The deer which appear on the landscape of Naftali's inheritance in Meron hint to Naftali "Naftali is a deer sent forth". Our sages have interpreted this passage as an expression of the messenger quality of Naftali who obeys G-d's will while refraining from imposing his own ideas. In one of the systems of sefirot, he is connected to Keter Malchut, the superconscious will (keter) of the Creator being brought down into the details of the physical world (malchut).

Part of this mediation of this dimension is to develop the messenger part of us; the ability to obey instructions. At times the way of achieving the best results is by refraining from imposing one's own opinions. Now is not a time of great creativity, rather one may work on perfecting the art of being a conduit of life energy without effecting any transformation.

How do we connect to and reclaim this state of being and expression of Will? The twisted tree in the foreground of this painting hints to the root of "Naftali" meaning "wrestling" or "twisted" in relation to the struggles of the soul through prayer. Just as Rachel declared at Naftali's birth to Bilha, "wrestlings of G-d have i wrestled through prayer in order to deeply connect to G-d's will."

The letter KUF which is superimposed on the painting and whose shape is an impression of the Divine energy through which this month of Adar was formed, reflects this process of G-dliness penetrating the lowest levels of reality. KUF first appears in the Torah in the word "Kadosh" (holy, separate). Besides the final letters, it is the only letter which reaches below the line. Therefore, the special light available to us this time of hear helps us to increase our awareness that the success of all of our efforts in the material world ultimately depends on that which is beyond our control; the will of the Creator.

There is a gemorrah which states that when a deer is dying of thirst it sticks its head in the ground and screams a cry that can be heard throughout the seven firmaments. The deer in the foreground illustrates this. The sense of this month is laughter. Part of our ability to laugh comes from the realization that there is a level which is totally beyond our control. At the moment that we cease to take ourselves so seriously, as we see an intrinsic vanity in our efforts put forth in the natural world.

The coins coming our of the fountain hint to the half shekel that each Jew was commanded to contribute towards the building of the mishcan. The portions of the torah read during this month deal with the details of the building of the mishcan (the portable tabernacle in the desert). The spiritual work of the Jew is to take the material world and elevate it so that it will become a dwelling place for G-dliness.

The holiday of Purim that comes during this month is especially a time to connect to true simcha and laughter. It is also the time to perfect the art of giving. Just as Naftali was a messenger, we are required to transmit gifts between two parties. The giver is required to be somewhat concealed. The deepest giving is when the receiver does not know from which human agent the gift is from. Ultimately all giving is linked with the boundless living kindness of our Creator.