טבש

TRIBE

DAY INNISSAN OFNASI’SOFFERING

FLAGMEANING IN NAMEMONTH/ BODY SYMBOL

הדוהי

YEHUDA

ןושאר םוי

T'cheilet

, the blue dye thatwas used for

tzitzis

; on theflag is embroidered a lion,the symbol of royalty (KingDovid & Moshiach)

His name means to give thanks, inspeech

NISSAN

"The new year for kings"; the king rules his people by the power of his speech, as is said "for the wordof the king is his rule."

רכששי

YISAKOR

ינש םויBlack with an embroideredsun and moon; dedicated tothe spiritual world. Black represents a lack of physical possessions.

The master of the "secret" of the Jewishcalendar, "knowers of understandingthe times"; basic nature iscontemplative and serves as the"advisor" to all the brethren

IYAR

Thought implies contemplation and introspection;also signifies the power of calculation (as in thecalculation of the calendar); the month of counting("

sefirat haomer

ןולובז

ZEVULUN

ישילש םויWhite with the embroideryof a ship; this tribe settlesby the water and conductsbusiness overseas; they arededicated to supporting the

Torah

study of Yissachar;The white represents theirpure business intentions

The

Arizal

explains that the origin of the soul of Zevulun is in

keter

, the levelof the Torah itself, as indicated by thefact that the Ten Commandments possess 620 letters =רתכ (correspondingto the 613 mitzvos together with the 7mitzvos of the sages)

SIVAN

Walking (progress, dynamic) means the sense of continuous, ongoing progress. Each law of theTorah is called a

halacha

, from the word "to walk."Our sages interpret the verse: "the walkings of theworld are to Him" (Habakuk 6:4), that he whostudies

halacha

daily will surely merit the world tocome

ןבואר

REUVEN

יעיבר םויRed flag symbolizes therevenge to be taken onEdom; symbol is amandrake, a kind of plantthat grows in the wild.

The root "to see"red implies either the fall of man (odem[red] has the same spelling as adam[man]), as in the sin of the golden calf,or the ultimate rise & rectification of man, with the coming of Moshiach

TAMUZ

The ability to guard and focus one's eyesightcorrectly is the rectified "sense" of sight; thesummer (the period of

Tamuz

) is the "holiday" of the eyes; one must "guard" one’s eyes to see onlythat which is good (in the world in general and inhis fellow man in particular) and modest

ןועמש

SHIMEON

ישימח םויGreen with an embroideryof a city, representingShechem. Shimon'sconquest of the city of Shechem is considered thefirst in the conquest of

Eretz Yisroel

"To hear" in Hebrew = "to understand,"to integrate into one's consciousness(into one's heart, in addition to one'smind);

to change depends upon hisinner sense of hearing. "Hear [

shemah

]

O' Israel...." Inner hearing (

derher

inYiddish) comes with the deep sense of humility in the soul

The general rectification of the month of

is therectification of hearing

דג

GAD

ישיש םויWoven from black andwhite threads. A troop of soldiers is embroidered onthe silk cloth. The tribe of Gad faces the uncertaintyof battle with great trust in

Hashem

ad means "camp," the special talent isto organize a "company"; also means"good fortune"

ELUL

Relates, in Kabbalah, to the thirteen principles of mercy that are revealed in the month of

Elul

, inorder to arouse the soul from its root (its "goodfortune") to return to G-d

םירפא

EFRAIM

תבשRed-violet with a youngbull representing Yehoshua

Efraim is the son of Joseph, thearchetypal soul of the power to procreate in marital union

TISHREI

Adam HaRishon - Touch (contact, marriage) is theonly of the five common and general senses whichis not centered in the "face" of man (but rather inthe tips of his fingers)

השנמ

MENASHE8

ןושאר םויViolet; a wild ox isembroidered in the silk torepresent the descendantGideon, the Judge

Deriving from the word "to forget"(literally "to leap, up and away"),Menasheh implies the power of theTzadik (Joseph) to make us forget thehardships, trials and tribulations of thisworld, with the coming of Moshiach.By the power and sense of Menasheh,all of the pain of this world willtransform and metamorphose into the pleasure of the Messianic era.

