Jewish tradition grew out of the relationship between a people and their land.
Three thousand years ago our ancestors' lives revolved around the cycles of the earth. They planted and harvested according to the seasons.
They prayed for rain in the winter and dew in the summer.
Today our holidays and our lunar calendar are a constant reminder of our interdependence with nature.
We honor the new month with Rosh Hodesh, blessings of the new moon.
We celebrate many holidays on the full moon.
We pray in “organic” time at sunrise and sunset.
[Our ancestors] followed a calendar that was defined by the agricultural events of everyday life. They based their units of time, seasons, and months not on abstract numbers and calculations, but on the reality of the environment in which they lived.
(יא) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים תַּֽדְשֵׁ֤א הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ דֶּ֔שֶׁא עֵ֚שֶׂב מַזְרִ֣יעַ זֶ֔רַע עֵ֣ץ פְּרִ֞י עֹ֤שֶׂה פְּרִי֙ לְמִינ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעוֹ־ב֖וֹ עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃ (יב) וַתּוֹצֵ֨א הָאָ֜רֶץ דֶּ֠שֶׁא עֵ֣שֶׂב מַזְרִ֤יעַ זֶ֙רַע֙ לְמִינֵ֔הוּ וְעֵ֧ץ עֹֽשֶׂה־פְּרִ֛י אֲשֶׁ֥ר זַרְעוֹ־ב֖וֹ לְמִינֵ֑הוּ וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־טֽוֹב׃
(11) And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. (12) The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good.
(ז) וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃
(טו) וַיִּקַּ֛ח יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעָבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ׃
(22) The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
Risa Alyson Cooper
Cheshvan is a time to exhale. It is a time to let go of the energetic build-up of Elul… to release after the spiritual work on Tishrei.
Cheshvan is also called Mar-Cheshvan. Mar can have different meanings, but some write that Cheshvan is given the title mar (“bitter”) because it is the only month in the Hebrew calendar that does not contain any holidays.
I personally find such sweetness in the absence of celebration… in the quiet moments that offer space for reflection and internalization. I remember the first time I planted garlic. [My teacher] taught us that we plant in the fall - that garlic prefers to spend the winter months dormant beneath the ground. Garlic is a plant that honours the need to go inward; that celebrates cycles of dormancy to balance phases of growth and abundance.
In the same ways, Cheshvan celebrates stillness and quiet. It is a month to be small. A month to be silent. A month to internalize, to integrate, to centre. Cheshvan is a time to exhale. It is a necessary balancing to the fullness of the breath.
Growing Garlic, from the Farmers Almanac:
https://www.almanac.com/plant/garlic
How to Grow Garlic, from the Hudson Valley Seed:
https://hudsonvalleyseed.com/blogs/blog/how-to-plant-garlic
Putting the Garden to Bed: Late Fall Garden Activities
https://hudsonvalleyseed.com/blogs/blog/putting-the-garden-to-bed-november-activities
GrowTorah Sources: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/154563?lang=bi
Janna Siller of Adamah Farm & Fellowship on Interleaved: A Talmudic Podcast about considering food from a place not far removed from the source: https://podfollow.com/1502466042/episode/cec61d23aa9431f5cf001cc8e3afa95c1df6a792/view
A People of the Land: The History and Future of Jewish Agriculture: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/123728?lang=bi
Peah: How We Share Abundance: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/103611?lang=bi
Garlic!: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/224371?lang=bi