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From the Rabbi:
Happy New Year and Chodesh Tov! It worked out this year that New Year, Chanukah, and Rosh Chodesh all came out together. Of the three, Rosh Chodesh gets the least fanfare and awareness, although it is the only one of the three which is Biblical. The new month, Tevet is sandwiched between Kislev which is well known for Chanukah and Shvat which earns significant attention because of Tu B'Shvat, but the month of Tevet itself has a unique character which ought not be overlooked.
The name Tevet comes from the word טוב Tov, meaning "Good" as in (Gen. 1:4) God saw the Light was Good". As we discussed last Shabbat at dinner, that Light is called the "hidden light" which is hidden within us and within the Torah, but not obvious, not material and not useful. This light is not "revealed" until the Menorah is lit, and is the core symbolism of the Chanukah Candles. Tevet always begins on Chanukah, and the theme of the "hidden light" which is revealed within the Menorah and Chanukah candles continues into Tevet, but more in its aspect of being hidden than being light.
The other day which is iconic of Tevet's nature is the fast of the Tenth of Tevet. This fast, like Tisha B'av, is part of the cycle of fasts commemorating the stages of the destruction of Jerusalem, with the Tenth of Tevet being the date of the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem. However there's another well known "tragedy" which is commemorated on this day, the translation of the Torah into Greek.
Why should translation of the Torah be considered a 'tragedy' to be commemorated by a fast? Isn't greater access to the Torah a boon to Am Yisrael and to the greater world? And the problem was not in the quality of the translation. Quite the contrary, that particular Greek translation, known as the Septuagint, is the only translation of the Torah to carry official authorization, such that a Torah scroll written in Greek is a kosher Torah which we are required to treat with the same reverence as a Hebrew one.
So why is it such a tragedy? Because the Greek is only a translation, an outer shell which is only partially transparent to the inner light. People who can access the Torah in Greek and see that it is 'authorized' can mistake it for the original word of God. The Torah gets frozen into one understanding, one interpretation, which although it may be a useful one, is only one and inherently incomplete.
Imagine a child who asks who is the rabbi and is told "the one wearing a tie" and then thinks that's what it means to be a rabbi. It may be true that many rabbis wear a tie, but what a tragedy when that child sees a rabbi without a tie and misses a wonderful sermon because they're distracted by the lack of a tie. You can get addicted to the form of the imitation and not be able to see the original when presented with it. Like one of those led flame lights, which although it can do a fair job in giving illumination and mimicking the color and flickering of a flame but actually fools nobody. It lacks the special glow, the dancing, the smell and the warmth of a real flame. Except that someone who grew up with the LEDs may never want to deal with the smell, unpredictability and fire hazard of a real candle. Similarly, even the best movies or virtual reality video games could never replace real human interaction. People certainly get addicted to the proxies and it even diminishes their ability to actually have meaningful interaction with real people.
That's why we fast next Friday, because the whole world is addicted to imitation "Good", and doesn't bother to pursue the real thing (no, not Coca-Cola) . That's the core essence of Tevet, being able to tell the difference between the genuine Good of the Divine inner light and the cheap knocks off sold to satisfy our intellectual, social, economic, emotional, and physical desires. If it comes to fix a problem or fill a desire, it's not a Chanukah Candle. It may temporarily make you 'happy' but it's not essentially and inherently 'Good'.
So yes, I wish you a happy 2025, but moreover a Chodesh Tov. And the wisdom to know the difference.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shlomo
Classes This Week
NOTE: The Thursday evening class is paused until further notice.
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