Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan☔

As we wrap up an uplifting Elul and Tishrei, I want to pause and publicly thank Hashem for such an incredible gift of this beautiful start to our new year.

And I want to thank you for being part of this journey with me.

Whether you joined the classes, read the emails, or followed your own path of growth, I truly believe that our shared efforts create sparks of inspiration and hope for all of us

And so, thank you for doing your part!

We began with a Tehillim email on L'David Hashem and a Teshuva Masterclass.

For those that have joined the membership, we have already had a transformative Yom Kippur class class, a Yamim Noraim Tehillim email, a Rosh Hashana email, a Sukkos email, a Simchas Torah Tehillim email. That's a very lot for one month. And I have received incredible feedback from participants how uplifted they felt. 

And that's besides for the really powerful three Elul Classes we had - on the hosafos in Shmone Esrei, on Avinu Malkeinu and the 13 Middos Harachamim.

At the end of the Yom Tov, I felt like I had so so much packed inside of me, I needed to review it all. It brought to mind how Rabbi Pesach Krohn always ends his speeches, "and let's remember that... and let's remember that.. and let's remember...," as he reviews everything he says. It's so incredibly important to integrate what we learnt. 

(Which is why our last year's membership had a Siyum on Chamisha Chumshei Torah yesterday, to integrate and celebrate a full year of learning and growing!)

And now comes Cheshvan, and Cheshvan is about processing, absorbing, and integrating all that we have grown.

Klal Yisrael worked really hard to build the Beis Hamikdash for seven long years. They finished it in Cheshvan. The Beis Hamikdash was the balance between doing and being. It's the experience of 39 melachos, the 39 forms of labor that were done in the Beis Hamikdash, and are not allowed to be done on Shabbos, because Shabbos is not about doing, it's about being.

It's about taking the labor of the six past days and allowing it to intergrate within you, as you are in the stillness of Shabbos.

That is Cheshvan and that is where we each are now. The empty month, the month without any yamim tovim, that gives us the space to properly process what we have accomplished over the past two intense months.

The Medrash says (Yalkut Shemoni, Melachim 184) that just like the Beis Hamikdash was completed in Cheshvan, in the future, the eternal Beis Hamikdash will be dedicated in Cheshvan. And then we will be able to integrate all the growth that we have accomplished as a nation.

As we head into the winter, I look forward to journeying with you - individually and collectively - as we write our way home, together.

Looking forward to a wonderful year together,

Yocheved

P.S. Many of you have reached out asking when the winter courses will begin. Be’ezras Hashem, in the coming weeks I’ll be sending out all the details.

As in the past, there will be live classes in Yerushalayim as well as Zoom options for those joining internationally.

In the meantime, if you’d like to keep your momentum going, see below for some ways to access tools for growth right now.

Let's Write!1. Make a list of 50 lessons that you have learnt this Elul and Tishrei. Don't stop until you reach the end of the list. You can write "I don't know," if you feel stuck, but no matter what, continue writing. Also, you can repeat yourself as many times as you want.

2. When you reach the end of your list, create 3-5 categories that you'd like to divide it into. Color code each category and mark each entry with the color of that topic.

3. Count how many entries you have in each category.

4. Write a reflection. What did you learn from writing and reading your list? What does the count of each topic tell you? Explore it.

5. What growth would you like to integrate this month of Cheshvan?