God said, “Let there be light,” and it was light (Genesis 1: 3).

The 36 candles on the menorah correspond to the 36 hours in which Adam and Eve were bathed in The Primordial Light of creation. Today, as we turn on our own lights, we invoke a revelation of this intense and now hidden light. (XII century Kabbalist, R. Eliezer of Worms)

The Primordial Light of Creation is hidden in the 36 Chanukah candles. (B’nei Yissachar, Kislev)

Introduction

The winter mood shares with us the tender gift of returning to our inner womb, where our wisdom resides and from where our destiny will shine once more in Divine Time.

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, invites us to direct our senses inward to find, cultivate, and rededicate our inner sanctuary. It is a time to empty accumulated garbage, to create an open and receptive space, and to cultivate an intimate relationship with our emotions as our soul’s sensory system. As we become more peaceful inside, we regain our power, one candle at a time. The more supportive and nurturing our inner container is, the more the Ohr HaGanuz, the Primordial Light of Creation will be available to us during this time of year.

Spiritually, the eight nights of Hanukkah are a cumulative and progressive process through which the light of the menorah grows to reveal the inherent light of Creation. The total number of Hanukkah lights during the eight days is 36 (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8). As Rabbi Eliezer writes, these 36 lights awaken that same Primordial Light that illuminated Adam and Eve at the dawn of their creation, the first 36 hours of their existence. The Talmud teaches: “36 hours served the Light … And Adam HaRishon (Primordial Man) saw with it from one end of this world to the Other”. (Yerushalmi, Brochot 8: 5)

The Midrash teaches that this intense light needed to be removed from the universe, hidden for a while yet to be realized. All of this duality could exist and the evolution and purpose of the universe could unfold.

From the darkening of that Primordial Light, we yearn for it, seek it, and pursue it in our prayers, studies, and meditation. However, even in our darkest hours, we can access this memory born of the 36 hours in which we, humanity as a whole, were bathed in this light. “Where would this Light hide?” asks the Midrash. Answer, “in the Torah.” When we immerse ourselves in the truth and wisdom of the Torah, in its inner radiance, we can experience this Primordial Light of creation wisdom, purpose and intention.

The meaning of number 36 will lead us to a deeper understanding.

The name of god

God’s name in Hebrew is Elo-him (language of Moses)

God’s name in Arabic is Allah (language of Muhammad)

God’s name in Aramaic is Elahh (language of Jesus)

They all share a common three-letter root in Hebrew: Aleph, Lamed, and Heh. The sum of gematria, or numerical value of the three letters is 36 (Alef – 1, Lamed – 30, Heh – 5).

Torah

Concept of light (one way or another), appears exactly

36 times throughout the entire Torah (Rokayach).

Moses

It took Moses 36 days to explain the Torah to Israel (Seder

Olam Rabbah 10).

Moses himself was born exactly 36 years after the oppression in Egypt began.

When Moses was born, it is said that the house was filled with light.

There it is written: “And she saw it, it was GOOD”

(Exodus 2: 2) and there (in Genesis 1: 4) it is also written, “God saw the light, which was GOOD” (Talmud; Sotah 12a)

Previous comment: “She saw it, that (he) was good” – “that” is the Ohr HaGanuz – Hidden Light of Creation, as a Presence that came into the world with Moses. (Sha’arei Leshem, p. 130)

The word in the Torah used to describe the Hidden or Primordial Light is “tov” which means GOOD. When it appears in the Torah for the first time, the first letter “Tet” from “tov” (good) has a very unusual characteristic. The letter “tet”, like many other letters in a Torah scroll, has small “crowns” extending from them (which the kabbalists teach is an occult language unto itself). The unusual thing about this card here is that it has four “crowns” instead of the usual three. According to the Kabbalist, the B’nei Yissachar, when the four is multiplied by the number nine (the value of the “tet” itself), the total is 36.

Patriarch Isaac

Abraham was a righteous person whose life embodied the Hidden Light values ​​of creation. But when Isaac was born, he was the first in history to be circumcised on the eighth day. Since the eight represents transcending the physical, it was infused with everything that the “eight” (transcendence) represents, elevating it forever above the natural world. That is why he, at such a young age, justified seeing the Divine Presence as his father. Contrary to popular legend, Isaac was 37 years old when he was “sacrificed.” According to mystical tradition, Isaac was a very willing and enthusiastic participant in offering himself as a sacrifice to Gd, and that although there was no slaughter, Isaac left his body.

