Iggeret HaLevana ~ the Message of the Moon
13 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingHi! Welcome to Iggeret HaLevana, a year-long ~spiritual~ journey with me, Shira. I’m working to tap into the mystical magical energies of the Hebrew months in the hopes that when next year’s Rosh Hashanah comes around, I will be set up to ascend into an inspired 5783 (aka next year).
Growing up in a rural area, I always loved gazing at the expansive, fabulously glittering moon and stars. Now I live in New York, and I realize I took that night sky for granted.
I can't see the stars now, but thank G-d I can still see the moon :)
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Episodes
Ep. 12 // the Hebrew Month of Elul and the Mazal / Zodiac Virgo
September 05, 2022 00:53 - 10 minutes - 9.77 MBThe Twelfth Month: Elul It's Elul! Time keeps doing that thing where it passes!!! On one hand - wow how lucky are we to have reached this point? And on the other hand - we continue our hurtle toward the great unknown. *shrugs* The month of Elul, as the final month of the Jewish year, is a time for introspection and spiritual work / reflection on the time that has passed since the LAST Elul. It is taught that this month is a time where our words and petitions to G-d are more potent. Also it...
Ep. 11 // the Hebrew Month of Av and the Mazal / Zodiac Leo
August 10, 2022 20:55 - 5 minutes - 5.46 MBThe Eleventh Month: Av Av is, famously, a bummer of a time. Literally (in stark contrast to the happy month of Adar) the Talmud says that when we enter the month of Av, our joy decreases. It's funny language, right? Why not "increase our sadness" - why decrease joy? The reason sometimes given reminds me of the Winnie the Pooh quote - "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?" Among other things, we lament the destruction of both of our Temples in Jerusalem durin...
Ep. 10 // the Hebrew Month of Tammuz and the Mazal / Zodiac Cancer
June 27, 2022 21:58 - 7 minutes - 6.55 MBThe Tenth Month: Tammuz I will always think of late June / July as schools-over-summer-camp-time. Like mental imagery of over air conditioned echoey hallways and sweltering golden hour mornings. Maybe that's just summer in the south though.... lol. I don't know if it's the cloudless skies paired with the dry air and crazy strong sun, but my brain associates the peak summer month of Tammuz with slow paces and / or restlessness. I have learned that the cloudlessness of the sky means that T...
Ep. 9 // the Hebrew Month of Sivan and the Mazal / Zodiac Gemini
June 02, 2022 03:26 - 10 minutes - 9.4 MBThe Ninth Month: Sivan While Sivan is the 9th month from Tishrei (the beginning of the Jewish year), it is the 3rd month from Nisan. Tishrei is the new year for years, but Nisan is the new year for months, because Nisan is when we were first given the commandment of recognizing the beginning of the months. In Kabbalah, there is a three column system - right, left, and central. This is reflected in the first 3 sefirot, or divine emanations of G-d. We have been thinking a lot about the sefir...
Ep. 8 // the Hebrew Month of Iyar and the Mazal / Zodiac Taurus
May 02, 2022 22:18 - 9 minutes - 8.86 MBThe Eighth Month: Iyar Iyar is unique in a few ways - it's the only month in the year where each day has a special, time-bound mitzvah to perform: the counting of the Omer. We count 49 days - 7 weeks, 7 days, from the evening of the second day of Pesach (Passover) in Nisan (last month) until the 50th day - Shavuot, the holiday where we celebrate the giving of the Torah, in Sivan (next month). The idea is that, like a birthday or any other special event, we are joyously counting our way towa...
Ep. 7 // the Hebrew Month of Nisan and the Mazal / Zodiac Aries
April 01, 2022 18:45 - 7 minutes - 7.1 MBThe Seventh Month: Nisan Right in between the 9th and 10th plagues, G-d gives Moshe (Moses) and Aharon (Aaron) the first mitzvah, the first commandment, to the Jewish people as a whole. *record scratch* Wait haven't the Jewish people existed since Avraham (Abraham)? Yes, they have, and even though there were definitely families / clans / groups of Jewish people, we didn't officially become a united nation until the end of our slavery in Mitzrayim (Egypt). With the promise of the Matan Tor...
