More information about energy--the Rosh Hodesh story Ephraim Novak In the Jewish calendar, a new month begins at the time of the new moon. The Hebrew word for month is chodesh which also means " newness". According to Kabbalah, each month offers new energies and offers new opportunities to realize one's personal potentials. Just like there are various seasons and fluctuations in our weather, there are fluctuations in the spiritual energies available. Those who are attuned to these energies are very aware of such changes and know how to use this knowledge for their personal growth and success. Rather than promoting fatalism, this knowledge actually increases our capacity to make meaningful and effective choices for our highest good. We welcome the new month with Rosh Chodesh Cheshwan on Tuesday, October 9th and Wednesday October 10th. In the preceding month of Tishrei, we spent more time celebrating holidays than any other time in the calendar year. Tishrei is the month when we open and fill ourselves with blessings for the entire year. In this month of Cheshwan, the month following Tishrei, we begin to translate into reality the visions we received in Tishrei. Now is the time when we focus on our intentions and get back to work. Now is the time to let go of what is not essential and purify ourselves so that we are really able to contain the new. During this month, it would be most helpful to incorporate new supportive spiritual and physical practices to support you in going forward now. This month of Cheshwan is also a time of cleansing and purification. It is no coincidence that the Torah portion Noah is read to welcome in the month of Cheshwan. As you recall the story, Noah was instructed to build an ark to safeguard life from the destruction of the flood. Cheshwan is the month when we must build an ark within ourselves to afford us safety and security for this month and the coming year. There may be floods in the forms of challenges in the course of one's life and particularly during this month of Cheshwan. Our internal ark will serve us through these intense times. The Hebrew word for ark ( teva) also means " word" . The arks we build in our lives are the positive words of love, prayer and blessing that we utter. Positive words provide a sanctuary for us and we need to fortify ourselves with them during this month. We each need to make a conscious effort particularly this month to speak positively, to express words of love and blessing more than we might do otherwise. Positive affirmations of oneself are fundamental. For this month, I am encouraging myself and others to reclaim the beauty of prayer and meditation. Prayer and meditation offer the most precious opportunities to experience God, to find the peace, the silence, the knowledge that is beyond the world, that is not dependent on what happens externally around you. When we find that inner peace we become bearers of blessing in the world rather than being simply reactors to events happening around us. During this month of Cheshwan, it is helpful to know that it is natural to find ourselves letting go of what no longer serves the new spiritual order of blessing we opened to in the month of Tishrei. Loss is common this month. Just as the trees shed their leaves in Cheshwan, we also shed parts of ourselves as we open to and reveal the new within us. Letting go of the old, letting go of what is not essential or is even detrimental may not be an easy one for many of us who are sentimental and want life to remain the same. What worked for us last year may not be relevant or even good for us this year. We need to contact the deeper resolve within us to go forward in our lives. The month of Cheshwan corresponds to Scorpio. Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio, was known in mythology as the lord of hidden wealth. Many of the earth's important resources such as iron, gold, silver, oil and mineral are hidden below the ground. To find these resources, we have to dig deeply, to get down in the dirt and mud and uncover and sort out the inner riches. Scorpio is associated with the scorpion, the eagle, and the phoenix, the mythological bird that rose from the ashes of destruction. The scorpion is dangerous. The eagle soars high and the phoenix renews itself from death. In this month, we tap into these three expressions of the energy of the month. We dig deep inside ourselves. We sort out what is true from what is not. In the process, we may become aware of the negative workings within and around us symbolized by the scorpion. Awareness is the first step for transformation. With awareness, our consciousness can then soar upward to new heights and swoop down to new depths like an eagle. And most importantly, throughout the month, we must remember that what may be destroyed can take new inner and outer forms like the phoenix. Chodesh Tov! Blessings for a beautiful month of internalizing all that is good and true, no matter what floods are occurring outside of ourselves. Love and blessings, Melinda( Mindy) Ribner | 
