Rosh Chodesh Kislev—The 40 Days from Hoshana Rabbah—Et Ratzon (a Time of Divine Favor) in Heaven
This is a time when our prayers possess tremendous power, and we can receive more answers to them than at any other time of the year.
Many mekubalim, including “Sod Mesharim”, “Yalkut Tzvi”, and the Rebbe of Chernobyl, say that Rosh Chodesh Kislev is comparable in its power to Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is the day of forgiveness, when all our sins are erased.
On Hoshana Rabbah, the final seal is placed.
If we were unable to complete our teshuvah, we are given additional time—exactly 40 days from Hoshana Rabbah until Rosh Chodesh Kislev (similar to the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur).
Rabbi Mordechai of Chernobyl once awoke in the middle of the night on Rosh Chodesh Kislev and called for his wife and shamash to tell them about a revelation he had received from Shamayim. He said that he had dreamed that there was a great commotion in Heaven, with chayot moving about in enormous numbers. When he asked what was happening, the angels revealed to him that it was Rosh Chodesh Kislev—the day of forgiveness for Israel, a day for mechilah (forgiveness), selichah (pardon), and kapparah (atonement).
Our prayers are very powerful on this day.
Our prayers do not always reach Heaven, as it sometimes happens that they are intercepted by angels created by our sins. But on Rosh Chodesh Kislev, after we have been forgiven and no interference comes from harmful forces, our prayers ascend directly on high, like the prayer of a perfect tzadik.
29 Cheshvan is the yahrzeit of the holy mekubal Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Rimanov (zt”l). This tzadik was so holy that we cannot even comprehend his greatness. He was an ordinary man from a simple family, yet within a few years he became a great tzadik.
Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch buried 17 sons. Only one son survived, along with a daughter who later married a great tzadik.
When people asked him why he, who performed miracles for thousands of Jews and helped so many people, did not pray for himself, he used Avraham Avinu as an example.
Avraham could have avoided the Akeidah, but chose not to, because he knew that his sacrifice would benefit Israel. Therefore, he accepted it with love for Ha-Shem and brought about a Kiddush Hashem.
Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch believed that if he could help Israel, he would be willing to accept Hashem’s decree with love.
The yahrzeit of such a holy man, who gave up what was most precious to him in life, is a day of tremendous Et Ratzon (Divine favor).
Together, the power of Rosh Chodesh Kislev and the holiness of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Rimanov bring holiness down into our world and open the gates for our prayers.
Light a candle zeh l'khvod tzadik, give tzedakah, and recite Tehillim 90–100.
Pray for your personal needs and for the entire Jewish people.
During the Rosh Chodesh Kislev meal (it must include bread so that Birkat HaMazon can be recited afterward), recite Tehillim 120–134—Shir HaMa'alot.
Chodesh tov!
(based on a video lesson by Rabbi Raphael Avitan)
