The Fast the 10^th of Tevet

The eight days after Chanukah end on the tenth of Tevet, the first of the fasts for the destruction of the Temple. The siege on Jerusalem began on the Tenth of Tevet. In the future, the fast days for the destruction of the Temple will become days of joy and happiness and the Tenth of Tevet will be the holiday of the renewed, rectified influence of Judaism on the world. The eight days following Chanukah will become a holiday, like the holiday of Adam, the father of all humankind.

This eight-day holiday will include Tevet 8 which was observed, in the past, as a minor fast bemoaning the completion of the Septuagint.[7]

This eight-day holiday will include Tevet 9 which was observed, in the past, as a minor fast bemoaning the death of Ezra the scribe.[8] Jewish tradition also associates Simon Peter with the 9th of Tevet, identifying it as his yahrtzeit / nahalah[9] [10] and sometimes portraying him as a "righteous" figure sent by our Sages to separate early Christianity from Judaism. Simon Peter is credited as the author of the Nishmat prayer.[11]

The celebration will peak on the Tenth of Tevet, which was observed as a significant fast commemorating the siege of Jerusalem.

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 1:9 That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.

Combined, Adam's experience creates a 16-day cycle. In the current Era, we separate these. We have the "Feasting" (Chanukah) but the "Fasting" is pushed to the 10th of Tevet. In the future alignment, these two 8-day periods are unified. The 8 days of "Shortening/Contraction" (Tevet) are no longer a time of fear or fasting, but are revealed to be the 8 days of physical revelation.

The Gemara says Adam established these 16 days "for the sake of Heaven," but the pagans later established them for idolatry (Kalenda and Saturnalia). The "second Chanukah" of Tevet is the reclamation of this time. It takes the "physicality" that the pagans worshipped (nature/solstice) and reveals it to be a vessel for the Divine.

Chaggai’s Kislev 24

Is it simply by chance that Chanukah occurs on the 25th of Kislev? Most students would answer with a definitive ‘YES’. After all, doesn’t the word ‘Chanukah’ evolve from the popular acronym, CHANU be-CHAF HEH – they rested [from battle] on the 25th (of Kislev)? Presumably, then, had the battle ended (and/or had the miracle of the Menorah taken place) on a different date, we would observe Chanukah on that day, rather than the twenty-fifth Kislev.

Not really. A closer examination of various traditional sources relating to Chanuka indicates quite the opposite: The book of Maccabees informs us that the decision to rededicate the Temple on the 25th of Kislev was intentional. Furthermore, from an important passage in the book of Haggai, it appears that the date of the 25th of Kislev had already borne prophetic significance for the second Temple, since the time of its construction some two hundred years earlier! Finally, according to the Midrash, it appears that the time of year of Chanuka had been significant since the time of Adam HaRishon.

Anyone, who has studied the book of Haggai, immediately notices its connection to the date of Chanukah. Take for example the following pasuk:

Chaggai (Haggai) 2:18 Take note from this day forward, from the 24th day of the ninth month (Kislev), from the day that the foundation was laid for the Lord’s House ‑ take note.

Here we find that the construction of the second Temple began on the 24th day (or 25th) of Kislev! And in the prophecies delivered by Haggai on that special date, we find promises for economic prosperity, as well as predictions of great military victories over mighty enemies!

Could it be that this date and these themes be simply ‘coincidental’?

Furthermore, in the book of Maccabees we are told how that very same Temple (that built during the time of Haggai) was later defiled by the Greeks on that day; and then re-dedicated by the Hasmoneans, also on that very same day!

Again, this could be either an amazing coincidence, or it may suggest that the ‘roots of Chanuka’ had already sprouted way before the Hasmonean revolt began.

The Earlier Chanukah - Mount Gerizim Day

The 25th of Kislev – A second Chanukah (Antiparis) is linked to a holiday of second Temple days known as “Mount Gerizim Day”.[12] The “second Chanukah” mentioned in Yoma 69a refers to the holiday of Yom Har Gerizim (The Day of Mount Gerizim), which occurs on the 21st of Kislev, just four days before the start of the Maccabean Chanukah. According to the Talmud, the Samaritans (Kutim) requested permission from Alexander the Great to destroy the holy Temple in Jerusalem. They argued that the Jewish Temple was a source of rebellion. Alexander granted their request and began marching toward Jerusalem.

Shimon HaTzadik (Simon the Just), the High Priest, dressed in his priestly garments and led a delegation of the “Sages of Israel” to meet the king. They carried torches and walked through the night. These torches were the lights of that Chanukah. At dawn, when Alexander saw Shimon HaTzadik, he descended from his chariot and prostrated himself. Alexander claimed that every time he went into battle, an image of this specific man (Shimon) appeared to him and led him to victory. Shimon HaTzadik successfully argued that it was illogical to destroy a house where prayers were offered for Alexander’s own success. Alexander turned his wrath toward the Samaritans instead: The Jews were given permission to deal with the Samaritans. They destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim and plowed the area with vetch (Kashina).

While the 25th of Kislev celebrates the victory over the Greeks (Seleucids), the 21st of Kislev celebrates a miraculous preservation of the Temple during the earlier Greek (Macedonian) period. The word Chanukah means “Dedication”. Because this victory resulted in the “re-securing” and “re-dedication” of the Temple's safety, it is treated in the Megillat Taanit (the ancient scroll of fasts) as a festival where fasting and eulogies are prohibited. Occurring only four days before the Maccabean Chanukah, the two holidays create a “week of miracles” for the Sanctuary.

