According to tradition the only month of the year that has no holiday, commemorative event or fast day is the month of Cheshvan, which follows the month of Tishrei, containing the major holidays of Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Succot and Shmini Atzeret. For this reason some call it Mar (“bitter”) Cheshvan. Yet, we are told in the future Messianic times it will be “rewarded” when the third Temple will be inaugurated during the month of Cheshvan. For this reason some people already refer to this month as Ram (“exalted”) Cheshvan. The word Ram is actually the same letters as Mar (bitter), only they are inverted.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach teaches that this month has so much potential because the nature of prayer in this month is the aspect of how we are praying after it seems all is over and finished. During Tishrei, when we are surrounded by the holiness of all the holidays, it is easy to find the incentive and inspiration to pray. But what happens when all the holidays are over and its back to our ordinary routines? If we fall back to our old ways as well, then the praying and spiritual service of Tishrei didn't touch us so deeply. If we can actually manifest those changes we set as our goals and keep praying with the same commitment and intensity, then we turn a potentially bitter month to an exalted one.
This idea can be seen in the aftermath of Abraham’s prayer to save the wicked people of Sodom, in the portion of Vayeira, which always occurs in the middle of the month of Cheshvan. After his prayer is seemingly not answered, the verse states that Abraham “returned to his place” (Genesis 18:33). The simple reading is that Abraham gave up and left the physical place of his dialogue with God, but another reading taught by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach is that Abraham, despite his seeming failure, returned to his original stance and continued to pray. Though from the text it appears that he was not answered, Abraham’s prayer not only helped to save his nephew Lot, and through him the eventual spark of the Messiah coming from his descendent Ruth, but he implanted in the Jewish people the importance of praying for the rectification of the world, even when it appears to be so far away. Due to the fact that Abraham’s prayer is the first one mentioned in the Torah, the model of praying for the salvation of the world takes on even added significance as a lesson for us as individuals and our mission as Jews.
