While Kislev brought us into the darkest time of year and the holiday of Hanukkah, Tevet brings us out of Hanukkah, and moves us again towards longer, lighter days.
The month of Tevet was originally named while the Jewish people were living in exile in Babylonia. “Tevet,” meaning “sinking” or “immersing,”¹, perhaps references the muddy swamp-like conditions that arose from heavy rains during the winter season.
It must have been quite stormy for the whole month to be named for the aftermath, and we could honor its significance by taking the name at face value. After all, during such a rainy month, it might be nice to allow ourselves to hibernate until the sun comes out again. And there’s no harm in doing so. However, if we have capacity to go deeper, there is a rich metaphor awaiting us here, and it invites us directly into practice.
If you’ve been around in the wake of stormy weather, you might have noticed that grassy areas and dirt roads become messy, creating an obstacle-course like effect for those trying to navigate. Our traversing the path might even add to the disarray, deepening tire tracks in the mud or, worse yet, getting bogged and stuck.
Indeed there are some times when we have little choice but to go where we need to go, even if it means adding to the mess. However, another thing that you may have noticed is that, once the rain stops, if left alone, the silt will settle to the ground, making for clear water in the various puddles.
As it is written, “as within, so without”; we recognize that so much of our internal world is a reflection of what’s happening externally, and vice versa. According to Kabbalah, the state of the earth (covered in muck and mud) and the waters (stirred up from the storm), correspond to the state of the body and heart. As such, we might use this month to explore what “muck” or muddy waters are stirred up in us – body and heart – and how might we be agitating or quelling them? In this inquiry alone, we might become aware of the distinction between what we can control and what is beyond us.
For example, we might realize that our stirred emotional state is made worse by rumination, and eased by journaling or sharing with a trusted confidante. This new awareness bring us to a bechira point² where we can choose whether to continue to process the emotions internally, or whether to engage in journaling, therapy, or even a conversation with a loved one, as a means to lessen the swirl of emotions that we’ve been carrying internally.
And, of course, we can bring our practice to bear, noticing what’s stirring and swirling in us, and allowing mindfulness to invite settling. It might mean coming to stillness to allow for thoughts and sensations to settle, or it might mean engaging mindful breathing or movement, as a way to focus our energy and induce relaxation in the nervous system. Whatever practice we choose, allowing the body, heart, and mind to settle, may help us to notice that, like the water once swirling with sediment, we too, become more clear – in thought, in breathe, in our senses, in our very being.
May this month of Tevet see only gentleness in its storms and our practice support us in allowing the aftermath to settle towards greater ease and clarity.
¹Posner, Menachem. 11 Facts About the Month of Tevet that Every Jew Should Know.
²A term from Mussar, the system of applied Jewish ethics, which means “choice point”.