Rebbetzen Tziporah: Every Moment

 Dear friends,

In the past weeks, many of my children and grandchildren have celebrated birthdays, and it led me to reflect on the deeper meaning of a birthday. Chanukah, too, is a time of renewal — a rediscovery of who we are as a people and what Hashem asks of us.

Kohelet tells us, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose.” Time is not a neutral flow. Every moment has a spiritual source. When people asked Rav Chaim Vital what kavanos the Arizal used in prayer, the conversation would go like this:

“Which prayer?” – Oh, say shacharis

“On which day?” – Oh, say Tuesay

“In which month?” – Oh, say Teves

“In which year of the Shemitta cycle?”

The man asking finally realized that no two moments are ever the same. Each moment carries its own mission, and that the Arizal was spirutally sensitive enough to discover the right kavanah for each moment.

The Greeks saw time as empty and directionless. We know the opposite: each moment is created, shaped, and filled by Hashem.

A birthday becomes a deeply Jewish opportunity: to say, like the Chashmonaim, “Mi laHashem elai — Whoever is for Hashem, come to me.” It is a day to take all your abilities, your experiences, your gifts, the influences that shaped you, and ask: What does Hashem want of me now, in the flow of my life?

Hashem brought you into the world through your parents, His messengers. Your father gave you the “white”: structure, bones, mind. Your mother gave you the “red”: flesh, warmth, vitality. This is not biology; it is identity. And beyond all this, Hashem gave you your neshama — eternal, pure, uniquely yours. And He gave you time…

Every month has its mazal — the spiritual flow Hashem places into time. These are not predictions, chas v’shalom, but pathways of avodas Hashem. Here is a brief guide: I used the essays in Bilvavi by Rav Itamar Schwartz as my primary source.

The Mazal of Each Month

•                 Nissan (Taleh / Aries): Renewal, fresh beginnings, courage, geulah-energy.

•                 Iyar (Shor / Taurus): Steadiness, healing, inner refinement.

•                 Sivan (Te’omim / Gemini): Connection, communication, Torah received.

•                 Tammuz (Sartan / Cancer): Sensitivity, inner awareness, guarding the eyes and heart.

•                 Av (Ari / Leo): Strength, responsibility, transforming harshness to compassion.

•                 Elul (Betulah / Virgo): Teshuvah, purity, inner clarity.

•                 Tishrei (Moznayim / Libra): Balance, judgment, harmony, building relationships.

•                 Cheshvan (Akrav / Scorpio): Depth, hidden potential, inner work.

•                 Kislev (Keshet / Sagittarius): Hope, light, trust in Hashem — the essence of Chanukah.

•                 Teves (G'di / Capricorn): Discipline, structure, channeling ambition l’shem Shamayim.

•                 Shevat (D’li / Aquarius): Growth, expansion, giving and receiving wisdom.

•                 Adar (Dagim / Pisces): Joy, softness, emunah, seeing Hashem behind the hidden.

Hashem places a unique light in every month, and each of us can draw from it. When you thank Him for every moment and use the gifts He has given you, life becomes joyful, meaningful, and connected.

Love,

Tziporah