By Miriam Shulamit ( Melinda Mindy Ribner)

www.kabbalahoftheheart.com.

 It may still be the heart of the winter, but this upcoming month of Shevat that begins on January 26th marks a hidden and mystical time of new beginnings and rebirth. This month is a time of new inspiration and creativity. During this month of Shevat, we contact the creative energies deep within ourselves. 

The previous month of Tevet has been cold, and not just physically. In Tevet, we have had to fight the negative forces, we have had to focus our inner work on purifying ourselves of anger. Most likely in the month of Tevet, there have been many opportunities where we or others around us became heated up about something. Tevet is challenging. It is helpful to know that.  The first part of the month of Shevat may still feel dark and be harsh, but on the 15th of the month, the time of Tu B’Shevat, the renewal begins. We may have lived through a cold and challenging winter this year, but spring is coming! We need to be patient and not lose hope.

Every Hebrew month has a holiday within it. Some of these holidays are not so well known.Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees is the holiday for the month of Shevat that is celebrated with a Tu B’Shevat Seder. Not so many people know that Tu B’Shevat is one of the highest and most joyful days of the year, so make an effort to be at a Tu B’Shevat Seder or create one for yourself. 

A meditative Tu B’Shevat is outlined in Kabbalah Month by Month.  This Seder, modeled on the teachings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the great medieval  kabbalist, guides you through meditations on the eating of the fruits representing the stages in the creative journey.  Kabbalah outlines the blueprint for creation used by God to create the worlds. Just as God created the spiritual worlds and this physical world that we are blessed to live in, we also create our lives in partnership with God.

At a meditative Tu B’Shevat we better understand the creative process on the” inside of the inside” as we are guided through the process on how to really open to new creativity within us, There are all kinds of learning, There is book learning, and there is the learning that we do kinetically.  Kinetic learning enters more deeply into the soul of who we are. A Tu B’Shevat Seder is kinetic learning. It involves our mind, our heart, and our body.  On Tu B’Shevat, we learn the deepest secrets of Torah, we learn how to translate our visions into reality and we do this deepest most profound learning simply by eating fruits of the land of Israel with proper intentions. A Tu B’Shevat Seder is awesome, joyful and may even be ecstatic. What is more joyful that tapping into the creative juices of G-d!  What we open to on Tu B’Shevat seeds the rest of the year until Tu ‘B’Av, that occurs on August 5.

We are told that on Tu B’Shevat, the New Year for the Trees, the sap begins to flow and a new cycle of life begins that will produce new leaves, fruits, and flowers. Like the sap of the trees, our creative juices begin to flow in Shevat.  We too will bear new fruit and flowers in the Spring. Believe that you will bear new fruit and you will.  We will bring forth our visions into reality.

  The healing of this month is in eating.  We do not just eat physical food, we ingest all kinds of ‘food”.  What we do for recreation, the movies, the television, the books we read, the music we listen to, the friends and acquaintances we associate with, the work we do – everything we take into ourselves is food and has the ability to strengthen us or weaken us.  This month we need to become more conscious of what we take within us and make choices that really support us. 

 In conclusion, this is the month to say Yes!  Say Yes often during this month.  Say Yes to new opportunities and possibilities.  Say Yes to the awesome potential within you. Say Yes to life, to newness, to goodness. Make it a practice to just say yes to life this month. Say “Yes” out loud,  shout Yes, sing Yes to your favorite melodies, whisper ‘Yes” and say Yes silently as a mantra to yourself for five to ten minutes each day. If you have an intimate partner, practice saying Yes or Le Chaim ( To life) to each other as well. Toast each other every day.  Allow the energy of Yes or Le Chaim ( To Life)  to soak deeply into your being. Something new is going to begin to come through you in Shevat. Love and blessings, Miriam Shulamit ( Melinda Mindy Ribner) Miriam@kabbalahoftheheart.com.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, January 25th, 2009 at 11:13 am and is filed under Personal Issues, Your Spiritual Path. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.