CHESVAN

The sense of smell is the most spiritual of allsenses. The Hebrew word for "smell," rei'ach, iscognate to that for "spirit" (ruach). Our sages teachus that smell is the one and only sense that "thesoul enjoys and not the body." "Soul" (neshamah)is a permutation of Menasheh, as mentioned above.The sense of smell is the only sense (of the fivecommon senses) that did not participate, andthereby was not blemished or polluted

BENYAMIN9

ינש םויColors of all the othertribes; a wolf isembroidered on the flagrepresenting the eagernessof Heaven to "snatch" the

korbanos

, consuming themwith the Heavenly fire

The only tribe who was born in the landof Israel. The land of Israel is the placewhere one most experiences Divine providence and G-d's absoluteomnipresence. In the words of theZohar: "There is no place vacant of Him;

through the

korbanos

of the

Bait HaMikdash,

all the

Shvatim

(tribes) are brought together

KISLEV

The sense of sleep is the tranquility and restfulnessthat comes with trust and security in G-d and HisDivine providence

ןד

DAN

ישילש םויAn opal-colored flag andthe serpent embroidered onit both allude to the mightyShimshon who showsstrength and cunning whendealing with the

Pelishtim

Dan means "to judge"; likened toa snake, which bites with thevenom of anger. The "evil eye" isthe eye of the snake; therectification of Dan is hisengaging in the battle of holyanger against evil anger Nachash ("snake") = 358 =Moshiach. The holy power of Dan reflects a spark of Moshiach;the Zohar states the commander-in-chief of the army of Moshiachwill come from the tribe of Dan

TEVES

The sense of holy anger, or righteous indignation(the rectification of the month of Tevet) is theability of the soul to arouse one's goodinclination to become angry at one's evilinclination; In Chassidus we are taught that onemust direct his left ("evil") eye towards himself (with the holy anger of his innate good againsthis innate evil), to lower and subdue his ego,while simultaneously directing his right ("good")eye towards outer reality (by which power hehelps reality perfect itself).

רשא

ASHER

יעיבר םויPearl color silk. Upon it anolive tree is embroidered.Asher's portion in the landof

Eretz Yisroel

is filled witholive trees, descendants'daughters are destined tomarry

Kohanim Gedolim

and kings

The name "Asher" means"pleasure" and "happiness." Our father Yaacov blessed him: "fromAsher comes delicious [lit. fat] bread, and he shall provide thedelicacies of the king"; the olivetree, which gives the goodly oilwith which Asher's portion inIsrael was blessed. Of the sevenspecies in Israel, the olive is thesixth, which, in Kabbalah,corresponds to the sefirah of yesod, the "Tzadik, foundation of the world." Olive oil representsthe potent seed of the Tzadik to bear and sustain blessedgenerations of Jewish souls

SHVAT

The rectified sense of eating is the special senseof the Tzadik, as is said: "The Tzadik eats tosatisfy his soul." This verse continues: "but thestomach of the wicked is always lacking." Thesoul-oriented Tzadik feels "full" and happy witha little; the body-oriented rasha (wicked-one)never feels "full."

ילתפנ

NAFTOLI

ישימח םויColor of diluted wine. Adeer is embroidered on theflag. The descendants of Naftali study

Torah

fromthe mouth of the

Sanhedrin.

In Kabbalah, the name Naftali isread (as two words):

nofet li

,"sweetness is to me."

ADAR

The mitzvah

Purim to reach the level of the"unknowable head" by drinking wine etc., isexpressed, in the words of our sages, as: "one isobligated on Purim to become sweet, until he isunable to differentiate between 'cursed beHamen' and 'blessed be Mordechai