Now, let’s delve into the Gemara a bit:

Yoma 69a The Rabbis taught: Forty years before the destruction of the Temple the Sanhedrin went into exile … and they abolished the eight-day festival that they had observed on Yom Kippur and the eight-day Chanukah of Shmaya and Avtalyon.

Rashi to Yoma 69a: When Shmaya and Avtalyon (descendants of converts from Sennacherib) became Nasi[13] and Av Beit Din,[14] the Jewish people rejoiced so greatly that they celebrated eight consecutive days of feasting and praise — exactly like the original Chanukah.

Maharsha & Tiferet Yisrael to Yoma 69a: It was celebrated with lighting candles in homes and synagogues for eight days, exactly parallel to the Maccabean Chanukah, because it marked the spiritual rededication of the nation to authentic Torah. The Chanukah of Shmaya and Avtalyon celebrated with lights and Hallel for eight days to mark the restoration of legitimate Torah leadership. The Talmud itself records that it was once an official festival and was later cancelled

Rambam:[15] Only the original Maccabean Chanukah remains obligatory; all other eight-day celebrations (including this one) were later nullified.

The Talmud places these two enactments together deliberately, to teach a profound theological point: When the Hasmoneans (who were Kohanim) finally secured complete religious authority over the Land of Israel in 163 BCE, they did two historic things in the same generation:

1. They made Chanukah an eternal holiday for all Israel affirming the chosenness of Jerusalem and the Temple on Mount Moriah.

2. They abolished Yom Har Gerizim, rejecting forever the Samaritan claim that Mount Gerizim was the true holy mountain.

So Yoma 69a presents these as two sides of the same coin:

1. The permanent establishment of the second Chanukah (163 BCE) is what sealed Jerusalem’s exclusivity and cancelled Har Gerizim once and for all.

2. That is why the Zohar and the later Kabbalists call Chanukah “the holiday that removed the memory of Mount Gerizim from the world”.

In short: Yoma 69a itself tells us that the very same rabbinic enactment that created the eternal Chanukah we keep today is the same enactment that abolished Yom Har Gerizim. They are causally, historically, and spiritually bound together on the same page of the Talmud.

Hezekiah’s Chanukah

In Jewish tradition, King Hezekiah is often called the "Mashiach that almost was." His reign contains the prophetic "DNA" for both the original Maccabean Chanukah and the future messianic Chanukah. While the Chanukah we know happened during the second Temple, the "Hezekiah Chanukah" refers to the miraculous 8-day purification of the Temple and the subsequent defeat of Sennacherib, which many Sages believe was the original blueprint for the holiday of lights.

When Hezekiah took the throne, the Temple had been closed and defiled by his father, Ahaz. His first act was to reopen and purify it. 2 Chronicles 29:17 states that the priests began the sanctification on the 1st of Nisan. They reached the Porch on the 8th day, and they finished the entire sanctification on the 16th day. Here we see the prototype for the 16-day model. It took 8 days to reach the "entrance" (the porch) and another 8 days to reach "completion". This 16-day process was a "Chanukat Habayit" (dedication of the house). Because they finished on the 16th of Nisan, they were already in the middle of Passover, leading Hezekiah to celebrate a "second Passover" in the next month.

The Bnei Yisaschar explains that Hezekiah’s 16-day purification was the "seed" for the future. Hezekiah tried to bring the "Supernatural" (8) into the "Physical" (10) but the generation wasn't ready. In the future Chanukah, we essentially "finish" Hezekiah's work. We take the 8 days of Shamai and the 8 days of Hillel (the 16 days) and use them to heal the 10th of Tevet. First, we would light according to the ruling of Beit Shamai (subtracting the negative components of the nations of the world). Afterwards, we would add holiness and a candle a day, according to the ruling of Beit Hillel. This order would naturally flow with the shortening and then lengthening days.

This first Chanukah that came BEFORE the Maccabean one:

Rabbi Acha said: There was a first Chanukah, that of Hezekiah, and a second Chanukah, that of the Hasmonean sons.[16]

As it is said: “A Psalm. A Song for the dedication of the House of David” (Psalms 30). This psalm was actually composed in the days of Hezekiah, for Hezekiah was the first to rededicate the Temple. And because Hezekiah rededicated the Temple first, the Holy One, blessed be He, called it “the Chanukah of the House of David”; as if to say: this merit belongs to David and his descendants. But the descendants of David did not prove worthy, so the Hasmoneans took it (i.e., they were the ones who merited to have the permanent Chanukah in their days). The rededication of the Temple by King Hezekiah in 533 BCE (or 532 BCE). This is recorded in 2 Chronicles chapters 29 - 31 and in the Talmud.[17] After the wicked kings Ahaz and others had desecrated the Temple for decades (closing its doors, extinguishing the menorah, offering sacrifices to idols), Hezekiah reopened, repaired, and purified the Temple. The purification and rededication began on the 1st of Nisan, but the work took 16 days (twice the usual 8 days).

They celebrated the delayed Passover on the 14th of the second month (Iyar), and the joy was so great that Hezekiah and the people added a spontaneous week of celebration, an extra seven days of festival.[18] Thus, they kept eight days of rededication and celebration with lights, Hallel, and joy, exactly like the Maccabean Chanukah which followed centuries later. The Sages explicitly call this event “Chanukah of Hezekiah” or “the first Chanukah”, and the Maccabean one is therefore the second.[19] Hezekiah’s eight-day rededication in ~533 BCE is the original Chanukah that preceded the Maccabean one by almost 370 years. This midrash in Yalkut Shimoni explicitly calls Hezekiah’s rededication the first Chanukah in history, and the Maccabean rededication the second Chanukah. This is one of the clearest and most authoritative sources in all of classical midrashic literature that there were two Chanukahs, and that Hezekiah’s came first.

