ROSH CHODESH KISLEV 5787
Rosh Chodesh Kislev is about to happen. We will see the sliver of a new moon somewhere after sunset on November 9th. For those watching the estimates on a calendar, Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5787 begins at sundown on November 9, 2026, and ends at nightfall on November 11, 2026.
A QUESTION FOR KISLEV
I love observing the new moons. A friend of mine writes amazingly profound articles about the significance of each new moon. I enjoy reading her thoughts and comments. In an article I read recently, she asked one very significant question. This profound question quickly demanded my attention. I’ll give you a little background as to why before I tell you the question.
There was a reason my eyes opened wider, and my heart began to race as I considered her wise words. This reaction was because of what happened to me at Sukkot.
MEMORIES OF SUKKOT
Our family keeps The Feast of Tabernacles every year. We all gather together under one roof. Toward the end of each gathering, one of our daughters and her husband usually lead us in a variation of the water libation ceremony. They teach about the actual ceremony and the significance of Yeshua being The Living Water.
We have a beautiful family tradition of passing a jar of water around the table. Each person pours a portion of the jar of water into their cup. Then they proclaim a word they feel God is wanting to explore with them during the coming year. After announcing their “word” they take a sip of water and pass the jar on to the next person.
FIRST LESSON ABOUT MY WORD
At the end of every year, we all have stories to tell. The room fills with stories which witness to how God worked on these particular subjects which He put on each of our hearts during Sukkot. Each person’s story is a beautiful and unique testimony. We love to share them at the next year’s water libation ceremony.
The word I felt God showed me this year is “harvest.” I’m older now. It is time for my life to bear fruitfulness, to contribute to the harvest. This is the message God whispered into my heart at Sukkot.
PONDERING HARVEST
That beautiful Sukkot has now passed. All those things happened over a month ago. This week already has us moving into the time of the new moon of Kislev. As the new moon approaches I am pondering this question my friend asked and thinking of harvest.
Her question was “According to John 13:35, will Yeshua’s disciples be known by their perfect calendars, or by their love for one another?” John 13:35 says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
IF YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Now I’m staring into space. I’m wondering how this word and this question should sink into my soul and change my life. This unexpected question is seriously pondered because I know this question’s answer has power. So, this question is one of the first thoughts God brings to my attention during a year when I am looking for what I need to produce a fruitful harvest for God’s Kingdom. Interesting.
I admit to the truth. I have purposely arranged my whole life to be focused upon the biblical calendar. Could that motive be in question? I think of the facts. Long ago I realized God gave this calendar to mankind when He created the world. It is my personal opinion, based upon the actual experience of being obedient to this calendar for many years, that God set this calendar into motion with a plan for every minute second of time. I believe He deliberately coded our time exactly as He wished for it to unfold.
Keeping the calendar with obedience to His Sabbaths and His Holy Days has been my joyful focus for over half a century. I have learned so much about God’s Kingdom by doing this. My life and the life of my family has been very blessed from this experience of keeping time with God.
LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PICTURE
My friend who wrote this question believes in this same calendar. She knows more about it than I do. That did seem rather ironic. After reading the above scripture though, I caught myself wondering about another question. Have I unintentionally made keeping this calendar an idol in my life without knowing or realizing the fact?
Another question came after that question. Do I ever let the calendar become more important than the Creator of the calendar? Could I ever be guilty of violating or twisting the purpose He had for creating it?
SOMETHING MORE
I think that was the warning. The calendar is right. It could never lead me astray. However, there was something I needed to remember while keeping the calendar. Something more was at stake here. Was I missing something that made the calendar work even better?
I read the verse again. Clearly this verse is saying, “your true witness of my kingdom is about how you love your brothers.” That comes above everything else, even the calendar, the new moons, the holy days, and any other good, well-intended, or blessed focus.
A WISE WORD FROM A BISHOP
The thought gave me a memory of the Bishop who ordained my husband to be in ministry. His only advice to both of us as we moved into a world of serving in ministry were, “make sure that every single thing you do is done with love. Love is above all other things. If you keep love as the first priority in your ministry, God will always bless you.”
Of course I remembered the way Yeshua condensed the commandments down into the words we now call The Golden Rule. Those famous words are, “love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”
I pondered the fact that we keep the biblical calendar because of the fact that we believe it originated from our Creator at the time of creation. Then we believe it was commanded of God when Moses received the ten commandments. Later, Jesus comes along and reduces every commandment down to one word – love. Everything we do must be done with love or it is of no value to God’s Kingdom.
To clarify, He didn’t say stop keeping the commandments. He said to be sure we kept them with love.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO US
So how am I observing these New Moons? Is love for God and love for my fellowman the key element for this observance? What are my deepest intentions in keeping the biblical holy days? Is it about love, or about self-perfection? This question could be significant in every area of any believer’s life.
I firmly believe I should keep the commandments with love. There is a balance which love brings into the equation which allows grace for those who haven’t all reached the same place of faith and knowing where I presently stand.
In the eyes of God, no one is smarter or higher than anyone else. God shows different people different things at different times according to the purpose He has determined for their lives. All of our purposes work together for God’s Kingdom, yet all of our purposes are not always the same at the same time. If they were, it might be impossible to accomplish God’s goal in creating mankind. We often overlook this fact in dealing with our brothers. Love brings new balance to this place.
