Tzadik, Beshalach). In such a beginning, one senses that abundant "great light" is being opened for him, and his heart and mind are aroused and awakened from their slumber. It feels exciting, fresh and new, much like the visceral sensation when spring arrives after a long, hard, cold winter. This is like the new beginning of Nisan, the month of miracles and our exodus from exile.\\nAnd then there is a new beginning of the cycle of the 'old'; the beginning of routine, of inner work and self-elevation, the month of Tishrei. This begins with the inception of the fall and winter months, as the days are getting shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, with less and less sunlight, and increasingly cold temperatures.This beginning demands tenacity, knowing that you are soon going to traverse along winter, with everything that this absence of light and heat represents.\\nThis beginning of Tishrei and the new year demands introspection, resolution, commitment, and are solve to persevere. In contrast to the beginning of Nisan, the sages teach regarding the beginning of Tishrei, כל התחלות קשות / "All beginnings are difficult" (Mechilta. See Rashi, Shemos, 19:5. Zohar 2,p. 187). We have to adjust to the new reality and learn to self-generate. Indeed, such beginnings can seem much less exciting and more threatening, awe-inspiring, maybe even harsh and difficult. And yet, this is precisely why the new year begins with the solemn, intensely holy Days

Publisher:

IYYUN Publishing

Pages:

202

Date Published:

2020-08-24