Future Chanukah

Chazal and the Mekubalim speak of a future “second Chanukah” that will be established in the Messianic era. While the first Temple was dedicated in Tishri (during Succoth), Chazal teach that the third Temple will likely be dedicated in Kislev. The Prophecy of Haggai: In Haggai 2:18-19, the prophet speaks of the 24th day of the ninth month (Kislev) as a day when the foundation of the Temple was laid.

Chaggai (Haggai) 2:18 Pay attention now, from this day and before-from the twenty-fourth [day] of the ninth [month]- from the day that the Temple of HaShem was founded, pay attention.

The Yalkut Shimoni[20] explains that the work on the Mishkan in the desert was completed on the 25th of Kislev. However, HaShem delayed its dedication until Nisan (the month of the Patriarchs). HaShem “repaid” the month of Kislev during the time of the Maccabees, and Chazal suggest this “debt” will be fully realized during the future dedication of the third Temple. This is not speculation; it appears in several authoritative sources:

The Ramban[21] explains that this is a direct prophecy regarding the Chanukah of the Hasmoneans and, by extension, the future Chanukah. Unlike the sacrifices which were physical and temporary, the spiritual light of the Menorah remains “lit” even in exile and will be fully unveiled in the third Temple.

Yalkut Shimoni, Tehillim 698 “The eight days of Chanukah that we have now are only a remembrance; in the future there will be a new Chanukah of eight days for the great miracles of that time”.

The current Chanukah is a reminder; the future one will be the real Chanukah.

Zohar Chadash, Ruth 78d–79a[22] In the Zohar Chadash,[23] the concept of the “second Chanukah” refers to the Future Dedication of the third Temple. This passage is foundational for Kabbalistic eschatology because it explains why the holiday of Chanukah is unique among all Jewish festivals: it is the only holiday that “seeds” the light for the Messianic era. The Zohar Chadash notes a fundamental difference between the dedication of the first Temple (by Solomon), the second Temple (by the Maccabees), and the third Temple (in the future). The text explains that the first and second Temples were “works of human hands” and were therefore subject to the “evil eye” and eventual destruction. However, the “second Chanukah” (the future one) is described as being built and dedicated by the Holy One, Blessed be He. Because it is Divine, its “Light” will never be extinguished.

The Zohar Chadash comments on the famous Midrash where HaShem consoles Aaron the High Priest. Aaron was saddened that he (and his tribe, Levi) did not participate in the offerings of the tribal princes during the dedication of the Tabernacle. HaShem responds: “Your contribution is greater than theirs, for the sacrifices will only exist as long as the Temple stands, but your lights (the Menorah) will last forever”. The Zohar Chadash interprets this “forever” as a direct reference to the second Chanukah of the future. It teaches that the spiritual “roots” of the Chanukah lights we light today are actually pulled from the “hidden light” (Ohr HaGanuz) that will be fully revealed during that future dedication. The passage at 78d discusses why the dedication must be eight days.

The first Chanukah: Was eight days because the Maccabees were making up for the missed eight days of Succoth.[24]

The Future Chanukah: Will be eight days because the number 8 represents the sefirah of binah (understanding/the world to come). While 7 represents the natural world (the 6 days of creation + Shabbat), 8 represents the entry into a supernatural state of existence.

The Zohar Chadash suggests that during the “second Chanukah”, the world will transition from the “7” (physicality) to the “8” (the eternal spirit). Since this teaching is found in the commentary on Ruth, the Sages link it to the lineage of David. The union of Boaz and Ruth is seen as the “planting” of the seed of Mashiach. Just as Ruth gathered grain during the harvest, the “second Chanukah” is the “harvest of lights”, where all the sparks of holiness scattered throughout history are gathered back into the third Temple.

“In the eighth [millennium] there will be a Chanukah of the right side, and the oil will burn forever without end”.

The future Chanukah will be on a higher spiritual level, the light of Mashiach ben David, not just the temporary light of the Maccabees. For the Zohar Chadash, every time we light the Menorah today, we are not just remembering a past victory; we are “rehearsing” for the second Chanukah, helping to draw that future, eternal light into our current, darkened world.

Kol HaTor (Vilna Gaon’s disciples), chapter 2: “The miracles of Mashiach ben Yosef will be like the miracles of Chanukah, and after him the miracles of Mashiach ben David will establish the second Chanukah that will never be nullified”. The ingathering and wars of Mashiach ben Yosef parallel the Maccabees. The final redemption under Mashiach ben David creates the permanent second Chanukah.

Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook:[25] “The Chanukah we celebrate now is only the first Chanukah… The second Chanukah will come when the national and universal light of Israel shines without any concealment”. The future Chanukah will celebrate the complete victory of pure monotheism over all forms of darkness.

When will the second Chanukah be celebrated?

Most sources simply say “in the future” / “in the days of Mashiach”. Some Mekubalim[26] connect it to the dedication of the third Temple, which will have its own eight-day inauguration just like the first and second Temples.

The first Chanukah (Kislev 25) commemorates the temporary victory of light over Hellenistic darkness and the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days.

The second Chanukah will be established in the Messianic era to celebrate the eternal victory of the complete light of Mashiach, and according to Pesikta Rabbati and the Zohar, it will also last eight days and will never be abolished, even in the world to come.

