"The month of Cheshvan provides a break in the complexity of the Jewish calendar. After a full month of celebration and hubbub, Cheshvan is a month without holidays; it allows for in-depth examination of a significant health problem facing society today. A new area of research focuses on how children’s early life experiences have an impact on their health as adults.
"Traditionally Jews value fairness, but there seems to be something inherently unfair that children -innocent as they are - should be punished for their parents’ transgressions.
"The value of prayer, personal contemplation, journaling, and goal setting is not to be dismissed in this discussion. As it says in Psalm 147: Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him! The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the broken of spirit and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
In our liturgy, before we Jews contemplate the grandeur of God, we pay homage to zokef kefufim (God the Healer) who “makes straight those who are bent over.”
"In reviewing the information from the ACE study and considering the magnitude of children’s behavioral health concerns, remember the many ways that one individual has to affect significant change: as a mother, wife, friend, community person, teacher, professional, and determined volunteer."
http://www.wlcj.org/upimages/Cheshvan_Turning%20Gold%20into%20Lead.pdf
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