Weekly Sidra:  Noach (Noah)
Torah Portion: Bereshit / Genesis 6:9 – 11:32
Haftorah: Yeshayahu / Isaiah 66:1 – 66:24

12 For thus said the Lord: I will extend to her (Jerusalem) Prosperity like a stream, The wealth of nations Like a wadi in flood; And shall you drink of it. You shall be carried on shoulders And dandled upon knees. (Isaiah 66:12)

This week we are studying Sidra Noach. It is also the Shabbat for Rosh Chodesh Mar Cheshvan. This means that we read a special Haftorah for Rosh Chodesh.

What is the significance of Noach, the Haftorah portion and the month of Mar Cheshvan? They all make references to floods.

We all know about the flood of Noach. Noach means comfort in Hebrew. The pasuk (verse) above refers to Jerusalem receiving prosperity like a river in flood. What about the month of Cheshvan?

The Month of Cheshvan According to the Book of Formation (Sefer Yetzirah)

Cheshvan (in Hebrew: חֶשְׁוַן ), or as it is also known, Mar-Cheshvan, is the eighth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.

In the Bible, Cheshvan is called the month of bool (בּוּל ) a name that stems from the word for "flood" (מַבּוּל ). The flood began on the 17th of Cheshvan, and ended the following year on the 27th of Cheshvan. On the following day, the 28th of Cheshvan, Noah brought his sacrifice to God and God swore never again to bring a flood upon the earth to destroy all mankind, and then revealed the sign of His covenant with the world, the rainbow.

Cheshvan is the only month which has no holidays or special mitzvot.We are taught that it is "reserved" for the time of Mashiach, who will inaugurate the third Temple in Cheshvan.

Letter: Nun (נ )

The letter nun is considered to be the letter of Mashiach, as is said (with reference to Mashiach): "Before the sun, his name is Ye-non [from nun]" (Psalms 72:17). As a verb-root, nun means "to reign." As a noun, it means "the heir to the throne" (from nin).

Cheshvan, the eighth month, is the month of Mashiach, because eight signifies the eternal revelation of the supernatural (the consummate state of rectified nature being the secret of the number seven). Whereas in our present reality, the "harp" played by King David and used in the Temple has seven strings, the harp of Mashiach possesses eight strings. Just as 8 transcends 7, so does 50 (the numerical value of nun) transcend 49 = 72.

In our present reality, the nun is bent over, confined by the boundaries of nature. With the coming of Mashiach, the nun will "straighten out" (the shape of the final nun – ן ), and will break through the boundaries of nature also descending ("below the line") into the subterranean realms of reality in order to reveal there God’s all-encompassing Infinite light.

We know that Mashiach has already been revealed in our Rabbi Maran Yeshua. Those of us who know Yeshua can take comfort (Noach) that our Mashiach will protect us just as Noach was protected in the flood.