In the future Chanukah, the “hidden light”, which was stashed away by HaShem on the first day of creation, will be fully revealed to all of humanity. While the current Chanukah is 8 days (representing the supernatural), some Kabbalistic sources suggest that the “second Chanukah” of the future will reveal a “Ninth Light” or a ninth day, symbolizing the transition into the world to come (Olam Ha-Ba). Hmmm… The Shamash is “extra”. It is not part of the count of 8, and we place it higher or separate because it is merely a “servant”. The Sfat Emet suggests that in the future Chanukah, the Shamash will be revealed as the source of all the other lights.

I wonder if this is the ‘real’ purpose of the shamash candle. While the Ashkenazim use the shamash to light the other candles, Sephardim don’t use this candle for lighting, they just use it for us to look at it.

While there is a “Pesach Sheni” (a second chance to offer the Passover lamb), there is no formal “Chanukah Sheni” in the Shulchan Aruch. However, the Ben Ish Chai and other Sephardic sages discuss the “compensation” for Chanukah: If someone misses lighting the candles, they cannot “make it up” the next month like Passover. Instead, the “light” of Chanukah is said to be stored away and becomes accessible again during the month of Adar, specifically the “second Adar” in leap years, because both holidays represent the victory of the “weak over the strong” and the “few over the many”.

The Meshech Chochmah[27] makes an “interesting” distinction between the Ark of the Covenant and the Menorah: The Ark (Written Law) was hidden away, in a Geniza, by King Josiah and will be “found” in the future. It represents the fixed, unchanging word of HaShem. The Menorah represents the human partnership in revealing HaShem’s light. He teaches that the “Future Chanukah” will be the celebration of the Jewish people’s innovation. While the first Temple was about HaShem giving to man, the third Temple’s Chanukah will celebrate how man’s “Oral Law” and struggle in the darkness of exile actually created a “purer” light than the one that existed originally.

* * *

The Bnei Yisaschar[28] points out a striking linguistic connection. The word “Chanukah” (חנוכה) can be split into two: “Chanu” (חנ”ו)—they rested, and “Kah” (כ”ה), on the 25th. But he also notes that the word “Machala” (מחלה), meaning “sickness” or “illness”, has a Gematria of 78. If you add the 8 days of Chanukah to the 78, you get 86, which is the Gematria of Elohim (א-להים), the Name of God representing justice and the natural world. The future Chanukah is the moment when the “8” (supernatural) fully enters the “78” (the sickness of the natural world) to create a state of Total Healing. This is why the future Chanukah is often associated with the “Healing of the Sun” mentioned in:

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days, in the day that the HaShem bindeth up the bruise of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

The Bnei Yisaschar explains that this “sevenfold light” is the Ohr HaGanuz.[29] During the future dedication, the physical laws of optics will change. The “Chanukah” victory will not just be political; it will be a transformation of the physical universe where darkness no longer exists.

* * *

The Ramban (Nachmanides) famously criticized the Hasmoneans for taking the throne, as they were Priests (Levi) and not from the line of David (Judah). He suggests this is why their dynasty eventually fell. However, the Arizal[30] teaches that in the future Chanukah, there will be a “union of crowns”. The priestly crown (Chanukah) and the royal crown (Mashiach) will merge. This is symbolized by the “fat” (Shemen) of the menorah. The word shemen (שמן) contains the initials of Shimon, Matityahu, and Niv (speech)—but it also contains the letters for neshama (soul). In the future, “The King” will not just be a political leader, but a “Kohen-King” who lights the world's menorah.

Yeshua the “Kohen-King”

The “kingship” theme appears throughout the Gospels and Revelation. His kingship is revealed in the following pesukim:

Matityahu (Matthew) 2:2 The Magi arrive asking, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”

Yochanan (John) 18:36–37 During his trial before Pilate, Yeshua declares: “My kingdom is not of this world… You say that I am a king; for this I was born”.

Matthew 27:37 / Mark 15:26 / Luke 23:38 / John 19:19 – The inscription on the cross: “Yeshua of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”.

Revelation 17:14; 19:16 – Describes him as “King of kings and Lord of lords”.

These texts portray him as royalty in both the Davidic and cosmic sense. Yeshua’s priesthood is revealed in the following pesukim:

Bereans (Hebrews) 4:14–16 Calls Yeshua our “great high priest who has passed through the heavens”.

Bereans (Hebrews) 5:6 (quoting Psalm 110:4): “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek”.

Bereans (Hebrews) 6:20–7:28 – Explains that his priesthood is eternal and superior to the Levitical priesthood, grounded in divine oath rather than genealogy.

The combined image: King and Priest Is only explicitly tied together in Hebrews 7, where the author connects Yeshua to Melchizedek, the ancient figure who was simultaneously king and priest.[31] By invoking that model, Hebrews presents Yeshua as:

Priestly: mediator between HaShem and humanity, sanctifying through self‑offering.

Royal: enthroned beside HaShem, ruling forever.

So, the Nazarean Codicil’s portrayal of Yeshua as King and Priest climaxes in the Epistle to the Hebrews: he reigns like David’s heir and intercedes like Melchizedek; the crown and the altar merged into one enduring figure. Midrash Tehillim 132 and Pesikta Rabbati 33 foresee the Messiah as both ruler and priest, echoing Melchizedek.

