Time and Truth

Shalom!

Time...

This night, the Shabbat, marks the Rosh Hodesh/Head of the Month for month of Cheshvan... Tishri and the Three Fall Feasts of the L-rd are now concluded and we move into a new month whose name is also called "Mar Cheshvan"...Mar means "bitter" an allusion to the fact that the month contains no festive days...Mar also means "water"...alluding to the month's special connection with rains and the Great Flood...on the 7th of Cheshvan, the Jews begin to pray for rains in Israel...on the 17th of Cheshvan, the Great Flood began...

After the joyful Rosh HaShanah...the extremely somber Yom Kippur...and the rejoicing of Succoth, this month enters silently...with little fanfare...and no festive days to mark it...hence it is called "Mar Cheshvan"...expressing the bitter fact that there are no Feasts or Festive Days to honor during this 30 day cycle...

HaShem is concerned about time...this can clearly be seen in the observance of the Rosh Hodesh/New Moon and Head of the Month...Every month, when the sliver of the New Moon appeared, the L-rd commanded Israel to hold a Festival with sacrifices and offerings (B'midbar/Numbers 28: 11-15)...

The entire biblical Jewish Calendar is Lunar based...as opposed to solar...this gives an accurate estimation of the monthly cycle...whereas the Solar System focuses on the annual path of the son, the lunar calendar gives heed to monthly status of the moon and its' various stages...Rosh Hodesh - the starting point of the Lunar cycle - is symbolic of light being born into darkness...

The Jewish day begins at sundown, seeingly to express G-d's intention for the world to move from darkness to light ...not vice versa..."So there was evening and morning, one day." (B'resheet/Genesis 1:5)...

Leave it to mankind to change G-d's calendar to just the opposite of what He said!...Yet regardless of this, the simple fact is that time marches on...minute by minute...hour by hour...day by day...His Word tells us to "number our days and walk in wisdom in this present age"...let us use Rosh Hodesh to evaluate how we walk with Him...then when Messiah comes, we will be confident that we fully sought to do our Master's work...

Truth:

A wise man said that "evil" spelled backward is "live"...and "devil" spelled backward is "lived"...understanding this is crucial to your life path...the word "Truth" in Hebrew is "Emet"...while English requires 4 lettes to spell this word, the Hebrew alef bet needs only three: an aleph, a mem, and a tav...here is an amazing insight: in the Hebrew alef bet, the "Aleph" is the first letter; the "Mem" is the middle letter; and the "Tav" is the last letter...first...middle...last...everything in begun..centered...and ended on: Truth
Alef Mem Tav: אמת

Time and Truth...two vitally important words in the Language of His Word...two vitally important words in the Language of Leadership...two vitally important characteristics that He asks of us...on this Rosh Hodesh of Mar Cheshvan, let us resolve to use our time wisely...in service to Him...and let us resolve to apply His Truths to all that our lives touch!

Shabbat Shalom!