By Melinda Ribner

It may still be the heart of the winter in many places, but the month of Shevat marks a hidden and mystical time of new beginnings. Shevat is a time of rebirth, new inspiration and creativity. The first part of the month may still feel dark and harsh, but that all changes after the 15th of the month, the full moon, the holiday of Tu B’Shevat.
We may have lived through a cold winter this year, but Spring is coming! Be patient. Something new is going to come forth within you.  Prepare yourself for the new revelation of light and blessing that is available to us during this month of Shevat.
In this last month of Tevet we purified ourselves of anger, and learned new ways to responding to challenges in our lives. Through these efforts, the seeds of our vision for expressing our potential have been planted deeper within us. In the month of Shevat, the seed is sprouting. Say Yes to the newness of life once again. Invite the awesome potential within you to come forth. Believe that you will bear new fruit and you will.
The energy of the month is best represented by the holiday of Tu B’Shevat.  It is kabbalistically one of the highest and most joyous days of the year. It is called the New Year for the Trees. Though the trees may still be barren at this time, we are told that the new sap begins to flow on Tu B’Shevat. We once again trust in the cycle of life that will produce new leaves, fruits and flowers.
The Torah tells us that the human being is likened to a tree.  Like the sap of the trees, our creative juices begin flowing on Tu B’Shevat, so we too will bear new fruit and flowers in the Spring.
Meditation for the month of Shevat.
Imagine yourself as a tree. Your branches are now barren, but your roots are hidden, strong and deep. Go deep inside, open to the new creative energy stirring within you now. Breathe deeply and open to this new flow. Open to a new beginning. Keep breathing deeply as you do this simple opening to the new. Let go of the past limiting beliefs of who you thought you are, or what is possible in your life, and open to simply being present. Open your heart, open your mind. Say Yes, over and over again. Say it silently to yourself, Say it outloud, Sing it, Shout it, Whisper it. Breathe deeply. Yes, Yes, Yes. You will bring forth beautiful flowers and new fruit this year.  Amen.
In the month of Shevat, do not waste your time focusing on what you physically see before you, what you have and what you do not have. Much of what we see around us is what we have already birthed previously in our consciousness. The outer world is a reflection of the inner world. Everything has its roots in the spiritual and invisible realms of Being.
Now in the month of Shevat we became pregnant with new possibilities if we open to the new flow of blessing available during this month.  Focus on what is not yet visible, what is the unexpressed potential.  Let’s  empty our minds of the past and call out to receive new inspiration. The internal creative process that will bear fruit later in the year begins in Shevat.  It will not be immediate gratification, so be patient for in the month of Shevat our fruit, the  manifestation of this new opening in our consciousness is not yet visible on the physical plane.
How do we bear new fruit in our lives?  How do we open open to newness? We know that a tree needs firm roots to grow and it needs water.  In the month of Shevat we refine and strengthen our roots. If we want to change what is happening in our lives, if we want to birth new possibilities for ourselves, we have to change our consciousness, our thoughts, our feelings and our connection to our bodies.  Our consciousness are the roots that create what occurs in our life. Prayer, meditation, learning Torah and therapy are powerful tools to change our consciousness.
Interestingly enough, the area of healing this month is eating. Eating is also mysterious inner process of renewal. We do not just eat physical food, but we ingest all kinds of food. What we do for recreation, the movies, the television, the books, the music, the friends, the work we do, everything we take into ourselves is food and has the ability to strengthen or weaken us. This month asks us to become conscious of what we take within us.
How appropriate that we welcome this new month of Shevat with the Torah portion of Va’era. There is a new revelation of God that is introduced now in this Torah portion.  ” I am Hashem ( Yud Hay, Vav and Hay).” Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not know God as this Name. They did not need this revelation of God, like we do now. This Name is a divine name associated with infinite compassion.
In this week’s Torah portion, Hashem says to the Jewish people  and to each of us,” I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt, I shall rescue you from this service, I shall redeem you. I shall take you to Me for a people, I shall be a God to you and your shall know that I am Hashem your God Who takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt. I shall bring you to the land. ” These are the same phrases that we will say later during the holiday of Passover. There is a direct connection between Tu B’Sehvat, the month of Shevat and Passover, the Passover Seder. It is powerful to repeat these words to yourself every day. Many times each day, in our davening, we remember leaving Egypt, mitzraim, the place of limitations and boundaries. I love these words from the morning prayers, ‘ I am Hashem,your God who raised your from the land of Egypt, open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” Sometimes I literally open my mouth like a baby ready to receive. It is very awesome practice.
So love and blessings for a beautiful new month of renewal.  There are also so many more important teachings about the month of Shevat in Kabbalah Month by Month.  All my books, Everyday Kabbalah, New Age Judaism and Kabbalah Month by Month may be purchased online or at bookstores.  If the books are not there at the bookstore, they can be ordered.  Please feel free to share this email with others respecting the copyright and invite them to join the list. Always feel free to write me a note from time to time.  I love to hear from my virtual community.

Melinda ( Mindy- Miriam Shulamit) Ribner is the founder and director of
Kabbalah of the Heart
and Beit Miriam. She is a licensed social worker in private practice, an author and teacher of Jewish meditation and spiritual healing for over 25 years. She travels throughout the world spreading her love and and light through teaching meditation, kabbalah and healing. 646-3824696

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 3:33 pm and is filed under Months, 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.