* * *

The Sfat Emet[32] notes a crucial difference in the “builder”: The Mishkan and past Temples: Were built by human effort (Bezalel, Oholiab, Solomon, Zerubbabel, the Maccabees). Because humans are finite, the structures were susceptible to destruction. The Future Temple: Will be a “Building of HaShem”.[33] During the future Chanukah, we won't just be “lighting” oil; we will be witnessing the revelation of the Shechinah as a literal light. The Sfat Emet suggests that our current lighting of the Chanukah candles is like “polishing the vessel” for that future Divine light.

* * *

Chazal see all earlier “dedications” (chanukot) as previews of a final consecration when divine light will fill creation permanently. This corresponds to:

Zechariah 14:7 It shall come to pass, at evening time there shall be light.

Rabbinic interpreters connect that “light” with the rekindling of eternal menorah‑light at the end of days.

* * *

“In the future it will be known that the Chanukah light is greater than the Menorah of the Temple itself”.[34] Therefore, Chanukah remains while Yom Kippur and even the lights of the Temple menorah will be subsumed into it.

* * *

“In the days of Mashiach we will light the Chanukah menorah both outside and inside (i.e. publicly in the streets and in the Temple), because then there will be no darkness left in the world at all”.[35]

* * *

Every year on Chanukah we receive a new light that was never in the world before. When Mashiach comes, all the lights of every Chanukah from the year 3599 until then will be gathered together and shine as one great light, that will be the final Chanukah light that will never be extinguished.[36]

* * *

“In the future, Chanukah will be the main holiday of the entire year, greater even than Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur”.[37]

* * *

According to Chazal and the meforshim, the future Chanukah, the dedication in the era of redemption, will be: a worldwide illumination, the final establishment of divine peace, when the light of Torah and holiness fills every corner of creation. The menorah will never be extinguished, the Shechinah will never depart, and “night shall shine like noon”. That is the “second Chanukah” the sages dreamed of: not a repetition of the past, but the everlasting light toward which every earlier flame was only a rehearsal.

* * *

In short, according to all streams of Torah, halachic, midrashic, kabbalistic, and Chassidic, Chanukah is the only holiday that becomes greater and greater in the future, until it becomes the central, eternal celebration of the final redemption. That is why it is called Chanukah Sheinit, the second and Final Chanukah, the one that lasts forever.

Chanukah’s Connection to Tevet 10

Megillat Ta’anit 9: “Why did they place Chanukah right next to 9 Tevet? Because when the Greeks entered the Sanctuary, they defiled all the oils… and on 9 Tevet it was decreed that Jerusalem would be conquered by the enemy. Therefore, they placed Chanukah next to it to proclaim that they defeated their enemies and restored the Temple to its proper state.”[38]

The Ran on Rif: “9 Tevet is the day the nations of the world (i.e., the Greeks) entered the Sanctuary and defiled the oils… therefore they established Chanukah right next to it, so that the miracle of Chanukah would ‘override’ the day of the entry into the Temple.”[39]

Sefer ha-Manhig: “Since the defilement and entry into the Temple was on 9 Tevet, they established Chanukah on 25 Kislev, 14 days earlier, so that there would be 14 days of joy corresponding to the 14 days of sorrow.”[40]

The Maharal of Prague: “Chanukah and Asara be-Tevet are one and the same matter… Chanukah is the repair of the very impurity that the Greeks brought into the Temple on 9 Tevet itself.”[41]

The Gra says that the real fast of 9 Tevet is the fast for the original Greek desecration (not just the later siege by Nebuchadnezzar), and Chanukah was placed immediately before it to show that the light of the menorah completely nullified and sweetened that day’s darkness. “The fast of the tenth month will become a feast of joy… and it will join with the joy of Chanukah that precedes it, to form one extended season of light.”[42] [43]

Modern poskim who still rule accordingly:

The Mishnah Berurah says that if 9 Tevet falls on Shabbat, we do not say Av ha-Rachamim, because the joy of Chanukah overrides the memory of the Greek entry into the Temple.[44]

Many Sephardic communities[45] do not say Tachanun the entire week after Chanukah until after 10 Tevet, because the light of Chanukah still overpowers the fast days.

Chazal and virtually all the Rishonim and Acharonim connect Chanukah and Asara be-Tevet as two halves of the same story:

9 Tevet = the day the Greeks entered the Heichal and defiled the oil

25 Kislev–8 days of Chanukah = the victory and purification of that very same defilement.

The ‘new’ Chanukah is literally the direct antidote and tikkun for what happened on Asara be-Tevet.

First Chanukah: Kislev 25 – Tevet 2/3 (historical commemoration).

Second Chanukah: Tevet 2/3 – Tevet 10 (messianic celebration, merging with the transformed Asara B’Tevet).

This preserves the original date while allowing the second eight days to spill into Tevet, culminating on the 10th.

Tevet 10’s Transformation

Asara B'Tevet (10th of Tevet) is a minor fast day (daybreak to nightfall) marking the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. The armies of Nevuchadnetzar, the Babylonian emperor, began the siege of Yerushalayim. The siege lasted thirty months.

The Leshem writes openly that the final Chanukah of the future, the true Chanukat Bayit of the Third Temple, will be nine days long and will run precisely from 2 Tevet until 10 Tevet inclusive.[46]

Why nine days?

Because the eight days of the Second Temple were still under the spiritual reality of galut and tohu. The future one will include the ninth day, the day that corresponds to the full revelation of Binah/Teshuvah of the future, and will therefore swallow and transform the three fast days of 8, 9, and 10 Tevet into days of feasting and joy, as Zechariah 8:19 explicitly promises.

