Beloved brethren in the Covenant,

As we enter Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, we stand upon the threshold of a quiet and contemplative month. Unlike the preceding days of Tishrei, resplendent with festivals, shofar blasts, and sacred convocations, Cheshvan arrives without appointed feasts. This seeming silence is itself a gift, a time set apart for inner renewal, reflection, and the quiet service of the heart. The sages of Israel have long regarded Cheshvan as a month reserved for labour—both physical and spiritual—wherein the seeds sown during the High Holy Days begin to take root and bear fruit.

The Torah tells us, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months” (Exodus 12:2). Though this was spoken concerning Nisan, the principle remains—each new moon is a renewal, a divine appointment to re-align our hearts with the rhythm of Mar-Yah’s creation. The moon, waxing and waning by divine ordinance, mirrors our own spiritual journey—seasons of fullness followed by seasons of hiddenness. The new moon of Cheshvan invites us to dwell faithfully in the hidden season, when devotion is sustained by inward perseverance.

The prophet Isaiah said: “Thus says Mar-Yah Alaha, who created the heavens and stretched them out … I Mar-Yah have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you” (Isaiah 42:5–6). These words, spoken to the servant of Mar-Yah, shine out through the ages and find their perfect expression in Yeshua the Messiah, the Righteous One who walked in obedience amidst silence and solitude. In Him, the covenant of light is made manifest—a promise that even in the quiet months of the soul, the presence of the Holy One does not depart from His people.

Cheshvan, then, teaches us fidelity without spectacle. It calls us to serve not from emotion, but from steadfastness; not in the noise of ritual celebration, but in the stillness of daily faithfulness. In the New Covenant we hear the same invitation: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4). The abiding that Yeshua speaks of is precisely the spirit of Cheshvan—a quiet endurance, a disciplined constancy in prayer, charity, and righteousness.

Therefore, beloved ones, let this Rosh Chodesh be not one of outward display but of inward consecration. Let each home be illumined by the light of gratitude, each heart attuned to the whisper of Rukha d’Kudsha. In the stillness of Cheshvan, may the divine seed within you grow unseen, until it blossoms once more in the appointed time.

May the Holy One bless the month before us with peace, steadfastness, and the sweetness of hidden grace. May He establish the work of your hands and make your hearts temples of enduring faith.

(Matt.)