Blessing for Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan

May all of the havurah leaders, rabbis, cantors, and Hebrew priestesses heave one giant sigh of relief (and be able to cook for themselves and answer personal emails and read New Yorker cartoons)

May all of the synagogue administrators get massages and pedicures and days off and empty to do lists

May the Torah hold us

May the matriarchs and patriarchs hold us

and whisper to us and dance with us

May we keep dancing, far beyond Simchat Torah

May sweetness now be folded into our lives like laundry, as if it belonged, which it does

May Mr. Cheshvan be a kind and friendly sort of man, like a next-door neighbor who will shovel our sidewalk every so often

May there not be any snow this Cheshvan

May our hearts be warmed instead of the earth

May autumn descend gently, may we find both gloves in each pair

May we reconnect with the joys of soup and fireplaces and snuggling in a warm bed