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Hanukkiah: Symbol of Kislev

December 2, 2011 by Patrick Beaulier

In thinking about Kislev, I went right to the dreidel and the Hanukkiah.  I decided that if I had to pick one, it’s the Hanukkiah (but I may explore the other dreidels later in the month!)  The Hanukkiah is the nine-branched menorah that we light on Hanukkah.  Even though we generally just call it a menorah, not all menorahs are for Hanukkah!  The menorah, which is an ancient symbol of the Jewish people is actually seven branched.

If the menorah is considered  “the most central role of all the sacred vessels, for it is the symbol of light,” and a symbol of spiritual illumination — then it’s safe to assume that this is also the role the Hanukkiah plays.  Hanukkah is a strange holiday because it’s not only post-biblical, but also two holidays smooshed together.  I guess we have a lot of holidays that are two smooshed together, though.  Most commonly Hanukkah is the holiday that celebrates the victory of the Maccabbees over the Greeks, and the “miracle of the oil.”  It’s also a Winter Solstice (Tekufat Tevet) holiday, that acknowledges the darkness of the year and returning of the light.  That’s actually found in ancient midrash, it’s not just some modern “new agey” thing.  It’s even one of the stories I included in the Hanukkah Haggadah!

The lighting of the Hanukkah menorah offers wonderful opportunities for spiritual refreshment and renewal.  This year, toss away the annual debates over whether or not Hanukkah is important or just a reaction to Christmas.  Don’t worry about the ethics of celebrating the victory in a war (and that the Maccabees were total zealots, who probably would have killed many of us too…).  Embrace our own holiday of lights at its root level — light.

What do you want to light up?  What areas of your life, your heart, your soul need light?  Dedicate your entire Hanukkiah to bringing light into an area in your life.  Let each candle represent a step along the way, and watch the light grow over the eight days!  Take this time to rededicate yourself — to whatever you need to rededicate yourself.  Bring back the light in your own life, and rejoice in our very special holiday of lights!

Ketzirah is a Kohenet, Celebrant, and Artist. Her mission is to help others experience the best life possible by connecting with the Divine presence, physical resources, creative expression, and communal ritual experience.

Originally posted here: Hanukkiah: Symbol of Kislev | Peeling a Pomegranate http://www.peelapom.com/wheel-of-the-year/chanukah/hanukkiah-symbol-of-kislev/#ixzz1fPdj3kkP

Filed Under: Chanukah, Community Member Blogs, Judaism & Belief Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, hanukkah, ketzirah, kislev, kohenet, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rosh chodesh

Kislev: The Lesson of Benjamin

October 24, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier

~ This is just an excerpt from the Wheel of the Year Guide for Rosh Chodesh Kislev.  Subscribe for free and receive the entire guide each month. ~

Kislev 5771 begins at sundown on Sunday, November 7th, 2010 and ends at sundown on Monday, December 6, 2010

Kislev (כִּסְלֵו) is called the month of dreams because nine of the ten dreams explicitly mentioned in the Torah occur in the Torah portions of Kislev (Inner.org), which explains why Kohenet associates Kislev with the Baalot Ov (בַּעֲלַת-אוֹב)– but what does that have to do with Benjamin?   Benjamin is the last son of Jacob and the only full brother of Joseph.  When he was born Rachel named him Ben-Oni (בֶּן-אוֹנִי), son of my sorrow (Gen 35:18), as she died giving birth. Jacob renamed him Benyamin (בִּנְיָמִין), son of the right hand – or good luck (Jewish Encyclopedia).  Just in the moment of his birth, Benjamin is both a blessing and a curse.

I find it interesting that Benjamin’s birth is part of Genesis 35.  In this one passage Jacob’s camp gives up their “strange gods” (35:2-4), Rebekah’s nurse Deborah dies (35:8), Jacob is given the name Yisrael (35:10), Ben-Oni is born (35:18), Ben-Oni is renamed Ben Yamin (35:18), Rachel dies (35:19), and Issac dies (35:29).

The next we hear of Benjamin is in Gen 42:4, when his other brothers are sent to Egypt to seek food to relieve the family from the famine.  He appears nowhere in the story between his birth and the next time he plays another role as a catalyst of events over which he has no control.

When, Benjamin, this beloved child is given his blessing by Jacob:

“Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth; in the morning he devoureth the prey, and at even he divideth the spoil.” (Gen 49:27)

Does this sound like the blessing you give a beloved child? The tribe of Benjamin was known as incredibly skilled warriors, and a bit ruthless.  But in the end, this last child of Yisrael, is the ancestral line that gives us our first King – Saul.  Another interpretation that makes a great deal of sense to me is that Benjamin’s blessing refers to the Temple where offerings were given the morning, and the edible portions divided among the priests and people in the evenings. (Jewish Encyclopedia)  I also think it is very possible that is refers to the fact that his birth (morning) caused the death of Rachel, but in the end (evening) his life brings great good by reuniting the family and his tribal lands are the ones set aside for the the Temple.

The blessing of Moses (Deut 33:12), brings a new sense of the blessing of Benjamin and what we can learn from it.

“Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him; He covereth him all the day, and He dwelleth between his shoulders.”

This seems to clarify his first blessing for me.  Those wolf’s pack does not need to fear him.  He will feed not only himself, but also those in his protection.  Who would challenge a “ravenous wolf?”

I think the lesson I find in the Tribe of Benjamin for Kislev is reconciling how bad or tragic events can lead to unexpectedly beautiful or positive things.  It is the challenge to reconcile how any war can be just.  It is the challenge to transform the fear caused by nightmares into becoming better people in the waking world.  How do we accept that for the pack to be fed — something may have to die? Do we see the archer’s bow (קֶשֶׁת), the astrological sign for Kislev, as the ability to protect ourselves or wage war? Even if we see the Keshet (קֶשֶׁת) as the rainbow — how do we reconcile the destruction of the flood and survival of one small group with the death of millions?  How do we reconcile the death and destruction of Hanukkah with the celebration of our deliverance?

How do we do transform what could be the greatest curse into the greatest blessing?

This is the lesson I found.  What do you see?

Want more insights into Kislev?

  • Kislev: Spiritual Alchemy
  • Kislev: A Study in Opposites
  • Hanukkah Seder

~ This is just an excerpt from the Wheel of the Year Guide for Rosh Chodesh Kislev.  Subscribe for free and receive the entire guide each month. ~

Filed Under: Chanukah, Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Judaism & Belief Tagged With: benjamin, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, Counterculture, darshan yeshiva, earth based judaism, jewish calendar, jewish wheel of the year, kislev, months, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, Punk, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rosh chodesh, tribes, tribes of israel

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