Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Rosh Chodesh KISLEV - The beginning of the new month KISLEV


B"H

That was fast. Only a short while ago, we were entering Mar Cheshvan and now it is already Kislev. Tonight and tomorrow, is Rosh Chodesh and we are celebrating the new Jewish month of Kislev. A new month can also mean a new beginning in our lives. One of the reasons may be that something new always causes a higher motivation. 

Almost at the end of Kislev, Chanukkah begins and in Jerusalem, people already feel a slight festive atmosphere. The traditional Sufganiot (donuts) business has started and  people try not to worry about too many calories. My personal favourite flavour are the Sufganiot with a date cream filling. 

 Kislev is the month of "security" and the "trust in G - d". The Chashmonaim (Hasmoneans) fought against the Greek occupation and idol - worship. Yehudah Maccabi and his followers never gave up and due to their trust in G - d, they finally succeeded. However, Kislev is also the month of "sleep". Kabbalist consider "sleep" as passive trust in G - d.

The "Book of Creation - Sefer Yetzirah" teaches us that every Jewish month has its particular letter, colour, tribe, organ or horoscope.

The colour of Kislev is blue – purple.
The horoscope is Sagittarus.
The tribe is Benjamin.
The sense is "sleep". It is said that when someone has an absolute trust in G - d, he is granted positive dreams about the future.
The organ of Kislev is the stomach due to its connection to sleep. The letter is SAMECH ס The shape of the Samech circle represent G - d's Shechinah (presence).

The chassidic book "Bnei Yissachar" provides us with a few great insights on Kislev:
According to Kabbalists and Chassidim, the Chanukkah light symbolizes the hidden light (Or HaGanuz) which G - d created on the first day of creation. Only on Wednesday, G - d created the sun and the moon. However, the hidden light from the first day, G - d is hiding from us until Meshiach comes. The only way we can gain a little taste of this light is through learning Torah. On Chanukkah, however, this spiritual light will become obvious.

Chanukkah is approaching and we are going to light the first candle on the evening of 8 December. 

Chodesh Tov – A great, healthy and successful month of Kislev to all readers !

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