Sivan 5785: Will You Do and Will You Listen?
🌒 Moon of Receiving 🌒 begins at sundown on May 27, 2025
In this Newsletter
Engaging with Sivan, Soul Trait Studio update, Shavuot Live with Judaism Unboound,
Exploring Sivan, Out and About + Shop Updates
This year I didn’t do the daily counting of the Omer, publicly or privately. In past years, I’ve taken part in Taromer with tarot cards or with my Netivot Wisdom Oracle. But this year, instead of following the clearly laid path — I kind of stumbled my way through. And yet…I find myself nearly at the end of the trek through the desert that is the period of the Omer with new clarity.
Sivan (סיון) is the moon of receiving, in my naming of the moons. It is the month of Shavuot when we receive both communal and personal revelations at Shavuot. As I started writing this newsletter, I immediately thought of the specific way we received the revelation — each of us — until the people were too frighted to continue and asked Moshe to be an intercessory for them.
Shemot / Exodus 20:15-16
וְכׇל־הָעָם֩ רֹאִ֨ים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם וְאֵת֙ ק֣וֹל הַשֹּׁפָ֔ר וְאֶת־הָהָ֖ר עָשֵׁ֑ן וַיַּ֤רְא הָעָם֙ וַיָּנֻ֔עוּ וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ מֵֽרָחֹֽק׃
Now all of the people were seeing
the thunder-sounds,
the flashing-torches,
the shofar sound,
and the mountain emitting-smoke;
the people saw,
and they faltered
and stood far off.וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה דַּבֵּר־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּ֖נוּ וְנִשְׁמָ֑עָה וְאַל־יְדַבֵּ֥ר עִמָּ֛נוּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים פֶּן־נָמֽוּת׃
They said to Moshe:
You speak with us, and we will hearken,
but let not God speak with us, lest we die!
I think of this because we live in times where so many give up hard won freedoms so easily. This moon of receiving, will you falter? Will you stand back? Will you look to others to take care of everything? Will you trust others to report faithfully, or will you seek to learn for yourself?
Soul Trait Studio Sivan
6/1/2025
Sivan | Emet | Truth
Register at: https://devotaj.com/soultraitstudio
The soul trait for this month is Emet (אמת) truth. It is said to be the signature of the Divine (which is why it appears on golem.
And Reish Lakish said: The letter tav is the last letter of the seal of the Holy One, Blessed be Zhe, as Rabbi Ḥanina said: The seal of the Holy One, Blessed be Zhe, is truth [emet], which ends with the letter tav. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: The letter tav teaches that these are people who observed the entire Torah from alef through tav. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 55a)
This Soul Trait Studio falls on the same day as Judaism Unbound’s Shavuot Live, so I almost cancelled. But decided that talking about truth as we roll into Shavuot would be too delicious.
As always, the only charge is your time, but I no longer record the sessions. The practice guides are open to all, attendees or not.
Register at: https://devotaj.com/soultraitstudio
Sivan
Sivan is the month of receiving both communal and personal revelations at Sinai on Shavuot.
Moon: Receivng
Netivah: Neviah (נְבִיאָה) Prophetess
Constellation: Te’umim (תאומים) Gemini
Letter: Zayin (ז)
Tribe: Zevulon
Tarot Card: The Lovers
Soul Trait: Emet (אמת) Truth
These correspondences are primarily the ones that I personally have received (aka channeled), with the exception of the Netivah. They have been informed by learning and working with dear friends/collaborators such as Kohenet Bekah Starr, Kohenet Aly Evershine, Rav Kohenet Jill Hammer, and Rav Kohenet Taya Mâ.
Get your Sivan stickers and Sticker sheets in the shop!
» » » Explore all posts about Sivan « « «
Out and About + Shop Updates
Get all the details on ShavuotLive 2025 (free) at: https://www.judaismunbound.com/shavuot2025
Atlas Brew Works is more than a brewery, it’s a community center. If you are in the DC area, swing by! If you can’t when I’m there — check their events schedule for all the other things going on.
Are you going to the Aleph Kallah this year? Come visit me in the Shuk!
I’m planning to be there all week. I’m going to be debuting new Baba Yaga’s house stickers, and of course I’ll have a variety of other stickers, decks, books, and some original one-of-a-kind pieces.
If you’d like to schedule an in person reading while you are at Kallah, let me know. I’ll be putting aside a few times for those ($50 for 30 minutes).
Even if you aren’t in a buying mood, come by and say hello!
New-ish in the Shop
If you missed the Kickstarter, you can now purchase your own copy (print and/or digital) of Tzitzit: a talismanic guide.
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May you receive what you need to not only thrive but help others to do so as well in these difficult days.
