Rosh Chodesh Tamuz: Learning to See in the Dark
The Month of Rectifying Vision

Letter of the Month: Chet (ח)

As we enter the month of Tamuz, we begin a season of reflection—of deep spiritual work that calls us to refine our sense of sight, not just our physical vision but the way we see reality. The Hebrew letter chet (ח), associated with this month through the Sefer Yetzira, offers our first clue.

Chet is formed from the letters vav (ו) and zayin (ז)—representing, respectively, the spiritual light that radiates from the eyes and the physical light that reflects back into them. These two forces, spiritual and physical, are joined by a bridge that spans their tops—an image of unity, connection, and flow between inner and outer perception. In a world where we often see only the surface, Tamuz invites us to see beyond, to notice the hidden threads that connect darkness to light.

Even the name Tamuz (תמוז) hints at this task. “Tam” means to complete, to bring together. When you combine the vav and zayin (ו+ז), you form the chet (ח)—a symbolic act of inner synthesis. The month of Tamuz holds within it both the descent into tragedy and the potential for its reversal.

hey vav hey yud ה-ו-ה & י

The permutation  / tziruf of the four-letter name of Hashem for Tamuz is hey vav hey yud, emerging from the final letters in Megillat Esther ( 5:13) zeH enenV shaveH leY, spoken by Haman. 

Seeing the Darkness, Seeing the Light

The first appearance of the letter chet in the Torah is in the word חשך (darkness), in the opening verses of Genesis:

“And the earth was tohu vavohu (chaos and void), and darkness (חשך) was on the face of the deep… And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good.”

This sets a spiritual challenge before us. Sight (ראיה) is first associated with light—but the letter chet, which represents Tamuz and vision, emerges in darkness. The riddle is clear: True vision means learning to see in the dark.

Tamuz begins the historical downward spiral of the Jewish people—the breaking of the tablets, the sin of the spies. Yet embedded in this fall is the key to its repair. HaShem planted the tools of redemption inside the test: the capacity to see differently.

The Movie Strip and the Illusion of Continuity

In Aramaic, the name of the astrological sign for Tamuz—סרטן Sartan (Cancer)—splits into two ideas:

• Sar – to remove

• Tan – chaos, hatred, spiritual pollution

Together, they symbolize the power of Tamuz: to remove chaos. Interestingly, the root סר"ט (seret) means a film strip—a visual sequence, a “movie.” Just as a film appears continuous though it is composed of still images separated by darkness, so too our lives appear continuous while reality is constantly dissolving and reconstituting.

Each re-creation of the world holds more Divine light, more consciousness. In Tamuz, the vision we are called to refine isn’t just about what is seen—it’s about what lies between the frames.

But not all vision is pure. In our times, much of what we are shown on screens is carefully curated illusion. The false portrayals of Israel and the Jewish people often fill the world’s stage. Tamuz invites us to look beyond the propaganda, beyond the visual manipulation—to pierce the mask and see the Divine spark glowing within the shadows.

Closing Our Eyes to Truly See

Rosh Chodesh Tamuz is the anniversary of the moment Moshe sent the spies to “see” the Land. For forty days, they wandered, observed, analyzed—and came back blind to the spiritual truth of Eretz Yisrael. They saw, but not with love.

“The spies looked at Eretz Yisrael and said, ‘We’ve seen better.’ That means they didn’t see it at all.”
–Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach

When we say the Shema, we cover our eyes. Why? Because there are things so close, so true, that the only way to see them is to close our physical eyes and open the inner ones.

Tamuz is the time to learn how to do this. It is the month of inner seeing—of choosing to look at the ones we love, our families, our land, and ourselves, with a gaze of compassion and depth.

Rebbe Nachman teaches that when we cry, our eyes must be closed at the exact moment the tears fall. If we don’t close our eyes out of love, we may end up closing them out of pain.

Learning to See Souls

During Tamuz, we must practice the art of panim el panim—face to face, soul to soul seeing. Do we judge by the darkness we notice in others, or can we learn to focus on the light hiding underneath? This month teaches us to see beyond behavior, beyond masks and shadows, into the Divine essence within every person and situation.

When we walk through Jerusalem, do we see old rocks—or the path of David HaMelech composing Tehillim? When we look at our spouse or child, do we see their faults—or their spark of God trying to grow?

May We Learn to See in the Dark

As we process the painful memories of the last 12 days of Operation Rising Lion, we ask HaShem to bless us with higher vision.

The kind of vision that can see the good even in the darkness.
The kind of vision that doesn’t flinch in the dark, but sees light waiting to be born.
The kind of vision that recognizes kedusha in the chol /mundane, and Elokut / Divinity behind every veil.