Above the Zodiac by Matityahu Glazerson

Author:Matityahu Glazerson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc.

TEVET

Capricorn (Goat)

The month of Tevet was formed, according to the Sefer Yetzirah, by means of the letter Ayin. Its nature is anger; its sign is the mountain goat (gdee), Capricorn; its organ is the liver. The name Tevet indicates a lack of abundance of good influence, as the letter Vav—which would turn the word into Tovat, abundant goodness—is missing. Nonetheless, the word Tevet does have a connotation of light, from the word hatava (meaning preparation of the wick), referring to the light of Chanukah (see Sefat Emet, Chanukah).

Tevet is one of the months that belong to the evil influence (so to speak) and its hidden powers, as mentioned in the Zohar (vol. 2, 12a) on the passage (Exodus, ch. 2, v. 2): “She hid him for three months” (referring to Moses). It was during Tevet that the siege that eventually led to the destruction of Jerusalem began. During the month of Tammuz, the walls of the city were breached, and during Av the Temple was destroyed. Thus, those three months—Tevet, Tammuz, and Av—are said to be under evil influence.

The element earth, associated with Tevet, symbolizes the sluggish power of materiality that predominates this month’s influence. On the other hand, it is within the earth that the power of sustenance of life is contained; this parallels the influence of the organ of the month, the liver, which is the source of fresh blood for the human body.

According to the Ari, the months Tevet and Shevat correspond to the two eyes. The eyes are the most sensitive organs in terms of their ability to draw a person away from spirituality: “The eye sees, and so the heart desires.”

During the two summer months, the eyes correspond to the months Tammuz and Av, and thus parallel the two winter months Tevet and Shevat. The natural attribute of Tammuz is vision, which is dependent on the eye. This is where evil finds its first base of influence. The sign for Tammuz, sartan (crab) of Cancer contains the word soten—hostility—together with the letter Resh, signifying motion and fluctuation. According to Nachmanides, Tevet’s sign—the goat—is associated with evil.

The heavenly body that influences Capricorn is Shabtai (Saturn). It etymologically symbolizes limitation and inactivity (hashbatah) and, thus, again leaves room for the destructive activity of the evil influence.

In its positive aspect, Saturn symbolizes the power of deep understanding and contemplation associated with the Sabbath—i.e., the refraining from mundane activity in order to experience the transcendental.

The negative expression of this sign is evidenced by its being a festive occasion for Christians when, in the course of history, much innocent Jewish blood was shed. Joseph Stalin, an extreme anti-Semite, was born under the sign of Capricorn, as was, according to Christian tradition, the founder of Christianity.

The tribe of this month is the tribe of Dan, symbolizing the power of severe judgment (din). That is, it signifies the power of Esau, which judges the Jewish people harshly, for their having forsaken the Torah and its ways. In the desert encampments of the

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