Falling is also a special gate of prayer, one that we have least control over. Suddenly we may slip and descend into a foreign reality. However, if we strength our understanding of this process then our falls can become gateways for higher ascensions rather than resulting in tragedy, G-d forbid. At times, falling is the only way to cleanse ourselves in inadequate symbols and thoughts that were attempting to link us to Divinity.

The background of this painting depicts Mt. Grizim and Mt. Avil. In between lies the grave of Yoseph the Tzaddik, father of Menashe. When Menashe was born Yosef declared that G-d "nashi" (changed or effaced) all of my troubles and those of the house of my father. Surrounding the circumstances of Menashe's birth we find that what first appeared to be a very negative situation, Yosef’s sojourn in Egypt and the famine in Eretz Canaan, was changed for the good. Because of his position he was able to feed his brothers.

The letter nun, through which this month was created, is juxtaposed on the painting and is associated with the word "nefilah" (falling(. The ephemeral figures represent the soul descending and reascending up the backbone of the nun. So too, the teardrops filled with candles, lights of hope, are falling on the scenery.

The last month of Tishrei was filled with holidays and light. Cheshvan has no holidays. Its meditation helps one to master the art of falling by finding light in the darkness. The two reflecting crowns in the upper and lower part of the painting represent malchut, (kingship). When a person falls they lose their sense of malchut, their point of spiritual connection and their sense of dignity. However, the Torah is penetrated with the teaching that in the lowest places we find the path to even a stronger, higher connection. Thus in the confusion of the fall we are able to remember that all is happening in order to ring us to a higher place. As a result there will be less room for guilt or despair - two non-kosher ingredients for spiritual enlightenment.

The letters of Menashe, when rearranged, spell neshama (soul). The sense of this month is smell, the only sense that wasn't polluted in Adam's sin and is therefore directly linked to the soul. This is the month to rectify the sense of smell, to intuit situations in order to find the intrinsic truth. This process is literally linked to the sense of smell. When Yosef successfully resisted the seductions of Potiphar's wife, a pleasant scent was emitted throughout the whole world. His grave in the foreground, surrounded by the convoluted, aromatic lines, alludes to the small intestines which were formed in this month and are connected to the sense of smell.