We are now entering into the month of Nissan, or Aries. The kabbalists teach that besides Rosh Hashanah, which is the time we can draw all the blessings for the entire year, there probably isn’t a New Moon, or beginning of a month, that is both as powerful and as great in gifts as Nissan. As we know, in the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah, we do a lot of work - we do teshuvah, look inside, see mistakes we’ve made and things we want to change, and go through a process of change. However, this month, that process is gifted to us.
"The kabbalists say that blessings and Light are literally everywhere."
Rav Avraham Azulai, the great kabbalist, reveals to us that there is an unconscious process that occurs for every single one of our souls during this month, and the more conscious we are of it, the more powerful it can be. He tells us that every year, on the beginning of Nissan and for 30 days, there is a free gift that is available for each one of us in this world; a gift that becomes more powerful and pronounced the more we are conscious and aware of it. What is available to us, especially at the beginning of this month, is a universal and supernal process of purification. No matter where we are or what we have done up until this moment, we can experience this powerful purification, and therefore, there is an opportunity for elevation now that is not available at any other time of the year.
This process, Rav Avraham Azulai tells us, happens at night. Every night, from the first night of Aries up until Pesach, the Creator removes 1/30th of all our negativity, no matter what type of negativity we have connected to us because of our actions. This process is going to occur when we sleep no matter what, and of course to the degree we are conscious of it, it will be that much more powerful.
"It is a gift that the Creator gives to us."
What we want to do every evening before we go to sleep is to simply be aware that this process is taking place. We almost don’t have to do anything. Obviously, the more spiritual work and acts of sharing we do now, the more cleansing this period of time will be; however, the reality is that this gift is available, regardless. All that is required of us tonight, and each night for the next few weeks, before we go to sleep, is to simply think of the Creator’s gift that is available: the removal of 1/30th of anything negative.
If we’re conscious of this, then when we come to Pesach, even without doing too much work, we’ll be a more elevated person. That is why the month of Nissan, which is the name the kabbalists give to this month, relates to the concept of elevation, because we don’t even have to do so much work. It is a gift that the Creator gives to us, removing 1/30th of our negativity. It is a gift we want be aware of, desire, ask for, and be conscious of every single night before we go to sleep, from this night on until Pesach.
Nissan is a month during which the kabbalists say that blessings and Light are literally everywhere. Now, as we enter Nissan with some of this consciousness, we can hopefully partake of the tremendous blessings and Light the Creator desires to give to us, beginning now, and for the entire month.
