Marcheshvan

Marcheshvan (also called Bul) was the eighth month of the Hebrew calendar, corresponding roughly to October-November. The biblical name Bul appears in 1 Kings 6:38, where it is recorded that Solomon completed the temple in "the month of Bul, which is the eighth month," after seven years of construction. The post-biblical name Marcheshvan is of uncertain etymology; some derive it from Akkadian waraḫsamna (eighth month). In the agricultural cycle, Marcheshvan was the beginning of the winter plowing and planting season, when the early rains (yoreh) typically began in the land of Israel.

Marcheshvan holds a certain theological poignancy in Jewish tradition as the only month of the year with no biblical holiday — sometimes called the "bitter" month (with mar, bitter, added by folk etymology). This characterization may reflect both the agricultural harshness of the transition to winter and the absence of the festive calendar markers that punctuate the other months. The month of the temple's completion and the month of the Flood's onset (Genesis 7:11 places it in the second month, interpreted as Marcheshvan in some traditions) add weight to the month's significance.