Welcome, new month.
Iyar (Ziv)
It’s the second month of the Biblical year – Iyar, also known as Ziv. The theme this month is light, and lumination. I pray that during this month Hashem shines His light into your life, and shows you where to make your next improvement. Where there is light there is no darkness.
Each Hebrew month has a letter associated with it, and the letter for Iyar is a Vav. The Hebrew letter Vav is a connecting letter, and we see Iyar as a connecting month. Last month was Nissan, where we celebrated Passover, and now we count the Omer every day of Iyar, through to next month – Sivan, where we celebrate Shavuot.
Because we see Iyar as a connecting month, it is also often associated with connecting with Hashem, and we see this shown again as we make our way through the sefirat each day of the Counting of the Omer.
The sense for Iyar is “thought”, which isn’t surprising considering we are spending every day thinking and counting the Omer, and recalling which day we are up to, and how we can grow in the specified emotion.
If you’re not already counting the Omer, and working through each sefirat each day, I would encourage you to do so! It has been a real blessing to me so far, and it is wonderful to spend these 49 days improving your self and preparing for Shavuot – which celebrates the giving of the Torah. You can view all the sefirat and the journal prompts here.
Back to the letter Vav. Vav is the 6th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and has the numeric value of 6. 6 is the number of man, which I find is really on point, because we are doing so much prayer, self reflection and self improvement this month! It really is a month of focusing on who we are, and who we want to be – submitting ourself over and over again that we might be more like Hashem.
Another big theme this month is healing. Iyar is an acronym for “I Am God Your Healer”. So if you have anything wrong in your body, this is a great month to be praying earnestly for Hashem to heal you! Over and over again Hashem says that the Torah brings healing, so I see this as a perfect time to really dig deep into your Bibles and just bask in Him.
I won’t go into the topic of healing & Iyar too much here, as I’m still learning about it. But I wanted to mention it in case you are doing your own study! I’ve included a few of my favourite links below with more information on this month!
Live A Little Higher – Rosh Chdoesh Iyar
Iyar is a journey – a daily stepping to learn more about God, and to live more for him. And so I think it’s important to remember, that on any journey there are bumps, and parts that sometimes make you trip. If you see those times happen during this month do not be dismayed – soldier on, and keep your eyes on the prize. I temptations come, stand strong! If pains follow you, pray through them.
I pray that Iyar is a month of great healing and spiritual growth for you. xo
Journal Questions
The emotions we cover in the sefirat, as we count the Omer, are Chesed (loving kindness), Gevurah (discipline), Tiferet (compassion), Netzach (endurance), Hod (humility), Yesod (bonding), Malchut (nobility). How am I improving in these areas?
(see this link for more specific questions and exercises related to this)
Are there parts of my body that need healing? Are there parts of my mind that need healing? Pray about these now, and make a habit of praying for them daily during this month.
How can I share G-d’s love with other people this month?
Am I ready to receive the Torah personally? Am I preparing my heart for the next feast – Shavuot?
What do I plan to do this year for Shavuot? If you haven’t already, organise your time off work, and start preparing your menu.