* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
Chodesh Tov! Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan is today and tomorrow.
Rav Avraham Yaakov Kook wrote a key message for each month of the year, an idea that captures that month’s essence.
These are his words for the month of Cheshvan
“When the soul shines, even skies wrapped in fog send forth a pleasant light.”
This sentence was written specifically for us now as we face the beginning of winter in Cheshvan— the month that follows Tishrei—a month without any holidays.
During this period, it gets dark earlier and the skies are gray, which may cause us to feel gloomy us as we trudge through our dailyroutine. But Rav Kook writes: If our soul shines within us, it will brighten the darkness outside. The soul has the power to dispel the darkness of cloud-covered skies.
Over the past few years, we have discovered that even during the bleakest of times the soul of the Jewish people shines brightly which has impacted how we experienced our reality.
And even on a personal level: We do not need tolook outside ourselves to determine how we should feel. We can always maintain an inner sense of joy for our soul is always shining brightly, and if we view our circumstances in a positive light, with God’s help, our reality will be brighter, too.
May you have a good and blessed month.