The event took place when Isaac was 37 years old, as he had already reached his spiritual climax at the end of a full 36-year life cycle. According to Midrash, although Isaac had not physically died, a part of him transcended even beyond his earthly identity, which compared him to an angel. The text says that he was blind after the Akeidah (binding, sacrifice). It was not physical blindness that he suffered, but being “blind” to the garments of this existence, especially to the aspect of duality (that is why he was “blind” to the characteristics of his own twin, Esau and Jacob). The energy of 36 facilitates a non-dualistic consciousness since it is a light in which the Primordial Man bathed, before the “Fall”.

Rachel and Leah

The total number of years it took for Jacob to transform into the journey of his life was 36 (since he left home and then returned to his new family). (Rashi, Bereshit 28: 9)

Jacob later meets his soul mate Rachel (archetype of free will), but is tricked into marrying Rachel’s sister, Leah (archetype of destiny).

The gematria of the Hebrew name Leah (lamed-aleph-heh) is also 36.

The letters are also a rearrangement of the holy Name of God as mentioned above (Aleph, Lamed, Heh).

According to Kabbalah, Leah is the biblical archetype of unforeseen destiny. It may not be what we choose to happen to us in life, it is not even desirable, but when she is accepted and embraced (Jacob accepted her as part of the family) it is through her that transformation occurs. It is through Leah’s influence that the tribes of Israel are born and Destiny is fulfilled. It is through Leah that the seed of the Messiah is produced (through Judah, the House of David, etc.) that will eventually initiate humanity into an Age where Ohr HaGanuz, the Hidden Light, will be revealed.

Now we look at Rachel, who gives birth to just two children. His first son is José and the youngest, Benjamin. However, Rachel dies in Bethlehem giving birth to Benjamin, at the age of 36. It was at this age that Heaven felt that it had completed the journey of its life. Like Isaac, his grandfather, the legend tells of his absolute willingness to offer his life (an incarnation) for a higher cause (in this case, Benjamin).

In the story, Benjamin comes to represent Jerusalem and the Holy Temple, as both were built on the tribal land of Benjamin. It also happens to be the exact same site (Temple Mount – Mount Moriah) where years before Isaac was willing to sacrifice his own life.

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is one of the most powerful energy vortexes in the world.

It is the same place where the miracle of Hanukkah would take place later in history.

Interestingly, Hanukkah is the ONLY Jewish holiday that takes place in ISRAEL, and specifically on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The Hanukkah story is barely mentioned in the entire Talmud. Less than a page is devoted to it, while other holidays receive full Treatises that review the holiday in depth and detail. Rabbis of earlier generations tried to downplay the Hanukkah story for political reasons, but it did not go away. Today, it is one of the most popular and beloved Jewish holidays, treasured especially by children and mystics, guardians of the Hidden Light.

When does the Hanukkah story occur in history? In the 36th century of the Hebrew calendar.

The 36 Hidden Saints (Lamed Vav Tzaddikim)

According to tradition, there are 36 elevated souls present in each generation who sustain, nurture and protect this Hidden Light. Those who guard it, also remain hidden and unpretentious. These 36 righteous people are sparks of that Hidden Light. Through your refined awareness, this light, warmth and wisdom flows and permeates the world.

Kabbalist Master – The Saint Ari (1534-1572)

Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi – The ARI – reverently known as Ari HaKadosh, was the lion of him and of all generations when it came to revealing the depth of Kabbalah and his understanding of the Universe as a whole. To this day, no one comes close to its greatness and light in terms of revealing the metaphysics of existence contained in the secrets of the Torah.

For our own interest here, the ARI remained hidden for most of its life, until its maggid, a non-physical guide, announced that it was time for it to reveal itself. He had received his mission to reveal the occult when he was only 36 years old. He died about two and a half years later.

Conclution

Our world is full of mysteries, and it is in the darkest months of the year when the brightest energy is available. The hidden is revealed and its radiance is accessible to all those who wish to participate and be nurtured by it.

Hanukkah lights, unlike Shabbat candles, cannot be used for personal pleasure. “These lights are sacred. We should not use them for pleasure, we can only look at them” (Hanukkah liturgy). Because these Hanukkah lights celebrate a primordial, unbroken light that reminds us that there are higher forces at work. It is our connection to these higher forces that replaces the false perception of separation and fear with experiences of Divine unity, assistance, and trust.

In the Earth school, we are in the process of learning and training ourselves to reach higher levels of consciousness. In fact, the lights of Hanukkah serve as antennas for holiness, drawing in the energy of 36. With each passing day of Hanukkah, the light grows stronger and stronger. We place our lighted candles in the window as a beacon to all passersby to remind the world that darkness can really be dispelled, darkness can be lightened, and that it is God’s Light that will prevail in the end.

May the coming year be a new voyage of discovery for all of us and may we leap with all our hearts into the evolutionary unknown holding our candles of faith and common love for one another.

In spiritual fellowship,

Rabbi Michael Ozair

Copyright 2004 – Rabbi Michael Ezra Ozair