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The Month of Tishrei
The seventh is always holy. The seventh day is Shabbat, the seventh year is Shemitta, the Sabbatical Year. So too, the seventh month Tishrei is sanctified with more commands and festivals than any other month.
In Hebrew, the sign of Libra is called Moznaim (lit. balances). It's not difficult to see the connection between the symbol of the balances and the month of Tishrei, for the first day of Tishrei is Rosh Hashana - a day when the future of the world and all its inhabitants hangs in the balance. The Rambam (Maimonides) writes that a person should see himself, and the whole world, as being on a knife-edge, precisely and exquisitely balanced - half meritorious and half culpable. If he does one sin, he tips the balance of his own life and that of the whole world to the negative side. However, with just one mitzva, he can alter the balance of his own life and that of the whole world to the side of blessing and life. More articles available at Ohr Somayach's website. |