Working Draft of Daily Spiritual Guide (17th of Cheshvan) (with a little help from Google Gemini)

 

📅 Kabbalah of Time: Daily Spiritual Guide

Date: November 7/8, 2025 (17th of Cheshvan, 5786) – Shabbat Parashat Vayeira

"Shabbat Shalom! Tonight marks the beginning of the 17th of Cheshvan, 5786. This date is Day 51 of the 364-Day Yearly Cycle. Today is highly significant as it is the traditional date when the Great Flood (Mabul) began in the time of Noah (according to Rabbi Eliezer). Our focus is on the sanctity of Time and the disciplined application of Kindness."

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Part 1: Cycles and Inner Refinement

1. Hayom Yom for the 17th of Cheshvan

Original Text (Yiddish/Hebrew)	English Translation	Link
מ'דארף היטען דעם זמן, מ'דארף מקבל זיין עולה של תורה. יעדער זמן, יעדער טאג וואס גייט אוועק, איז דאס ניט נאר א טאג נאר א ענין אין לעבען, די טעג גייען כמאמר [ירושלמי ברכות פ"א [פרק א'] ה"א [הלכה א']] יום נכנס ויום יוצא שבת נכנס כו' חדש כו' שנה כו'. דער טאטע האט געזאגט בשם רבינו הזקן: אזומערדיגער טאָג און אַוִוינטעֶרדִיגעֶ נאַכט אִיז אַ יאָהר.	Time must be guarded. It is urgent to "accept the yoke of Torah." Every bit of time, every day that passes, is not just a day but a life's concern. Days go by; as the Talmud says (Yerushalmi Berachot 1:1), "A day enters and a day departs, a week enters etc.,... a month etc.,... a year etc.,..." My father quoted the Alter Rebbe: A summer day and a winter night are a year.	chabad.org/dailystudy/hayomyom.asp?tdate=11/8/2025

Inner Work: The holiness of Shabbat is the perfect opportunity to internalize the need to "guard time." Every moment, especially the time dedicated to rest and spiritual pursuits, must be maximized for growth, recognizing that time utilized can equal "a year" of spiritual elevation.

2. Alef-Bet Combination (22-Day Cycle)

Cycle Details	Source Text	Link
Day 7 of Cycle 3 (Zayin with Vav) Combination: Zu (This)	The cycle moves from Heh & Vav into Zayin & Chet. Today is Day 7 (Zayin with Vav). Zayin represents Creation, struggle, and Shabbat ("Zayin" means weapon, but also implies "sustenance"). The combination "Zu" (this) points to the Divine revelation present in the material world, elevated on Shabbat.	kabbalahoftime.com/2013/10/third-set-of-22-days-heh-vav-desert.html

Combination Focus: Zayin with Vav. We focus on elevating the physical struggle (Zayin) of the week by connecting it with the sustaining, transforming flow (Vav) of the Divine. The spiritual focus of Shabbat allows us to point to our existence and declare it "Zu" (This) – a holy reality.

3. Sefirah Combination (Yearly Cycle / Inner Refinement)

• Tonight begins Day 2 of Week 8 (Gevurah shebeChesed)

Sefirah Focus	Source Text (The Seven Shepherds)	Link
Gevurah shebeChesed	Gevurah (Isaac) signifies strength, discipline, and self-control... and the ability to restrain oneself and not to give to another when such giving may cause harm to the receiver, or when the receiver is simply undeserving. Chesed (Abraham) is characterized by kindness and generosity.	kabbalahoftime.com/search?q=Sefirot

Inner Work: We refine Kindness (Chesed) with Discernment (Gevurah). Our goal is to ensure our boundless kindness (like Abraham's) is balanced with the wisdom and discipline (like Isaac's) to apply it appropriately and effectively.

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Part 2: Core Teachings and Cycles

4. Kabbalah of Time Weekly Song / Focus

Theme and Verse (Psalm 121:2)	Source Text / Quality	Link
Humility is Key (Week 8) Humility (Anavah)	The verse from Haazinu referencing the Flood is connected to the quality of Humility, exemplified by Moses (a tikkun for Noah). Humility is key to acquiring Torah, as it involves complete self-nullification before G-d.	kabbalahoftime.com/2013/10/week-8-book-2-humility-is-key.html

5. Keter Shem Tov / Tales of the Baal Shem Tov

Source Text Summary	Link
The Sacrifice of the Poor Man. The Baal Shem Tov teaches that God desires the heart. He tells a story of a poor man whose simple act of using his family's vegetables to lead a rich man's ox to the Temple was seen as preceding the rich man's grand offering. This stresses the value of simple faith and pure intention over external grandeur.	amazon.com/Light-Fire-Baal-Shem-Tov/dp/0826418880

Other topics to cover:

6. Tanach (First Two Chapters of Melachim I)

7. Mishna

8. Daf Yomi 

9. 13 Attribute Combination

10. 41-Day Combination

11. Likutei Moharan

12. Mishna Berurah

13. Zohar

14. Shovavim Cycles

15. Parasha