The Hebrew Month of Cheshvan

Before I started studying the original languages and culture of the Bible, I was unaware of the importance of the Hebrew calendar. I did not know that God had a calendar separate from the one we use every day! Because of our Greek, Western thinking, we are taught to think of time as linear. But God views time as cyclical. Each year on His calendar has repetitive set times that we can pattern our lives around to bring us closer to Him and deepen our maturity as disciples. We can often find ourselves thinking, "Why is this issue, this mindset, or this trial happening again?" One explanation for this can be found by understanding God's calendar. God moves in cycles, and His calendar has prophetic insight. As we begin to study each month, we can start to see how the things in our lives align with the prophetic insight and what God wants to do in us through the cycle coming around again. When we see this happening, we can either submit and let God take us higher, or we can become stiff-necked and know that cycle will come back around. God also allows things to cycle back around to us because there are deeper levels of revelation He is trying to show us. Deeper levels of healing and sanctification. His word tells us He will complete what He has started (Philippians 1:6).

We just went through Tishrei, the first month of the new year 5786. This is a sacred time on the Hebrew calendar with three feasts: Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. It begins the fall season of repentance. Today begins the new Hebrew month of Cheshvan. Cheshvan is the second month of the civil year and the eighth month of the spiritual year. It runs from October 23 to November 20, 2025, on our Gregorian calendar. Being the eighth month, it means "new beginnings." Unlike Tishrei, where there were three national feasts, there are no holidays in Cheshvan. It is the only month on the Hebrew calendar that does not have any holidays. The Jews believe this month is "reserved" for the time of the Messiah who will inaugurate the third Temple.

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Each Hebrew month has a letter of the alphabet (Aleph-Bet), a tribe, a constellation, an action, a body part, specific key events, and characteristics that provide prophetic insights into that period of time.

For Cheshvan, the letter of the alphabet (Aleph-Bet) is the nun. The nun is the fourteenth letter in the alphabet with a value of 50. It symbolizes the Messiah. The nun means:

• Jubilee, restoration, and release

• Messiah, offspring, heir, son, seed

• To sprout, spread, continue

• Fish moving, life

The tribe associated with Cheshvan is Manasseh. Manasseh means "He has made me to forget" (Genesis 41:51). Joseph's life was full of trials and testing. He was hated by his brothers, who beat him and sold him to Midianite traders. He was taken to Egypt, where he was sold to Potiphar to be a slave in his house (Genesis 37). After being falsely accused of rape by Potiphar's wife, Joseph was thrown into prison. But God was with him, and he found favor in the eyes of the jailor. The Bible tells us that the LORD was with Joseph (Genesis 39:3, 23). After many years of trial, Joseph was promoted to second in command in all of Egypt. He named his first son Masnasseh because the Lord was healing him from all the trouble of his past. We will see that this month is a set aside time to reflect and let God deal with the roots of pain that are still growing in our hearts.

The constellation of Cheshvan is Scorpio (the scorpion). It is a month to tread on snakes and scorpions (Luke 10:19–20) and walk in our authority. Authority comes from an intimate relationship with God where we listen and obey His commands. During this month, we can have victory over the root issues that have held us back and kept us stuck in unhealthy cycles.

The action for Cheshvan is smell. We are to let our sense of smell come alive. It is connected to the fragrance of myrrh. We are to let the fragrance of God permeate our soulish nature and transform us into the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15–16). The Jews believed the soul responds in unusual ways during this month. Ephesians 3:16 says, Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit (Voice). All that we need for life and godliness is imparted to us upon salvation in our spirit (2 Peter 1:3). However, we must go through the process of sanctification for those seeds of godliness to replace the ungodliness in our souls.

The body part this month is the intestines. We are to digest what we have heard and receive deeper revelation from God's Word. As we "Eat the Word" (Jeremiah 15:16, Ezekiel 3:3), we receive fresh revelation that we can dissect and assimilate into our beings to grow in new levels of wisdom and truth. This transforms our soul so that we will live more like Christ from His mindsets and ways.

The key event this month is the flood. Noah entered the ark on Cheshvan 10 (Genesis 7:1–5). The flood began on Cheshvan 17. And Noah exited the ark a year later on Cheshvan 27 (Genesis 8:14–20). Floods reveal roots, washing away things to make room for new growth. Therefore, this is a month for God to deal with root issues. Do not run from the roots God wants to reveal to you this month.

Some other key characteristics of Cheshvan are:

• It is a month to war with our words. We want to pay attention to what we say and what we receive. Life and death are in the power of our tongues (Proverbs 18:21). What we speak into the atmosphere will affect us.

• It is the month of the early rains (Joel 2:23).

Throughout this month, I will be sharing more about different aspects of Cheshvan. Consider fasting this month and allowing God to reveal to you root issues and unhealthy cycles. As we head into the end of the year on the Gregorian calendar, there is a lot of focus on food and celebrations. Most of the options at holiday gatherings are not health-friendly. Although this is fine on occasions, consider using these weeks of Cheshvan before we head into the holiday season to curb your appetite and seek the Lord. Not only will this benefit you spiritually, but you will also find that you feel better physically!

I pray you find breakthrough and growth in this new Hebrew month!

Blessings,

Brandee