Many years ago I had the zechus to learn with a very knowledgeable intellectual. He asked me why the month of Cheshvan is called Mar Cheshvan. I probably told him the classical answer that mar means bitter and since in the month of Cheshvan there are no holidays it is referred to with a bitter name. Later I learned a whole different and uniquely scholarly explanation. The name Mar Cheshvan really comes from the two words marach shvan which in another language means the eighth month where the word Marach comes from the root of yerach in Hebrew and shvan is the true name of the month. (This is also discussed in other sources and has serious ramifications in Halacha. (See Aruch Hashulchan in Even Haeezer 126/17). However I found two other explanations that I would like to focus on and connect to this week’s parsha which I hope will prove inspiring.
In Tammai Haminhagim the name Mar Cheshvan is shown to be based on a passuk in Yishaya Hanavi “Hen goyim Kmar midli”-- the nations are like rain from a bucket, the idea being that the word mar means rain. This explanation seems to be the most plausible in my humble opinion since Cheshvan comes right after a full holiday of praying and beseeching Hashem for rain and it makes sense that the month should be focusing on rain. In fact, it points to the reason why it almost always rains on parshas Noach (In chutz La’Aretz). Now this isn’t just a cute connection. The whole parsha of Noach, is about the mabul (flood) and the destructive power of rain. This idea needs further examination. There were many other ways Hashem could have destroyed the world at that time. Why choose rain?
It’s noteworthy that in the Maseches Sanhedrin in the beginning of Perek Chelek there is a major discussion about the belief in Techiyas Hameisim and how something so earthly can be resurrected by Hashem. Interestingly, in Maseches Taanis, the Gemara compares rain to Techiyas Hameisim. I once heard that a reason why the correct pronunciation of the words in the second blessing of Shemoneh Esreh of ‘Mashiv Haruach U’morid Hageshem’ is with a segol is because it has to be connected to the words ‘Mechaye Maisim’ which follow. Once again we see this deep connection between rain and Techiyas Hameisim.
I think that we can surmise from all of the above that the month of Mar Cheshvan is about the appreciation for rain not just as a source of sustenance but as the life source for everything. As Rabbi Miller z”l would point out, we human beings are 80 per cent water and even on a deeper level water represents the concept that everything physical in this world is affected by our spiritual actions. If we are acting morally and not corrupt then the rain is a positive force in the world but if chas veshalom we are not following the word of Hashem then this physical gift reverses itself and becomes as destructive as a flood. Mar Cheshvan is the month to reflect on the potential of rain as a gift and on the spiritual and physical effects it can have. Mashiv Haruach is about raising the ruach, the spiritual side of our life while Morid Hageshem points to the lowering of our physical focus.
by Rabbi Daniel Coren
