Kislev: Month of Chanukah And Dreams

When the month of Kislev comes around – the month of Chanukah – I’m reminded of dreams. In waking life, we so often forfeit our intuition and prefer “logic.” We attempt to accelerate the plot, or perhaps contemplate all the ways something might go wrong. Kislev reminds us that this is a time to trust. The female qualities of the circle and the miracle of Channukah are both evidence of how protected we are. In this time of dreams, we remember that the Talmud teaches dreams are one-sixtieth prophecy.

This season is conducive to dreaming and trusting in Hashem. I remember exactly three years ago, I moved from Minneapolis back to my hometown Miami Beach. It was an unexpected, impromptu move that was much needed. Right before Kislev, my life had been so neatly plotted out (or so I thought), but I needed to choose myself and take a leap of faith. So I did. I remember staring at the Hanukkiah telling myself that trust was my only option, and that the Or Haganuz (primordial light) would envelop me in the darkest of times.

One of my favorite aspects of this time of year is learning about Jacob and Esau, radically different brothers, thought to also represent the animal and godly soul, which we all have inside of us. Through the family drama, there’s chaos, betrayal, and redemption. Of course, we come from Jacob, who is said to represent a bridge between heaven and earth. I always imagined the ladder in Jacob’s dream as that metaphysical bridge that’s available to us all, if only we let ourselves dream and trust a little extra.

New Light

Mar Chesvan the only holiday-less month of the year fades away and the circular month of Kislev is before us. The end of Kislev contains the illuminating lights of Chanukah, which equally span into Tevet. Chanukah’s energy, of eight days, is beyond nature.

We find this because seven is the number of nature: seven days of the week, seven holes in our face (nostrils, eyes, ears, mouth), seven colors of the rainbow, seven cardinal directions, and so on. But Channukah is eight, which represents transcendence. We find the holiness of eights in the eight stringed harp that will play when moschiah comes, the eight instruments that accompany the Levites (seven instruments plus the choir), on the eighth day, baby boys are circumcised. The nature of eight invites us to dream beyond. The light of Kislev is Or Haganuz, the primordial light.

Femininity and Marriage

Every month has its own attributes and Kislev’s are divinely romantic. Samech, the letter of the month, is closed like a circle (and some say wedding ring). The circular samech invokes the feminine nature of cycles, pregnancy, and the seasons themselves.

Ches corresponds to the number eight. According to the AriZal, ches is a fusion of two letters: vav and zayin. “On top of the zayin is a chatoteres, a bridge that unites the two. In essence, vav represents the male principle, the husband. Zayin represents the female principle, the wife. The bridge that links them is G-d. The Maggid of Mezritch illuminates the verse ‘The woman of valor is the crown of her husband’ as: the zayin, the crown, signifies the position of the woman of valor safeguarding the man.”

Dreams

Kislev is often referred to as the Month of Dreams because most of the dreams mentioned in the Torah are read in the parshiyot of this month. Avimelech’s first dream appears in parshas Vayeira, and the other nine dreams appear in Vayetzei, Vayeishev, and Miketz–all read during cheshvan. The theme of dreams invites us to consider our own.

Kislev calls on us to surrender, trust, and believe in our dreams and miracles.

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