Cheshvan is the second month of the Jewish calendar counting from Rosh Cheshvan is the only month that does not have any holidays or special mitzvot. We are taught that it is “reserved” for the time of Moshiach, who will inaugurate the Third Temple in the month of Cheshvan.

The great flood in the days of Noach began in this month, and it was a year later, also in the month of Cheshvan, that Noach left the ark.

In the month of Cheshvan we commemorate the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of our matriarch Rachel. She is buried on the road to Beit Lechem, where throughout the ages, and still today, Jews of all walks of life go to pray and beseech that she intercede on their behalf as a mother does for her child.

This month is the anticlimax of the previous month of Tishrei. With so many holidays and spiritual experiences, it was a feast for the soul—a vacation of sorts. Now, as we enter the month of Cheshvan, real life begins, back to the daily “mundane” grind. This is the time to take the inspiration and all that we gained in the month of Tishrei and integrate it into our lives, learning how to balance the spiritual and the physical elements of our life in unison and harmony.