The Royal Tea - Chodesh Tov Iyar

I’m delighted to bring the kavanah for the month of Iyar 5786. The second month of the Jewish spiritual calendar; the only time in the year we have this beautiful ability to do a mitzvah everyday! The Counting of the Omer. On top of that, this month is packed with 8 Parshas: Tazria, Metzora, Acharei Mot, Kedoshim, Emor, Behar, Bechukotai, and Bamidbar! Then to top off all that, we have woven into this month an intentional festive moment of reflection, Lag B' Omer. It's clear Hashem is giving us an abundance of spiritual nourishment to help us transform our lives.

Hashem's primary goal this month is to heal us.

Every Omer period, I set a goal to "level up" in one area of my life. During COVID was the first opportunity I had to actually put this action into practice. To set an intention, craft a plan, and allow myself enough grace to acknowledge how I got there, the role I played in it, and how I needed to transform myself to be able to achieve that goal.

A recalibration if you will.

Why? Well my ancestors did it...twice! So certainly I could too, right?!

Just last month we sat with our loved ones and discussed the power of exiting! Honoring that inner pull that says ... "run!" Forget walking, packing, forget saying goodbye... the time is now! Then once we have left and got away from the "bad guys," we were now safe enough to reground ourselves and mindfully remove what my mother in law calls the "fleas." All the unholy, negative, dark, low vibrational energy entities we picked up along the way that are now causing static! Impeding your ability to vibe on a higher frequency.

Now remember, the cycle of moon guides us to know how to apply the energy of the Torah to our daily lives on a weekly basis. In our home, i teach our children that the Torah is your spiritual roadmap assisting you through this physical life. So every Sunday, we read the roadmap and discuss: while supporting each other, how Hashem wants us to get to our next destination.

First we have the new moon, double Parshas Tazria and Metzora - our time to plant seeds with the goal of experiencing what takes root and then grows or blossoms in about six months. Then we have the first quarter moon, double Parshas Acharei Mot and Kedoshim - which kick starts all of our most immediate actionable items to really give this goal a solid chance. We move then to the full moon, Parsha Emor - where we find clarity on how exactly this goal aligns with Hashem's will and desires for our lives and how we can nurture that. Six months from the month of Iyar literally lands us right at Cheshvan. Then we finally arrive to the last quarter phase, double Parshas Behar and Bechukotai - where we allow the spiritual realm to take over while we rest and reflect.

As we embark on the month of Iyar, I want to direct our attention to the first parsha Tazria "conceive" which comes from the word "seed." Then the next parsha; within the same week, Metzora translated as "leper."

Now why would Hashem want to highlight planting seeds with the consequence of getting leprosy?!...

We know that someone becomes a leper from bad mouthing someone else with the intention to cause them harm. And when is someone likely to harm others? When they are feeling good about themselves, enjoying life, sharing love, and giving gratitude --

Never.

Only hurt people, hurt people.

When we allow "the fleas of negatively" to linger (and if left on too long, to take root), that negativity is metaphysically transferred to the seeds we sow. So when major issues sprout, when challenges arise, when things seem to be "just not working out," we have to take accountability that seed was planted probably about six months ago and sewn with the aftermath of the pain we were experiencing.

So what now?

Hashem gives us a prescription. Some spiritual medicine which we are instructed to take once a week starting the Shabbat after Passover until the Shabbat before Shavuot: Pirkei Avot also known as Ethics of Our Fathers. It is composed of six chapters and there are exactly six Shabbats between the two holidays. Some continue this religious remedy throughout the summer until Rosh Hashanah. Keep in mind, we are still continuing to nourish ourselves by consuming the weekly parsha.

Wholly transforming pain into love.... one week at at time.

During COVID, I set the goal of rebalancing my feminine energy. As a top performing business woman divorcee with two girls, I found myself in a space where I was less soft, financially overwhelmed, and severely under appreciated ... And after taking full accountability, I realized I had done this all to myself, again! Something had to shake! I was attracting the wrong type of masculine energy and I realized I had totally shifted myself into the type of woman who was completely misaligned with the woman I needed to be. So I bought a journal, a few books, and set a plan. Then every night of the Omer I committed to reclaim my femininity in 49 days! And guess what?...It worked! Was it hard? Absolutely. Did I relapse? Of course. Yet I refused to let the pain that harden me callus over the love that healed me.

You got this!

And remember let your spiritual guide your rituals. Shabbat Shalom.