Rosh Qodesh

The Following are special dates for our serious consideration that we might take the time to honour theme. May these enrich your walk with the Creator of the Heavens.

YeshaYahu (Isaiah) 66: 22-23 “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me,” says YHWH (the Lord), “So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says YHWH (the Lord.) Shalom!

Kislev- The Month of Hope

The Name of the Month – Trust and Hope

Kislev is the ninth month of the year, counting from Nissan. In the Torah we find that the root of the word Kislev means ‘trust’ and ‘hope’: “Did I place my “kili” (my hope) in gold…?” (Job, 31:24) “…And they placed in YHWH [Hashem] their kislam (their trust).” (Psalms, 78:7)

In terms of the historical narrative of Chanukah, the Hasmonians had tremendous courage to stand up to their Greek oppressors. Despite the darkness of their time, they trusted in the miraculous. This inspired them to look at a defiled Temple and envision its re-purification. Because of this trust, their eyes were open enough to find a small measure of oil with which to kindle the Menorah.

Writing some two hundred years after the re-dedication of the Temple, Josephus calls Chanukah “the Festival of Lights”. Although his historical accuracy is debatable, and he doesn’t even mention the miraculous oil, we can learn about Chanukah’s theme of trust and hope from his account: “Perhaps the reason (for the name “Festival of Lights”) is that a freedom beyond our hopes appeared to us, and so this was the name given to the festival.” (Antiquities VII:7)

The name “Kislev” is of Babylonian origin.

In the Tanach (Bible), Kislev is referred to as the ninth month, as it is the ninth month after Nisan. Although most famous for having Chanukah within it, Kislev is also a month with significant Biblical happenings.

The first rainbow, observed after the Flood, was seen in Kislev. “And YHWH [G-d] said: ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I set between Me, and yourselves, and between every living being that is with you, unto eternal generations. I have placed my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and the Earth.’ ” “This is the sign of the covenant” – YHWH [G-d] showed Noah the bow and said to Him: “This is the sign of which I spoke” (Bereishiyth [Gen] 9).

From the days of the Hasmoneans, as long as the Beit Din, also known as the Sanhedrin, or Jewish Supreme Court, sanctified the month through the testimony of witnesses, who testified as to when they had seen the New Moon, where in the sky they had seen the New Moon, and exactly what it looked like, messengers of the Beit Din went out to places distant from Yerushalayim, to make known when the new month had been sanctified.

The Beit Din needed to do this only during months in which festivals occurred, so that people knew on which day to observe the festival. Therefore, when the month of Kislev was sanctified, messengers were sent out, so that people living far from Yerushalayim would know when Chanukah was to begin. Chanukah has the status of a festival, although it is Rabbinic in origin, and not directly mentioned in the Torah though it is called the “Feast of Dedication” in the Brit Hachadash {The New Testament-Jn 10:22} .

Kislev (or Chislev) is best known for the holiday of Chanukah, which begins on 25 Kislev. In History we find that the Syrian army marched into Jerusalem and many of the people were killed and others escaped to the hills. Only the known Hellenists were allowed to remain. Orders were given: NO Sabbath, NO Holy Days, and NO Circumcision. A Statue of Zeus/Antiochus was placed in the Temple above the altar. The most detestable animals (the pig) were brought and sacrificed on the altar. An abominable act was perpetrated on Kislev 25, 168 BC according to the Book of Maccabees that "left the Jewish people desolate." (They call this the Abomination of Desolation in Daniel). The message of Chanukah is the eternal power of light over darkness—good over evil since the re-purification reportedly occurred on this date.

Aside from commemorating the miraculous victory of the small Jewish army over the mighty Syrian-Greek empire, Chanukah celebrates the miracle of the oil. When the Jews sought to light the Temple menorah after the war, they found only one small jug of pure oil. Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, and the sages instituted the eight-day festival of Chanukah, on which we kindle the menorah nightly.

Since this month is one of the darkest of the year with the days progressively getting shorter & nights getting longer with the winter solstice in its last week. Chanukah always falls when the Rosh Kodesh of Tevet falls, it is no wonder that Chanukah represents an appropriate time to Kindle the light of Faith. With this thought the Talmud speaks of Adam’s celebration of light during the 1st Winter Solstice:

When Adam noticed that during the first three months of his life, the days were getting progressively shorter, he said, “woe is me! Because I’ve sinned, the World around me is being darkened & returning to its state of chaos & confusion; this must be the kind of death which has been sentenced to me from Heaven!” He took upon himself to pray, fast and look within. After eight days, he noticed the winter equinox and saw that the days were beginning to lengthen again. “So, this is the way of the World!” he exclaimed, and he celebrated for eight days. (Avodah Zarah, 8a)

The Sense of the Month

Sleep, also, involves ‘descending’ into unconsciousness and vulnerability. An environment that is not trustworthy may keep a person from falling asleep. We tend to sleep only when we can trust that we will awaken as the Book of Mishlei says:

“If you rest, you will not worry; you will lie down and your sleep will be pleasant…, for you will trust YHWH [HaShem].” (Mishlei 2)

Another prophet of those difficult times, Zechariah, transmitted to the People an image of purity and grandeur: he prophesied about a menorah of pure gold, flowing continuously with holy oil. Thus, long before the Chanukah story, the menorah became a symbol of hope and light. Many centuries later too, the menorah became the symbol of the Jewish People, and a major theme in synagogue art and architecture.

The Darkest Night

The Winter Solstice generally occurs during the last week of Kislev. Therefore, not only does the week of Chanukah contain the longest night of the year, but at the end of a lunar month the nights have virtually no moonlight.

A student of the Baal Shem Tov named Rabbi Yakov Yosef determined, through complex calculations, that the night of the Chanukah victory and the re-lighting of the Menorah was precisely the longest night of the year. This deepest darkness sets the stage for the greatest possible revelation of light.

Divine Light

The light that comes from fire is dependent on the burning and destroying of something else. Divine light, however, is self-derived. At the Burning Bush, Moshe encounters Divine light. It shines like a fire, and yet the bush is not consumed. This light doesn’t necessarily take away the darkness–it somehow shines within the darkness. the Divine light that burns within the darkness of Creation yet doesn’t consume Creation. It is the light of Chanukah revealed in the darkest nights of the year and the darkest times of exile.

The Biblical Events in Kislev

-         Kislev 4- Zechariah proclaims a fast day in Zech 7:1.

-         14 Kislev- 1568 BC birth of Reuben & his death in 1445 BC.

-         15 Kislev- The Greeks set up the “abomination of Desolation” a statue of Zeus in the Temple.

-         17 Kislev- 1947 AD The U.N. general Assembly [League of Nations] approves a plan to partition Palestine.

-         20 Kislev- 457 BC Ezra calls for the dissolution of marriages with the foreign women in accordance with the Torah.

-         21 Kislev- 128 BC The Samaritan Temple at Mt. Gerizim was destroyed by John Hyrcanus.

-         24 Kislev- 354 BC The returning Jews resume building the Second Temple [Haggai 2:1-14, Ezra 5:1-6:18.]

-         25 Kislev- 167 BC The Greeks make a Pagan sacrifice of Swine on the Altar in the Temple.

-         25 Kislev- 164 BC The rededication [Chanukah] of the Temple is celebrated.

-         25 Kislev- 3720 BC Cain killed his brother Abel.

-         27 Kislev- 2105 BC the Flood rains cease according to Gen 6-8.