Chanukah, yesod, Yosef

If we look at each month as a ten sets of three, we discover a pattern that repeats itself. The number ten always corresponds to the ten sefiros, so we can unearth a lot of information if we look at it through that lens.

The month looks as follows:

Day of month
1-3 Keser
4-6 Chochmah
7-9 Binah
10-12 Chesed
13-15 Gevurah
16-18 Tiferes
19-21 Netsach
22-24 Hod
25-27 Yesod
28-30 Malchus

As Malchus is always the mochin of the following set, it is an overlay into the next month, and therefore is sometimes counted as the first of the next month. This is the concept of Keser-Malchus. Something else that comes out of this is that the beginning of the next month, really the first nine days, which are Keser-Chochmah-Binah, are really a continuation of the previous month. The koach of the previous month is then born into reality when we get to Chesed of the following month, which is the tenth.

With this information, we get an interesting insight into Chanukah and the connection to Yosef, whose story is always read around Chanukah. Chanukah begins on the 25th of the month, which, as we noted, is the beginning of the sefirah of Yesod. It is the culmination of the month, which, as we spoke about last year, is really the completion of Succos, as well. It is a funneling of all of the spiritual power that has been going on.

That is the concept of Yosef, who is the focused power of Yaakov in the lower spiritual realm, as represented by his sons. Yosef is Yaakov in the lower realm (אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף). Yosef also extends further, as does Chanukah. Yosef's two sons become tribes of their own. Chanukah is the only chag that crosses the month border into the next month. This passes through Rosh Chodesh, which is when the moon, which reflects the light of the sun, is completely invisible, coming into union with the Sun. (The moon and Sun are in the same location on the horizon at the beginning of the month.)

Yosef's conception took place on the ultimate Rosh Chodesh - Rosh Hashana. This day is intimately connected to the concept of the Tzaddik and the concept of Yesod, as represented by Yosef, who was the Tzaddik Yesod olam. On Rosh Hashana, the world completely nullifies itself by giving homage to the King of kings who created it all. That complete hisbatlus is the character of the true Tzaddik. This is the light of Chanukah.

22 Kislev

Today is the 22nd of Kislev. It begins what we could call the 'shloshes yemei hagbala' - the three days before Chanukah begins. As we noted in previous posts, Chanukah is the end of the buildup from Succos, and each day of Chanukah is exactly seventy days after each day of Succos. The last day of Chanukah ("Zos Chanukah") corresponds to Shmini Atzeres. As we have seen before, the concept of seventy is ten sets of seven, or ten weeks. The first in the set of ten is Keser, the transcendental realm, and it is embedded in the last of the ten, which is Malchus. Thus, the light of Shmini Atzeres is reflected in the completion of Chanukah.

Besides for this, there is also another significant series of time that is being completed, which also involves the 22nd of Kislev. The 25th of Kislev, which is the first day of Chanukah, is also precisely nine months after the 25th of Adar. The 25th of Adar was the day the world was created according to the opinion that the world was created in Nissan (see Maharsha Moed Katan 28). The nine months from the 25th of Adar until the 25th of Kislev are a period of 'fetal development,' or a full stage in the processes of time. On the 25th of Kislev, there is a realization of the potential that was inherent in the 25th of Adar. In the context of Chanukah, the world was created (as represented by 25th Adar) in order to reveal Hashem in the world, even in the darkest places and moments in history. That hidden aspect was revealed on Chanukah, nine months later. Because this aspect has been programmed into the calendar, we have access to a special light that is revealed each year, the light of Hashem being revealed in the darkness.

The first of the seven days of creation was the 25th of Adar, but, as we have seen, the series of seven is always the revealed aspect of a fuller series of ten. Thus, the 'hidden brains' of creation began on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of Adar. Today's date, the 22nd of Kislev, is precisely nine months after the 22nd of Adar, and therefore it is the culmination of the gestation period of that first hidden aspect (Keser).

It is also significant to note that just as in the ten weeks, the last of the weeks (Malchus) reflects the first of the weeks (Keser), this is the same with the nine months. The tenth month of gestation (Malchus), which is after the 'baby' is born, is the fruition of the first month (Keser). It is important to realize that although a child takes nine months to be born, the child is not called a 'ben kayama' - a viable entity - until it has completed the thirty days of its first month of life (or its tenth month since conception). This is the reason why we wait until the 30th day to perform a pidyon haben. In any event, the concept is that the tenth month is the completion of the series, and thus Teves, which Chanukah rolls into, constitutes the month where we see the full reflection (and remember we are just seeeing a reflection) of the creative aspect of Nissan of the previous year.