Kislev is best known for the holiday of Chanukah and the New Year of Chassidism.

Last Night of Chanukah - By David Asher Brook

Kislev (or Chislev) is the ninth month on the Jewish calendar, counting from Nisan. It is best known for the holiday of Chanukah, or Hanukkah, which begins on 25 Kislev. The message of Chanukah is the eternal power of light over darkness—good over evil. Aside from commemorating the miraculous victory of the small Jewish army over the mighty Syrian-Greek empire, Chanukah celebrates the miracle of the oil. When the Jews sought to light the Temple menorah after the war, they found only one small jug of pure oil. Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, and the sages instituted the eight-day festival of Chanukah, during which we kindle the menorah nightly.

Kislev is the month of Hanukah, called the festival of lights. Yeshua is the Divine Light!

The light that comes from fire is dependent on the burning and destroying of something else. Divine light, however, is self-derived. At the Burning Bush, Moses encounters Divine light. It shines like a fire, and yet the bush is not consumed. This light doesn’t necessarily take away the darkness–it somehow shines within the darkness. This is the “Ohr HaGanuz,” the ‘Hidden Light’, the Divine light that burns within the darkness of Creation, yet doesn’t consume Creation. It is the light of Hanukkah revealed in the darkest nights of the year and the darkest times of exile. Thus, the small jug of oil lit by the kohanim didn’t consume any oil.

When people are inspired, they can rise to meet great challenges. These are times when the pure “oil” of a person’s soul shines brightly. Sadly, however, such peak experiences of inspiration wane, and most people return to the comfort of darkness.

The “miracle” of Hanukkah was that the Menorah was able to shine brightly for eight nights, extending beyond the natural cycle of a week. If Hanukkah began on a Sunday, the last night was also Sunday again, and yet they were illumined as if it were the first night. The brilliance actually filled them throughout the whole year, and therefore they established that the inspiration and illumination of Hanukkah would continue to manifest every year, for all generations.