Home Jewish Holidays Sacred Time: The Water Bearer – Shevat 2

Sacred Time: The Water Bearer – Shevat 2

by Yehudis Golshevsky
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Sacred Time

Shevat 2

 The Water Bearer

The sign of the zodiac associated with the month of Shevat is dli, the pail, more pleasantly referred to as, “The Water Bearer.” This means that the month of Shevat is particularly suited to developing the quality of the water bearer, in its positive spiritual sense.

In Jewish history, perhaps the greatest event that took place during the month of Shevat was that, on its new moon, Moshe Rabbeinu began to deliver the book of Devarim to the Jewish people. The book of Devarim is different than the rest of the Torah; although it is no less than the other four books, it is not a recording of direct Divine dictation. Instead, it is the outpouring of prophecy that came by way of a fully rectified person, Moshe. His vessel–his dli–was so perfectly suited to its function and free of ego that it was as though he was delivering direct Divine dictation. In the Torah, the entire book of Devarim is described as a be’er–it means an explanation of the teachings that came before, but it is also the same word for a water-well. We can imagine the month of Shevat as a wellspring of Torah made accessible to us by its water-bearer, just as the oral Torah renders the written Torah understandable and applicable.

To be a water bearer means to share the spiritual gifts that you receive or earn; to dole out the life-giving waters of Torah wherever we can.

מאמרים קשורים

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