Rosh Hodesh Blessing for the Month of Cheshvan
The month of Cheshvan, which begins this Sunday night, is also referred to as “Mar Cheshvan,” Bitter Cheshvan. The month is void of Jewish holidays, and therefore regarded by some as lacking, lamentable, less than. This somewhat pejorative read of Cheshvan feels incomplete. Must bitter be seen only through the lens of the negative?
Acupuncture has played a significant role in my life. Whether learning aspects of the theory, or receiving treatments, this ancient practice offers abundant wisdom. When feeling stuck on the mar of Cheshvan, the bitterness of this upcoming month, I heard a dear one in my head, who is now an acupuncturist, reminding me that bitter is a taste that corresponds to one of the Five Elements. Which, without getting into the weeds of a discipline that I’m not qualified to teach about, led me to a long loved resource that embraces the holistic traditions of Eastern medicine.
Staying Healthy With the Seasons, by Dr. Elson M. Haas, is “a balanced blend of Eastern and Western medicines, nutrition, herbology, exercise, and a wealth of other health topics [and] one of the strongest texts on preventative medicine ever written.” On the topic of bitterness, Dr. Haas offers the following: “Bitter (tonic) – a substance with an astringent, acrid, or disagreeable taste which stimulates flow of saliva and gastric juices, the digestive process, and the appetite…Bitter foods, such as endive, dandelion greens, or chicory, will also help strengthen digestion.”
That which is bitter can stimulate and strengthen the very processes that enable us to receive and integrate nourishment. While it is true that Cheshvan lacks Jewish holidays, it must be emphasized that Cheshvan directly proceeds the most holiday-filled month on the Jewish calendar. What if Mar Cheshvan, Bitter Cheshvan, is the name of the month that follows…
Slichot
Rosh HaShana
Yom Kippur
Sukkot
Hoshana Rabbah
Shimini Atzeret
Simchat Torah
…Because after all of the celebrating, we individually and collectively need time and space for absorption, for integration, for metabolizing.
What if the mar of Cheshvan is read as an imperative? “Imbibe a bitter tonic!” A digestif intentionally offered after Tishrei, a lavish seven course meal of sorts, where we wined and dined with G!d, with community, and with our innermost thoughts. In its way, the empty calendar of Cheshvan is as intentional a moment in Jewish time as the preceding month.
As the daylight decreases and the temperatures tumble downward, the beginnings of winter whisper in our ear. This is precisely the time to welcome in the bitter taste which stimulates and strengthens the processes that enable us to take in all of what we experienced during the incredibly rich and astoundingly dense month of Tishrei, so that…
The questions
The hopes
The prayers
The singing
The shared meals
The fasting
The remembering
The sukkah dwelling
The lulav & etrog shaking
The lingering
The longing
The Torah hugging
The dancing
…Can land within and around us as we enter Mar Cheshvan, welcoming the bitter just as we embrace the holidays.
To accept this medicinal dose of bitter is to say yes to HaRofeh Cholim, the Divine Healer. The month of Cheshvan is a divine prescription that allows us to digest the holiness of Tishrei in service of allowing ourselves to be digested, changed and altered by the rhythms and cycles of Jewish time as we move forward through another year.
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