Cheshvan

Cheshvan is the second month of the Hebrew year (or the eighth month when counting from Nissan). Like all Hebrew months, the name Cheshvan is of Babylonian origin, corresponding to the constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpio), visible in the night sky during this lunar month. Cheshvan usually overlaps the solar months of October and November.

The month is also called Mar Cheshvan meaning “Bitter Cheshvan” because it has no holidays to make it joyous until the Messiah comes. Some say Mar Cheshvan should actually be read “Marach shevan,” the “month of light.”

The original Hebrew name of the month is Bul, meaning “withering,” referring to the withering of tree branches and field stubble during this month. As the Hebrew Bible says:

“And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul—that is, the eighth month—the House was completed according to all its details and all its specifications. It took him seven years to build it.” (I Kings, 6:38)