Ep. 6 // the Hebrew Month of Adar (I & II) and the Mazal / Zodiac Pisces
February 06, 2022 16:35 - 7 minutes - 6.51 MBThe Sixth Month (Parts I and II): Adar I and Adar II One of the things I love a lot about modern Judaism is the day-to-day practicality of it. As you may know, the Hebrew calendar does not exactly line up with the English calendar. The Hebrew calendar in a non-leap year is 11 days shorter than the English calendar. An 11 day variance isn't that big, but add up many years and we'd be totally off. And yet, year in and year out, we will still celebrate certain holidays and read certain pars...
Ep. 5 // the Hebrew Month of Shevat and the Mazal / Zodiac Aquarius
January 03, 2022 21:33 - 7 minutes - 6.73 MBThe Fifth Month: Shevat Hello again! Today is the first day of the fifth month - Shevat. Shevat, like Tevet, is pretty sparse in regard to holidays. The only holiday in this month is Tu BiShevat, meaning the 15th of Shevat. According to the Mishnah, there are a few "New Years" - there's the New Year for festivals, the first of the month of Nisan. There's the New Year for years, the first of the month of Tishrei (aka Rosh Hashanah, the Head of the Year). And then there's Tu BiShevat - the N...
Ep. 4 // the Hebrew Month of Tevet and the Mazal / Zodiac Capricorn
December 24, 2021 17:59 - 7 minutes - 7.23 MBThe Fourth Month: Tevet First thing's first. You may be asking, "Shira, isn't Tevet nearly 2/3rds over with?" To that I would say, "Yes! It surely is." I will not make excuses. I dropped the ball, y'all! To illustrate my feelings on still sending this out super duper late, I will tell you a story. I was on the swim team up until high school. I wasn't very fast. Even so, I still went to the swim meets and swam with intense mediocrity. The swimmers that excelled always impressed me, though...
Ep. 3 // the Hebrew Month of Kislev and the Mazal / Zodiac Sagittarius
November 05, 2021 17:50 - 10 minutes - 9.6 MBThe Third Month: Kislev We have just completed the month of Cheshvan, or Marcheshvan as it is sometimes called -- "bitter Cheshvan." To a people whose holidays nearly outnumber our non-holidays, Cheshvan is a famously holiday-free month. It serves a stark contrast to the previous intensity of the month of Tishrei, when we have Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, etc. Now we are entering the month of Kislev. Kislev is the 3rd month. The number 3 is associated with the Divine e...
Ep. 2 // the Hebrew Month of Cheshvan and the Mazal / Zodiac Scorpio
October 07, 2021 03:51 - 12 minutes - 11.3 MBThe Second Month: Cheshvan We have just left the month of Tishrei, the first in the year 5782. Tishrei is essentially half holiday - we had Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are extremely holy days and Sukkot is one of the Shalosh Regalim, the 3 Pilgrimage Holidays that in Temple-times would be one of the 3 times a year that Jews from all over would make the journey to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) to the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple. The first 10 days of ...
Ep. 1 // the Hebrew Month of Tishrei and the Mazal / Zodiac Libra
September 13, 2021 05:05 - 14 minutes - 13.8 MBI find the High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, to be overwhelming. I dread their arrival every year - particularly Rosh HaShanah, the head of the Hebrew New Year. The Jewish year is a circle, and every Aleph Tishrei, or the first of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, is our January 1st. The idea of Rosh Hashanah is to prepare ourselves for the Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgement - Yom Kippur. On Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur, we chant Unetaneh Tokef, “On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed and ...
Introducing Iggeret HaLevana ... preparing for the Final Exam (High Holidays 5783) with the Unit Test (the Hebrew months of 5782!)
September 13, 2021 05:02 - 3 minutes - 3.38 MBHi! Welcome to Iggeret HaLevana, a year-long ~spiritual~ journey with me, Shira. I’m working to tap into the mystical magical energies of the Hebrew months in the hopes that when next year’s Rosh Hashanah comes around, I will be set up to ascend into an inspired 5783 (aka next year). The Jewish year is one based upon the cycle of the moon, and we mark the beginning of a new month by the sight of the sliver of a crescent of the new moon the sky. Growing up in a relatively rural area, I alway...