Chodesh Tov - חודש טוב

B"H

Today is Rosh Chodesh Mar Cheshvan. The official name for the new month is Cheshvan but we call it Mar Cheshvan because it is the only month not having any holidays. Mar is the Hebrew word for "bitter" and as we have not holidays, we call it the "bitter Cheshvan".

Why is it so "bitter" having a month without a holiday ?
Because we are not able to do any special Mitzwot.
There is an opinion which says that the month of Cheshvan is "reserved" for the Meschiach building the Third Temple because, so far, it does not have any holidays.

However, each beginning of a new month is also considered to be a new beginning in our life. If you want to change anything in your personal life, now is the time.
The month of Cheshvan is the month of Noach's Flood, the Mabul. It fits that we read in the synagogues all over the world Parashat Noach.

The Flood started on 17th Cheshvan and ended exactly a year later, on 27th Cheshvan. One day later, on 28th Cheshvan, Noach brought the Korban and G - d promised not to bring another flood in order to destroy mankind.

There is a Machloket in the Talmud (Zevachim) if the Mabul took place all over the world, in Israel or anywhere but not in Israel.

According to Sefer Yetzira (The Book of Creation), every Jewish month has a certain Mazal, letter, Jewish Tribe, etc.
The Mazal of Cheshvan is the Scorpion, the Tribe is Menashe, the organ are the intestines, the letter is NUN נ, the colour is violet and the sense is the SMELL.

What is the idea of Cheshvan having something to do with the Meschiach?

In Judaism it is very clear how the Meschiach should be and what his conditions are (see Talmud Sanhedrin 97 ff). One of his conditions will be having a certain sense of smell so that he can precisely tell who is a Jew and who is not. The smell is identified with a special kind of prophecy.
Some Gentiles might be surprised to hear from him that they are actually Jewish and vice versa. In the cause of the centuries, many many halachic Jews got lost. The most famous examples are the Inquisition and the Holocaust During the Holocaust, desperate Jewish parents took their children to monasteries in order to protect their kids. After the parents never came back to pick up their children, the Catholic church never told their new "students" about their original faith and parents.

One famous Jewish King who considered himself as the Meschiach, already failed fulfilling this condition. it was Bar Kochba whose real name was Bar Koziva (see Talmud Sanhedrin 93b). As he failed by not having the required smell, he was sentenced to death. According to a Mishna in Sanhedrin 89a, every Jew claiming to be the Meschiach but proving himself as a false Meschiach (Navi Sheker) is sentenced to death.

However, the Midrash Eichah and the Talmud Yerushalmi in Taanit 4:5 claim that the Romans killed Bar Koziva. According to our Mefarshim, the Rabbis did not kill him but his followers rather distanced themselves from him. This made him vulnerable and the Romans caught him.

I wish all of you a Shabbat Shalom and a great new month Cheshvan. Maybe it is not too bad not having a holiday for a while. Especially after all these calories on Sukkot.

שבת שלום וחודש טוב