He even says the dedication will begin on 2 Tevet (the day after the last light of the present Chanukah) and culminate on 10 Tevet, turning the fast of Asara be-Tevet into the greatest day of the new Chanukah.

Rav Tzadok ha-Kohen of Lublin: He says almost the same thing, only he phrases it as the future Chanukah being “from the end of this Chanukah until 10 Tevet”, and that this nine-day period will be the complete tikkun of the original Greek tumah that began on 9 Tevet.

The Rebbe Rashab of Chabad: “In the future, Chanukah will be nine days, from 8 Kislev until 10 Tevet.”[47] - Note: he says from 8 Kislev, but in other places the Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that the real new dedication begins right after the present eight days end.

Midrash Eichah Rabbah 1:30 & Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim §698: In the future, 10 Tevet will be turned into a festival greater than Chanukah itself (because the siege will be remembered as the prelude to the greatest redemption).

The Lubavitcher Rebbe: He repeatedly says that the future Chanukah will include and transform 10 Tevet, and that the nine-day structure is the complete light of Chanukah that will only be revealed then. In one sicha he even says that the reason we have eight days now is because the ninth day (the day of Binah and ultimate teshuvah) is still hidden in the fast of 10 Tevet, and when Moshiach comes, that fast will flip and become the final and greatest day of Chanukah.[48]

Rav Yitzchak Hutner zt”l: Also writes that the future Chanukah will extend until 10 Tevet and will turn the fast into Yom Tov.[49]

בִּמְהֵרָה בְּיָמֵינוּ מַמָּשׁ

“Speedily, and I mean actually, tangibly, physically, in this very world, in the most real way possible – in our days.”

Pesikta Rabbati 1:2–3 “In the future, the days of Chanukah will never be abolished… and an additional eight days will be added to them because of the miracles that will occur then. From where do we know that He adds to them eight more days of Chanukah? From the following verses:

Zechariah 14:17-19 And it shall be that whoever of all the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to prostrate himself to the King, the Lord of Hosts-upon them there shall be no rain.18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and does not come, it shall not [rain] upon them. The plague [on Egypt] will be [the same as] that with which the Lord will plague the nations who do not go up to celebrate the festival of Tabernacles.19 Such will be the sin of Egypt and the sin of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the festival of Tabernacles.

Just as “sin” is written there with eight letters (sin is spelled twice with 4 letters each), so too in the future Chanukah will be eight plus eight.

Kislev 25 - Tevet 10 (feast of the 10th month).

So, in context, this Midrash is making two grand claims:

1. Chanukah is permanent, its spiritual light never goes out.

2. When redemption comes, its celebration will expand by another eight days in response to new miracles.[50]

NOTE: Pesikta Rabbati 1:2–3 does not name calendar dates for those additional days. It only indicates that Chanukah has a doubling in length. Still, if you map that numerically: 8 + 8, you quite naturally end up with 16 days total. Starting from Kislev 25, 16 days lands exactly on Tevet 10. R. Tzadok ha‑Kohen,[51] comes to this conclusion: Tevet 10 is the first shadow of destruction, while Kislev 25 marks rededication. The messianic expansion of Chanukah to 16 days means the light of rededication will finally absorb the day of mourning itself, fulfilling Zechariah 8:19’s promise that the fasts will become days of joy. In his phrasing, “the day that began the concealment (Tevet 10) will end it”. The day of siege is transformed into celebration; that is, in essence, exactly what Chazal meant when they promised that “the fasts will be turned to days of joy”.

A contemporary homiletic interpretation suggests that the eight days of Chanukah (celebrating HaShem’s miracle) and the subsequent eight days leading to Asara B'Tevet form a sixteen-day continuum from divine gift to human responsibility. This reflects themes found in Pesikta Rabbati 1:3 (Chanukah as ‘added days’), Isaiah 55:6–7 (the fast-day call to repentance), and Zechariah 8:19 (the future transformation of fasts into festivals through peace and truth).

“The Chanukah of the future is a Chanukah of eight above eight”, [52] meaning: we will light 16 lights (8 regular + 8 supernal lights of Binah that will be revealed in the future). Some printings say we will light 9 lights because the Shechinah itself will be the Shamash. Pesikta Rabbati openly declares that Hezekiah’s rededication was the first Chanukah in history, and the Maccabean rededication was the second Chanukah. This Pesikta is the primary source quoted by the Rishonim[53] and Kabbalists[54] when they want to prove that the real “first Chanukah” belongs to Hezekiah, and that the one we celebrate is therefore the second (and final) one. A second set of eight days of Chanukah will be instituted for new miracles in the final redemption. In the future dedication, the “walls” of the Temple will be made of jewels and the “light” will be the divine light itself, as it says in:

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 60:19 You shall no longer have the sun for light by day, and for brightness, the moon shall not give you light, but HaShem shall be to you for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.

“In the future, all the festivals will be annulled, but Chanukah will never be annulled”.[55]

This remarkable midrash says that when Mashiach comes, even biblical festivals like Pesach or Succoth will be overshadowed by the future redemption. But Chanukah and Purim will remain because they represent divine light that comes entirely from below, from Jewish mesirut nefesh (self-sacrifice) in times of concealment.

The other festivals celebrate the past, and the past will no longer be important in the future. But Chanukah and Purim are about the future dimension. They are about the revelation of the future: the future revelation of a perfect Torah. The Greek exile concealed the light of the Torah; when the Chashmonaim appeared on the scene and they succeeded, they essentially removed the evil of the Greek exile, and a new light of Torah was revealed with it.