ECHAD
This thing called “love” which I am speaking about is the type of love which the Hebrew language describes as “chesed.” It is the type of love that God gives. Wisdom is good, but chesed love is better than wisdom. Love is actually a higher form of wisdom. Love is what will bring us echad.
Echad is the Hebraic word to describe perfect unity. The Shema which we consider to be so important is a perfect prayer. In English it means “Hear O Israel, The Lord Our God is One.” He is “echad” or in perfect unity. Love is the element which brings us to live and be in such a special, spiritual place with God as well as our fellowman. A holy life isn’t just about a prayer, a calendar, a holy day, a law or commandment. No, a holy life is about love above all other things. Maybe this is one of the messages of Kislev.
LEAVING THE DARKNESS
As we come into the month of Kislev, the month that reveals how to leave the darkness and enter the light, what should this mean to us?
We receive His light so that we can carry His light. Love is the only thing that makes this possible. Love must come first in all matters.
God’s calendar is so important to us. It brings significance and holiness into our days. Observing His calendar fills our hearts with Sabbath keeping worship, feast keeping worship, and the perfect rhythms of God’s time. These rhythms of God’s time are so much more desirable for us to flow through life. We have experienced the peace of life gained by not moving against the sacred calendar. This is very important to those of us who know and keep this calendar. So what is the issue here?
GOD’S WAY OF HELPING US LEARN LOVE
However, sometimes we can’t all agree on which calendar to keep, or exactly how to determine what is right and wrong about keeping this calendar. We often debate different dates and times in other people’s reasoning.
In His great wisdom, God did not give us all of those answers. Even when we know the answers, we are human. How can we know we are right?
We all have times, places or circumstances in which we are uncertain. This is when we must put aside our debates and begin to operate in love and compassion. The love we share in Kislev will bring us from darkness into the light. It will help to end the divisions and separations as God patiently gathers all of His people together. When this begins, it isn’t important that we all agree. It IS important that we all love.
COMING INTO THE LIGHT
In Kislev I keep Hanukkah in light of the fact that Yeshua Messiah is The Light of the World. I see The Great Miracle of the first Hanukkah as a type and shadow of the miracle of Immanuel – God with us.
Also, I consider the Christmas tree to be a pagan practice. It took me years to arrive at these decisions. Many disagree with my convictions, and I have learned not to waste time in debate. When loved ones disagree with me and try to bring stress into a debate, I simply lean in and love them more. I’ve quit debating. If God wants them to know, He will show them. My job is to be humble and to show His love to all. This small act of love on my part has helped my joy factor to expand.
WE ALL NEED TIME TO GROW
For a long time I let the lights on my tree be used as a way of saying that Yeshua is the light of the world. Now I feel a believer’s version of Hanukkah explains that point so much better. I believe a believer’s version of Hanukkah honors God more. However, one of my friends who loves Yeshua as much as I do, has not yet arrived at this conclusion.
What is the core factor that lets us remain friends? It is the chesed love of God between us. We show each other love and mercy and kindness. Love is the foundation of our relationship. Both of us are known for our fruitfulness in this direction. That is what love does which nothing else can do. It makes impossible relationships and situations possible. All things are possible with God because God is love. Love is always the highest answer.
THE BALANCING ACT OF KISLEV
So as winter approaches and the colder, shorter, darker days approach, how does this balance we need in Kislev look in our lives?
Well, the truth is that it looks different to different people. Maybe that is why in eternity the scriptures speak of the fact that there will be no sun or moon (the luminaries from which we try to understand our calendars) but the Light will come from The Lamb. It is the Perfect Lamb of God working in each person’s heart that brings the love we need to multiply in Kislev.
THE LAMB OF GOD
Who is The Lamb of God? He is the complete definition of love which we see in Yeshua Messiah. It is His light that allows us to love correctly. Our walk must be careful and sure to follow the light He shows to us. We must allow others to do the same. The map of another’s path into the Kingdom may be different than ours. Point them to Messiah and let them follow Him.
Perhaps that is why God keeps us wondering about who exactly is right or wrong in relation to details of our religious rituals and the most important matters in certain areas of life. For example, things we can’t always explain in the details of the calculation of calendars, days, seasons and times. If we can find love first, perhaps the rest of the picture will be more clear to all of us.
SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM
Maybe Adonai desires we focus on seeking Him instead of debating with one another about the details that only He can know. In Him we will find all the love we need. He alone knows our true intentions. If we keep following the last things He has shown us, He will eventually show us the rest of the story. In the waiting, we must remember love.
When we find all the love we need, we ALL will be better able to live together. The echad of a God Who is love will bring us into a perfect unity. That perfect unity created by united love will take us on into a fuller, more fruitful harvest. Practicing His chesed love will take us to places more abundant and fruitful than we have ever known.
FINDING THE HARVEST OF KISLEV
So, as all of the amazing elements of the month of Kislev draw us out of the darkness and into the light, let’s first stop to remember that the light of God is made of love, not human perfection. This is the love that will unite us together forever.
I’m speaking of the chesed love that comes from God, not our human thinking. Chesed isn’t a finger-pointing, condemning kind of love. This love leaves all judgments in the hands of the Creator. Chesed love carries all of the elements of mercy, grace and forgiveness as it walks and talks in daily life.
As we begin to keep this new month of Kislev, let us put God’s chesed love at the very top of our list of things to see, hear, and do.
In the days to come I am wishing you a beautiful new month full of God’s love, grace and mercy.
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