*The drawing of a branch of Western Red Cedar from the planner was used because this is the tree we personally associate with as a cedar, it grows where we live and Native folks of this area refer to it in English as cedar.
Cheshvan ~ Cedar ארז erez
Cheshvan is often referred to as a mourning month because it is one without holidays. However, Beta Israel and other Ethiopian Jews celebrate an important holiday called Sigd occurring 50 days after Yom Kippur in Cheshvan. This holiday commemorates the receiving of the Torah. Cedar is a tree used throughout the Torah. This is an ancestral tree for many cultures, the ones we are familiar with on Turtle island, the Western Red Cedar and the Eastern Red Cedar are actually in the cypress family* and are quite different from the genus grown in the middle east, Cedrus libani. These “Cedars of Lebanon” of the Torah sing with myth and royal associations. They are distinguishable by their horizontal branches and can live thousands of years. They were used to build the first and second temple, and many buildings, ships and structures in ancient Israel. This tree is mentioned 70 times in the torah. Her blessings are filled with kindness: a tree often planted with the birth of a child and chuppah poles are made from the boughs for that child’s wedding ceremony.
To dive deeper into learning about the plants featured in the planner, sign up for Rebekah's class: Torah, Trees & Time.