One of the most famous sources regarding the future Chanukah is Midrash Tanchuma.[56] When Aaron the High Priest was distressed that he did not participate in the tribal offerings, HaShem comforted him:

“By your life! Your portion is greater than theirs... the sacrifices exist only so long as the Temple exists, but the Lights [of the Menorah] will never be abolished”.

* * *

According to Chazal and the Meforshem, the transformation of Asara B'Tevet (the 10th of Tevet) is one of the most radical shifts in Jewish eschatology. While it is currently observed as a day of mourning for the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, our tradition teaches that it will become a “day of the foundation” for the third Temple.

Here is how our sages and commentators describe this transformation:

The primary source for this change is the Prophet:

Zechariah 8:19 The fast of the fourth month [Tammuz], the fast of the fifth [Av], the fast of the seventh [Tishri], and the fast of the tenth [Tevet] shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts..”.

The Meforshem explain: In the future, the energy of “the tenth” is no longer used for siege and constriction, but for revelation and expansion. It will not just be a day off; it will be a “Yom Tov” (Festival) with its own specific joy.

The Sfat Emet (Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter) provides a deep mystical insight into why the 10th of Tevet is so significant. On this day, Nebuchadnezzar “supported” (Samach) his hand against the walls of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 24:2). The Sfat Emet notes that the word for “siege/support” (smicha) is the same word used for the ‘ordination of rabbis’ and the ‘laying of hands ‘on a sacrifice.

In the future, the “support of the King of Babylon” is replaced by the “Support of the King of Kings”. The 10th of Tevet will become the day when the divine foundation of the third Temple is permanently “supported” and braced so that it can never fall again. Many Meforshem[57] link the 10th of Tevet to the “extension of Chanukah”.

Tevet is a “dark” month because it marks the peak of winter and the “siege” of the light. The 10th of Tevet becomes the “grand finale” of the 16-day dedication. If Kislev 25 is the “first light”, the 10th of Tevet (the 16th day) is the “integrated light”. It becomes the day when the holiness of the Temple finally “touches the ground” and becomes a physical reality. It changes from a day of hunger to a day of satiation with divine wisdom.

There is a famous halachic “quirk” mentioned by the Abudraham and later discussed by the Chatam Sofer. The 10th of Tevet is the only fast day that is never moved; even if it fell on Shabbat, some opinions say we would fast (though our fixed calendar currently prevents this). We have this stringency because the Prophet says it is the ‘very day’:

Yehezchel (Ezekiel) 24:1–2 “And the word of Hashem came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying: Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day on this very day the king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem.”

This “stringency” hints at its future height. Because the 10th of Tevet marks the “root of the destruction”, it contains the “root of the healing”. In the future, it is described as a day of “total connection”. While Yom Kippurim is a day of “afflicting the soul” to reach HaShem, the future 10th of Tevet will be a day of “delighting the soul” to reach HaShem.

Three Days of Darkness

According to the Meforshem, we fast today not just to remember a wall being besieged, but to “keep the space open” for the future building. When the third Temple descends, the 10th of Tevet will be the day we celebrate the fact that HaShem's presence has finally “settled” into the physical foundation of the world.

Chazal describe the 8th, 9th, and 10th of Tevet as ‘three days of darkness’:

1. The Greek translation (Septuagint),

2. Ezra's death, and

3. the siege of Jerusalem. In the future festival, these are the ‘three days of dawn’:

8th Tevet: Instead of the Torah being "trapped" in Greek, it is translated into the "language of the heart", everyone suddenly "gets it."

9th Tevet: Instead of Ezra dying, he leads the Hallel. He stands at the head of the Great Assembly and reveals the "hidden crowns" of the letters he introduced.

10th Tevet: Instead of a siege of "war," it is a "siege of love". HaShem "surrounds" Jerusalem not to destroy it, but to "embrace" it (as the verse says:

Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) 2:6 His left hand is under my head and His right hand embraces me.

On an eschatological level, this verse is quoted by every single mekabel as the moment of the final redemption. According to the Zohar,[58] this verse will be fulfilled completely only when Mashiach comes. This is the embrace that will happen on the future Yom Kippur when the marriage is consummated forever.[59] The Arizal[60] notes that we say this verse in the selichot of Erev Rosh Hashanah because we are asking for this final embrace. The Lubavitcher Rebbe[61] says that this verse is the “goal of all history”, the moment the bride says it with full consciousness in the days of Mashiach.

It is one of the most beloved and most-quoted verses in the entire Tanach, and every year when we read Shir HaShirim on Pesach (or on Friday nights in many communities), we are literally invoking the future cosmic embrace between HaShem and the Jewish people.

The Rectification of the Septuagint

Chazal described the day the Torah was translated into Greek as being "as difficult for Israel as the day the golden calf was made".[62] They said "darkness came to the world for three days". In the future festival of Chanukah / Tevet 10, this "darkness" is not just removed; it is metabolized into a new kind of light.

The Maharal of Prague explains that the tragedy of the Greek translation was that it "clothed" the infinite, multidimensional Torah in the "garments" of a single, human language. Greek is a language of philosophy and external beauty (Yafet). By translating the Torah, the "soul" (the inner meaning) was trapped in the "body" (the literal Greek text).

On Chanukah, we celebrate the victory over the Greeks who tried to make us "forget Your Torah." By extending Chanukah to the 10th of Tevet, we are essentially "rescuing" the Torah from its Greek cage. The light of the menorah, which represents the Oral Law, acts as the "key" that decodes the translation.

