Now that the glow of the High Holidays is beginning to subside it’s natural for things to feel a bit heavy. We’ve just come through weeks filled with deep spiritual energy, reflection, connection, and renewal—so when the dust settles, we might notice old habits creeping back in. Maybe you’re noticing those old reactions. Judgments. Irritation. Comparison. The little things that tug us away from the Light we just worked so hard to connect to.

But I have good news: the Light we awakened last month isn’t gone. It’s fuel. And this month—under the cosmic influence of the New Moon of Scorpio—that Light becomes incredibly potent. Kabbalists teach that any positive action we take during the month of Scorpio now carries more power than at any other time of year. Why is that? Scorpio is the only month that is devoid of any kabbalistic holidays, giving it a bad rap for being dark and gloomy. But that gloominess brings us a bright opportunity.

In Hebrew, Scorpio is called Mar Cheshvan; the Mar meaning “bitter.” However, in Hebrew, the reverse of Mar is Ram which means “exalted.” You can probably guess where I’m going here…. the challenge of this month is to turn Mar to Ram, bitter to sweet, lemons into lemonade, bleak to beautiful.

Let’s make that practical for a moment.

You walk into your child’s room and find a sea of candy wrappers even though you’ve said no food in the bedroom. The mind goes, “ugh! I said no food in the bedroom!” Or your sister calls in tears about a totally harmless mistake she’s made and you think, “goodness, she’s so dramatic.” Or maybe your boss piles on one more project after you’ve already worked late three nights in a row and you think, “how insensitive!”

Sound familiar?

Our brains are wired for survival, not happiness, which means they’re designed to spot what’s wrong before they see what’s right. It’s an ancient mechanism meant to protect us—but most of us live with the volume turned up way too high on that function. It takes real consciousness to see beyond the mess, the drama, or the unfairness and choose to look for the Light instead.

This month is asking us to do that and if we can, the rewards are exceptional. In Libra, the Light was freely available to us. In Scorpio, we create it.

Even that dark energy is often misunderstood. The truth is, Scorpio is one of the most transformative months of the year. It’s not about waiting for Light to arrive—it’s about generating it. Every small act of goodness, compassion, or restraint carries enormous spiritual weight.

Rav Ashlag once said that our actions are like sesame seeds—tiny, seemingly insignificant on their own, but together they can tip the scale of our lives. Every kind word, every moment we choose to see the best in someone, every time we soften instead of snap—those are the sesame seeds tipping the scales toward transformation.

And sometimes, the universe sends us reminders of what this looks like in motion.

It reminds me of a cross-country race that made headlines a few years ago. The race took place in Spain and a runner named Ivan was in second place behind a Kenyan athlete named Abel. Abel was far ahead—victory seemed certain. But as they neared the finish line, Ivan noticed Abel slow down. I imagine he was confused by this considering they were coming into the final lap and Abel was ahead.

It suddenly occurred to Ivan: the race signs were all in Spanish, Abel had mistakenly thought he had finished and the race was over!

Ivan absolutely could have taken advantage. He could have sprinted ahead, claimed first place, and no one would have blamed him. Instead, he ran up behind Abel and told him to keep going, pushing him forward—literally—helping him cross the finish line first.

When reporters later asked why he didn’t seize the opportunity to win, Ivan simply said,
“What would have been the merit of my victory?”

That’s Scorpio consciousness.

The awareness that the true race we’re all running isn’t against one another—it’s toward the Light. Ivan could have taken advantage of Abel’s confusion and finished first, but could anyone consider that a true win?

This month, our smallest acts of integrity, compassion, and kindness are magnified threefold. Every time we choose to turn the volume down on our judgment, to listen instead of react, to offer help instead of criticism—we shift the entire energetic scale of our lives.

So when in doubt, choose kindness over judgment. Especially toward those who, in your mind, deserve judgment the most.

Because in doing so, you don’t just change the moment—you change yourself. And that is the only victory worthy of our pursuit.

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