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!

Tevet- a time of return and redefinition.

This month begins with the last days of Chanukah. By internalizing the message of the ever-increasing lights of the menorah we are reminded of the power of good over evil—we are then able to reveal the good that is hidden in our lives and in the world around us. This then requires discipline as we read in:

Ivriim [Hebrews] 12:11 And indeed, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but grievous, but afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

How then do we begin of this journey of change? This is best described in the following:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work.

Good is connected we Tevet as the word for good in Hebrew is Tov so this helps us consider our need to return & redefine ourselves in YHUH.

However, many changes took place in the Hebrew month of Tevet that have cast a shadow throughout the course of Jewish history.

Tevet is a time of return and redefinition. May we use the power of the month to discover who we really are and who we really want to be. This is the key to personal redemption, which is in turn the key to national redemption.

Tevet is the tenth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.

Tevet begins with the last days of Chanukah. Its tenth day–the tenth day of the tenth month (“the tenth shall be holy to Elohim [G-d]”)–is a fast day, in commemoration of the siege of Yerushalayim [Jerusalem], the beginning of the destruction of the Beyth Ha Mikdash [the Temple].

Historical memory, as it is demonstrated in commemorative days like the Tenth of Tevet, has at least two dimensions: the story and its lesson. The “story” allows us to remember time and again what happened on that day–the beginning of the Babylonian siege on Jerusalem, in our case. The “lesson” has to do with the meaning we apply to the story: why it happened, how it relates to us, and what we are bidden to do.

Maimonides draws a link between the deeds of our fathers and our own deeds (i.e., “in every generation”), as well as between our troubles and their misfortunes, thus making the memory of the Temple’s destruction an actual one. From this starting point, he reaches the conclusion to be made from our misconduct: Remembering our misguided ways provides the path to self-improvement.

On the eighth of Tevet, the Torah's translation into Greek which is referred to as the “Septuagint”, ordered by Ptolemy II, was completed. The Egyptian monarch was fully aware of how complicated the job would be. Ptolemy gathered 70 scholars to compose a translation using only the written text. He hoped that it would not only give the Greeks a literal understanding of the Five Books of Moses, but a vicarious peek at what Elohim [God] actually communicated to the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai.

The resulting translation was considered a tragedy. Why? Is this inherent to all translations? Why should the truth of the Torah be inaccessible? In modern times the plethora of translations have been stupendous.

Ptolemy wanted to Hellenise the Torah. He wanted it in his library along with the other classics of his time. To him it was inconceivable that an Elohim [God]-given document and one written by man should be treated differently.

The goal of Torah is to present us with a way of life; one that will change us and take us to parts unknown – Elohim’s [God]s infinity. The purpose of other works is to give us greater insight into ourselves and into the world. One deals with human beings and their world, while the other deals with a world far beyond the limitations of human observation. The authors of today's translations want to let everyone experience Torah by making them bigger. Ptolemy wanted to give everyone access to Torah by dwarfing its scope to fit the limitations of the human mind. However, the translation had also the effect of beginning to lose some of the rich and full meanings of the Hebrew words.  It is considered by the Jewish sages a work of assimilation which then began propagating erroneous interpretations and changing man’s understanding of the Torah. 

Yet, this month always begins as Chanukah is ending.  And we always have a new moon during Chanukah.  A new moon speaks of renewal, rebirth, regeneration.

Darkness & Light Leads to Judgement & Victory

Kislev and Tevet appear as the darkest months of the year, then giving way to light after the winter solstice.  Just like in nature, dark and light are right next to each other in the spiritual realm as well.  Parables alluding to these spiritual truths include the wheat and the tares both growing up together in the field (Matt. 13:27-30) and the virgins lighting their oil lamps in the middle of the night (Matt. 25:1-13).

And now in Tevet, we see a similar contrast, this time of judgement and victory:  On the one hand, we have Chanukah, on the other hand we have the assimilation of Israel into the surrounding culture and the Fall of Jerusalem. 

So, we see this see-saw between victory and judgement, back and forth.  This is a continuation of what we found in Kislev.  In Kislev we considered the light and darkness standing beside each other, and the choice that everyone is given to repent and follow the light or to continue in darkness.

Now in Tevet, we see the results of the decisions that were made. Those continuing in darkness are reaping judgement; those choosing light are experiencing victory.

That’s the time we’re in during these last days.  Yahweh’s warnings are all around us.  Light is standing next to darkness, providing a sharp contrast for people to choose.  And our choices will determine our future – judgement or victory.  That’s the reminder we see during this month of Tevet.

The ninth of Tevet also marks the day of the death of Ezra and Nechemia, the spiritual leaders who brought the Jews back from the Babylonian exile to begin the process of rejuvenating the Jewish people. The Babylonian exile was the forced expulsion of the Jews from the homeland that they inhabited for 850 years to Babylon. They remained there for 70 years. During the course of this time, Persians conquered the Babylonians, and the Greeks, in turn, conquered the Persians.

It seemed from the outside that the trauma of expulsion plus the subtle forces of assimilation to the conqueror that represents success and victory doomed us to becoming an anonymous non-nation. Ezra and Nechemia reversed the process, and virtually breathed new life into our sense of nationhood. They were successful beyond anyone's wildest imagination. With the political help of Cyrus of Persia, the dream of return became a reality.

Unlike the present return to Israel, the return was not scarred by spiritual ambiguity. Ezra achieved what no leader (even Moses) had achieved in our entire history. He inspired his people to not only return to their land, but simultaneously to return to Elohim [God]. It was a new era indeed.

Another path we can choose is one of moral decay that narrows the dividing line between us and those who wish to destroy us. This path led to the destruction of both Temples, the expulsion from our land, and the irrational hatred that we experience when the nations turn against us when we become too much of what they are.

There is a third possibility. We can choose to renew our commitment to our own heritage and follow the path set by Ezra and Nechemia which can lead to light, and victory so that is the choice.

The Historical Events of Tevet

1st Tevet- Bereshiyth [Genesis] 8:5- the Mountain tops became visible after the Flood.

10th Tevet- Ezekiel 24:1- Ezekiel delivered his prophecy of the cooking pot.

1st Tevet- 479BCE- Esther taken to King Achashverosh’s palace.

10th Tevet- 588BCE- Nebuchadnezzar II’s army besiege Yerrushalayim (Jerusalem) [2 Kings 25:1, Jerimiah 52:4] now commemorated as a fast day. [Zechariah 8:19] Esther is chosen as Queen of Babylon.

11th Tevet- 1668- Jews expelled from Vienna, Austria.

22nd Tevet- 1496- Jews expelled from Portugal four years after the expulsion from Spain.

8th Tevet- 3rd Century BCE- The Septuagint produced as a Greek translation for Ptolemy II.

28th Tevet- 81BCE- Shimon Ben Shetach ejects the Sadducees from the Sanhedrin replacing them with his Pharisaic disciples loyal to the Mishnah.

9th Tevet- Ezra the Scribe the spiritual leaders of the Yahudim (the Jews) dies.