9 min
Ep. 8 // the Hebrew Month of Iyar and the Mazal / Zodiac Taurus Iggeret HaLevana ~ the Message of the Moon
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- Judaism
The Eighth Month: Iyar
Iyar is unique in a few ways - it's the only month in the year where each day has a special, time-bound mitzvah to perform: the counting of the Omer. We count 49 days - 7 weeks, 7 days, from the evening of the second day of Pesach (Passover) in Nisan (last month) until the 50th day - Shavuot, the holiday where we celebrate the giving of the Torah, in Sivan (next month). The idea is that, like a birthday or any other special event, we are joyously counting our way toward one of the greatest days in Jewish history, refining our character and our behavior, until we reach the day of Matan Torah - the giving of our Torah.
Iyar is also unique in that, in addition to Torah-time observances such as Pesach Sheni and Lag BaOmer, it has quite a few days commemorating / relating to the modern state of Israel.
It is taught that Iyar (אייר) is an acronym for "I am G-d your Healer - Ani Hashem Rofecha - אני יי רופאך"
Iyar comes from the Akkadian "ayari" meaning "rosette, blossom." In the Talmud it is called "Chodesh Ziv," or the month of light.
How do all these names relate to this month?
This idea of G-d being our healer, and this time being one of "light" and blossoming feels related to the Israel-centric energy of the month. For thousands of years we were wandering Jews. A people without a protected home - running from place to place seeking refuge from a world with baseless, unwavering hatred for us. This month, unbeknownst to every generation of Jew prior to 1948, though, has become a month that is true to its name. A month of healing, light, and blossoming. It's a month that has become centered around the Jewish Homeland. The Jewish Homeland which has healed, shown light, and blossomed in every sense - literal and metaphorical.
____________
4 Iyar 1963 - first Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and civilian victims of terror
5 Iyar 1948 - first Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day
10 Iyar 1860 - birth of Theodore Herzl, father of Modern Zionism
13 Iyar 1427 - Jews expelled from Bern, Switzerland
14 Iyar 1933 - Nazis burned thousands of books written by Jews
14 Iyar 1960 - Adolf Eichmann captured in Buenos Aires
15 Iyar 1945 - Dachau concentration camp liberated
16 Iyar 1939 - The Nuremberg laws, depriving Jews the rights to citizenship, were passed by the government of Nazi Germany in 1935. In 1939, on the 16th of Iyar, the laws went into effect in Nazi-allied Hungary
17 Iyar 1945 - Death of Adolf Hitler
18 Iyar 1948 - Israeli Defense Forces are created
20 Iyar 1942 - All pregnant women in the Kovno ghetto are sentenced to death by Nazis
24 Iyar 1945 - Nazi Germany surrenders to Allied Forces
26 Iyar 1945 - Theresienstadt concentration camp liberated
28 Iyar 1967 - Yom Yerushalayim, the reunification of Jerusalem
I kept these dates in month chronology rather than year chronology, because it's moving / insane / frustrating / horribly unfair / disturbing to see what can occur on the same day, different year.
How lucky are we to know this whole list?
______________
Cont’d…
For full text, email me at shirajkaplan@gmail.com or join my email list here.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/iggerethalevana/message
The Eighth Month: Iyar
Iyar is unique in a few ways - it's the only month in the year where each day has a special, time-bound mitzvah to perform: the counting of the Omer. We count 49 days - 7 weeks, 7 days, from the evening of the second day of Pesach (Passover) in Nisan (last month) until the 50th day - Shavuot, the holiday where we celebrate the giving of the Torah, in Sivan (next month). The idea is that, like a birthday or any other special event, we are joyously counting our way toward one of the greatest days in Jewish history, refining our character and our behavior, until we reach the day of Matan Torah - the giving of our Torah.
Iyar is also unique in that, in addition to Torah-time observances such as Pesach Sheni and Lag BaOmer, it has quite a few days commemorating / relating to the modern state of Israel.
It is taught that Iyar (אייר) is an acronym for "I am G-d your Healer - Ani Hashem Rofecha - אני יי רופאך"
Iyar comes from the Akkadian "ayari" meaning "rosette, blossom." In the Talmud it is called "Chodesh Ziv," or the month of light.
How do all these names relate to this month?
This idea of G-d being our healer, and this time being one of "light" and blossoming feels related to the Israel-centric energy of the month. For thousands of years we were wandering Jews. A people without a protected home - running from place to place seeking refuge from a world with baseless, unwavering hatred for us. This month, unbeknownst to every generation of Jew prior to 1948, though, has become a month that is true to its name. A month of healing, light, and blossoming. It's a month that has become centered around the Jewish Homeland. The Jewish Homeland which has healed, shown light, and blossomed in every sense - literal and metaphorical.
____________
4 Iyar 1963 - first Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and civilian victims of terror
5 Iyar 1948 - first Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day
10 Iyar 1860 - birth of Theodore Herzl, father of Modern Zionism
13 Iyar 1427 - Jews expelled from Bern, Switzerland
14 Iyar 1933 - Nazis burned thousands of books written by Jews
14 Iyar 1960 - Adolf Eichmann captured in Buenos Aires
15 Iyar 1945 - Dachau concentration camp liberated
16 Iyar 1939 - The Nuremberg laws, depriving Jews the rights to citizenship, were passed by the government of Nazi Germany in 1935. In 1939, on the 16th of Iyar, the laws went into effect in Nazi-allied Hungary
17 Iyar 1945 - Death of Adolf Hitler
18 Iyar 1948 - Israeli Defense Forces are created
20 Iyar 1942 - All pregnant women in the Kovno ghetto are sentenced to death by Nazis
24 Iyar 1945 - Nazi Germany surrenders to Allied Forces
26 Iyar 1945 - Theresienstadt concentration camp liberated
28 Iyar 1967 - Yom Yerushalayim, the reunification of Jerusalem
I kept these dates in month chronology rather than year chronology, because it's moving / insane / frustrating / horribly unfair / disturbing to see what can occur on the same day, different year.
How lucky are we to know this whole list?
______________
Cont’d…
For full text, email me at shirajkaplan@gmail.com or join my email list here.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/iggerethalevana/message
9 min