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I heard a lecture from Rabbi Alon Anava about Scorpio and there is a very interesting point he made about this month – Cheshvan.
Last Updated on December 7, 2021
The Hebrew month of Cheshvan coincides with Scorpio on the zodiac. What makes this month special?
Contributed by: Rav Nissim Mordechai Makor
I heard a lecture from Rabbi Alon Anava about Scorpio and there is a very interesting point he made about this month – Cheshvan.Everything I have read about Scorpio says that it is the most powerful month. Why? I never really had an answer until I heard this lecture. Let me explain.
The tribe associated with Scorpio is Menashe. Menashe had a special quality. What was that? He did not complain when Yaacov blessed his younger brother, Ephraim before him. He didn’t mind being second.
To give some background. From the beginning of time, there was always strife between brothers;
- Cain and Abel
- Shem and Yafet against Ham
- Yitzchak and Ishmael
- Yaacov and Eisav
- Yosef and his brothers
This recurring theme is very important because none of these brothers were able to do this tikkun/correction of achdoot/unity. Unity is one of the most powerful forces in the universe and Chazal says that if the Jews were unified, they would bring the redemption immediately. It also says that if thieves are unified they will be successful. This is the power of unity. We also know that Hashem hates machlokets/arguments more than anything. When the Jews did the sin of the golden calf and the spies, the manna still fell on those days. Yet when Korach had a machloket with Moshe, that day the manna did not fall.
This tikkun/correction is one of the biggest tests in everybody’s life and one that is with us all the days of our lives.
When Yaacov crossed his hands and wanted to bless the younger one first, Yossef told his father that this was wrong. Yosef thought that here we go again with the strife between the brothers. Yet there was not a sound out of Menashe. In all the writings there is not a word that he complained. This was Menashe’s special quality. Even though he was a big shot, he was Yosef’s right hand man, he did not mind being second. He was happy for his brother. When he kept quiet he was able to accomplish this tikkun of unity. This is a very powerful character trait to have, to be happy for others with no jealousy. Later we see with Moshe and Aharon, that they perfected this tikkun. Moshe did not want to accept the job of the redeemer because he was the younger and Aharon was very happy for Moshe when he came to Egypt even though he was the older. Their relationship was the perfect one, in that they cared more about the other one than themselves. This is an amazing chidush.
Why is unity so powerful? There are a few reasons and they are all very powerful.
We know that the sin of hatred for no reason(Sinat Chinam) was the cause of the second Temple being destroyed and also the reason we are still in galut/exile. The antidote for hatred for no reason is love for no reason(Ahavat Chinam). Love for no reason comes about because there is unity between two parties. We know that the acronym for first line of the the prayer, Ana Becoach has a numerology of 506, which is also the numerology of Ahavat Chinam/love for no reason. This acronym is a very powerful force and can be used in our everyday life to help relationships with difficult people.
Also from Menashe, we learn that when he didn’t complain, he let go of his ego. Most people would be upset that they were passed over and would complain. From Menashe’s action we can use this to get rid of our ego. Humility is one of the most powerful character traits and connects to the Sefirah of Keter.
Also Rabbi Akiva told us that, Love thy Neighbor, is one of the most important laws in the Torah. This is a very deep subject, but one of the teachings, is that even though it is very difficult to love a stranger as much as your family, who are your closest neighbors, the idea is to want for your neighbor as much as you want for yourself. If you want a million dollars, then you must want the same or more for your neighbor. This was the power of Menashe. He was happy for his brother.
From the above we see that in this month we have the ability to connect to all these forces, unity, love for no reason, love thy neighbor and humility. This is the power of this month. So much energy. Being able to connect to these qualities makes this month the most powerful and the reason the third Temple will be dedicated in Cheshvan.
Chodesh Tov.
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