Kislev is a month that brings with it incredible healing energy and opportunities for us. This is the month when we celebrate the festival of Chanukah where light came down at a time of great spiritual darkness and a miracle with light occurred. Let’s look at the messages of Chanukah and how we can use them as a springboard for healing as well as ideas about your attitude that will empower you to be able to make changes in your life to be able to facilitate healing.
Chanukah was a time where darkness filled our lives physically and then this darkness threatened our spirituality as well. Chanukah is an opportunity for each of us to find the healing point that Hashem has guarded within each of us, just as He guarded the flask of pure oil in the Temple days. The month of Kislev brings with it every year a healing energy that is very strong. It is available to us to connect to and bring into our lives.
There is an idea from Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Luria that the 613 mitzvot correspond to the 613 body parts, and through each mitzvah we bring about healing in the body in that specific area connected to each mitzvah. Simcha Benyosef writes in the book ‘Empowered to Heal’ that lighting Chanukah candles is not one of the 613 mitzvot but it is one that is precious to the Jewish people. Because of the Maccabi’s dedication to Hashem and bringing spirituality back into the world, we have inherited the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles. This mitzvah illuminates our bodies as a whole, not a specific body part. This was Hashem’s gift to us for showing our dedication to having Him part of our lives. The mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles brings Divine life force to heal the entire body and help the Neshama grow on its life’s journey.
The miracle is not only that the oil lasted for the 8 days, but that there was pure oil to be found in the first place. This tells us that even at times when there is darkness for us; there is never a time when there is no hope. Hashem for His reasons needed to bring about this dark time for Beni Yisrael, but He also left the opportunity open for them to find Him in those dark times. Hashem didn’t abandon us. He guarded the oil so that it would be available for us to use. Just as Hashem guarded the oil, so too does he guard a place deep within us for healing. The lesson to get out of the Chanukah Story is that even in times of darkness and tragedy, illness or desperation on a personal, physical, spiritual or national level, Hashem is always accessible if we are prepared to tap into that healing energy. Hashem never abandons us.
Why the number 8? The number eight in Hebrew gematria always represents going beyond physical. Seven is always the world of the natural. For example there are seven primary colours of the rainbow, seven notes of music, seven days of the week, seven fruits of Israel, and being that 8 follows seven it always represents going beyond the physical. For example a Brit Mila is performed on the eight day and Hanukah is therefore 8 days. Incidentally the Hebrew word for eight (שמונה) is from the root of the word “שמן” which as we mentioned before means oil and represents Torah wisdom. Rabbi Dessler says it is only fitting to do the Mitzvah of Hanukah which represents going beyond the physical for eight days and with oil because as mentioned before the two words for “שמן” and “שמונה” in Hebrew are related and both allude to going beyond as well. Furthermore the word "שמונה" can also be rearranged to read “נשמה” which is the third part of the soul which goes beyond the physical and touches on the spiritual which can be further rearranged to read משנה.
There is also significance as to what time we light Chanukah candles. As nightfall begins which signifies darkness (physically, emotionally, medically or spiritually) for us, this is when we light the Chanukah candles. We invite the light in to access this message from Hashem that He is with us, protecting us and will never abandon us at times of darkness. We have to believe that if Hashem brought us to a certain circumstance then He will bring us through it as well. A candle in the darkness is a very powerful tool. Often we can’t remove the pain, but we can ‘light’ internal candles in our hearts. This is the start of healing as we allow the light to grow and shine through.
There is a beautiful idea in the book Natures Source by Nosson Slifkin. The book teaches that everything Hashem created has a purpose that it was created for. Each entity in nature has a passuk that it sings out to Hashem and has specific lessons for us to learn about how to conduct ourselves in life. For example, the song DAY gives us is about having an appreciation to be able to SEE clearly everything that has been created in the natural world. Daytime is opposed to night time where we lose our clarity of vision. It is night time that is there to give us an opportunity to stop and slow down and contemplate what we have seen or experienced in the day.
There is also an idea that DAY can be compared to the happy times in our lives and NIGHT represents the darker times when we don’t see things clearly. As with the history of the Jewish People where there have been periods of ‘day’ and periods of ‘night’, so too in all of our lives there are good times and there are difficult times. The song NIGHT sings is, “טוב להודות לה להגיד בבוקר חסדך ואמונתך בלילות, “It is good to thank Hashem, to speak of His kindness in the morning and of his faithfulness by night.” The kindness in the morning refers to all the good in our lives. What is the faithfulness at night? It is about knowing and trusting in Hashem and having faith in the times of darkness that He will be there to carry us through any difficulties. This is the lesson NIGHT (and darkness) gives us. There is a custom, among some people, of turning off the lights when they light the Chanukia. This emphasizes the idea of light coming forth from darkness, and holiness appearing where it is least expected. By connecting to these deeper ideas we can invite to these deeper spiritual healing messages into our lives.
Rabbi Yaacov Haber from Aish HaTorah says, “I was thinking about Chanukah, and a new idea occurred to me. Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, occurs at the darkest time of the year—the time when you would least expect it. And this is an important characteristic of Judaism: that light, and holiness, occur where one would least expect them. Remember the origin of Chanukah: the Greeks were conquering the world, with their ideas as well as their armies, and were bringing a modern, practical, “enlightened” philosophy to the world; and resistance to this came where one would have least expected it: a small group of people, without military power, without weapons, went into the streets against the Greek rule, and were victorious!”
Another thing we can learn from the lights of Hanukah is a lesson in not giving up. Fire is unique in that whichever way you turn it, it will always go up. This was the story of the Jews on Hanukah. They were being spiritually defeated by the strongest army in the world. Everything seemed hopeless. However, just like fire never goes down, the Jews did not give up. They picked up their weapons and fought for their spiritual existence.
May this be a month for us all to see the light within the darkness and to be able to tap into Hashem’s hidden and guarded healing energy that is found within us.