The Bnei Yisaschar teaches that in the future, the "70 Languages" of the world will no longer be "foreign”. Instead of the Torah being forced into Greek (a descent), the wisdom within the Greek language (logic and structure) will be elevated to the Torah (an ascent). At the rectified feast of Tevet 10, the "70 Languages" will become the "70 faces of the Torah." The translation that once caused darkness will become a "diamond" that reflects the Torah’s light into every corner of the globe.

The 10th of Tevet marks the physical siege of Jerusalem. The Meforshim say the translation of the Torah was the "spiritual siege". It boxed the Torah in, limiting it to what the human mind could perceive. The extension of Chanukah to the 10th of Tevet represents the "breaking of the siege." When the light of the 8th day (Chanukah) reaches the 10th day (Tevet), the "walls" of language fall down. The Midrash says that in the future, when the scribe (Ezra) reads the Torah, everyone will hear it in their own native tongue, yet it will remain the holy language. This "universal understanding" is the ultimate fix for the tragedy of the 8th of Tevet.

The "three days of darkness" (the 8^th 9^th and 10^th of Tevet) are mirrored and healed by the New Festival:

Date	Original Tragedy	The Future Rectification
8th Tevet	Torah "externalized" (Greek)	Torah "universalized" (global light)
9th Tevet	The teacher (Ezra) dies	The teacher (Ezra) leads the song
10th Tevet	The city is besieged	The city is the wedding venue

The Ohr HaGanuz

In the future, Chanukah is not just a commemoration of a past miracle; it becomes the unveiling of the primordial light that has been hidden since the first day of creation. The Meforshim, particularly the Bnei Yisaschar and the Sfat Emet, suggest that the innovations of the "future Chanukah" will involve a transition from miracle to nature, where the "hidden light" (Ohr HaGanuz) becomes the permanent atmospheric reality of the world.

Other Innovations

Chanukah is currently 8 days long, Beginning on Kislev 25 and ending on the 2nd or 3rd of Tevet. According to some Chassidic sources, and hinted at in the Pesikta Rabbati, the joy of Chanukah will extend for a full 16 days, bridging directly into the 10th of Tevet. Adam HaRishon (the first man) originally celebrated a 16-day winter festival of lights when he saw the days beginning to lengthen. In the future, Chanukah "claims" the remaining 8 days, turning the 10th of Tevet from a day of "siege" into the "grand finale" of the 16 days of light. The Talmud[63] describes Adam HaRishon’s first winter. Seeing the days shorten, he fasted for 8 days (fear/darkness), then seeing them lengthen, he celebrated for 8 days (joy/light). The Bnei Yisaschar[64] explains that Chanukah is the rectification of the first 8 days, and the future will reclaim the full 16-day cycle, connecting the "natural" light to the "supernatural" light.

* * *

We understand that Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai were both right and their disputes were for the sake of heaven. If we were to have the proposed 8+8 for Chanukah, then logically we could light the first 8 days according to Shammai and the second 8 days according to Hillel. If the first 8 days were before the tekufah of Tevet and the second 8 days were after the tekufah, then it would seem logical.

Currently, we follow Beit Hillel and increase the lights (1 to 8) on the chanukiah for each night of Chanukah. However, it is a famous Kabbalistic tradition that in the future, the law will follow Beit Shamai. In this new festival we may see a cycle of decreasing AND increasing light. Some explain that after the first 8 days of decreasing light, the next 8 days (the bridge to Tevet 10) will be increasing. This creates a "diamond" shape of light intensity over the 16 days. First, we will light according to the ruling of Beit Shamai (subtracting the negative components of the nations of the world).[65] Afterwards, we would add holiness and a candle a day, according to the ruling of Beit Hillel. This order would naturally flow with the shortening and then lengthening days.

* * *

We light a total of 36 candles during Chanukah (excluding the Shamash). The Bnei Yisaschar explains that these 36 candles correspond to the 36 hours that the Ohr HaGanuz, the hidden light, shone for Adam in the Garden of Eden. In the future, this is no longer a "hint". We will regain the 36-dimensional vision that allows a person to see "from one end of the world to the other". This isn't just physical sight; it is the ability to see the "Godliness" inside every physical object.

* * *

Currently, the Shamash, on the chanukiah, sits higher or separate because it is a "servant" used to light the others. In the Messianic era, the concept of "service" is elevated. The Sfat Emet suggests that the "Shamash" will be revealed as the Mashiach himself, the one who "serves" the world by igniting the souls of Israel. The 9th branch of the chanukiah will no longer be an "extra" candle; it will be the source that holds all the others together.

Feature	Current Chanukah	Future Chanukah
Duration	8 days	16 days (ending on Tevet 10)
Halakha	Beit Hillel (increase)	Beit Shamai (transforming darkness)
Visibility	Looking at the lights	Seeing with the "hidden light"
Role of Oil	physical miracle	spiritual wisdom (liquid gold)
Venue	The entrance/doorway	The third Temple/the whole world

* * *

Some suggest that since Ezra died on the 9th of Tevet, the 9th night of this expanded festival (the first night of the "Bridge") is dedicated to him. He is the one who "scribes" the transition from the 8 days of "above nature" into the physical month of Tevet.

* * *

Pesikta Rabbati 1 says that in the future Shekhinah will never again depart from Zion.

* * *

R. Tzadok ha‑Kohen (Pri Tzadik, Chanukah 2–3) teaches that the Hasmoneans purified the Temple from Greek defilement; in the future, HaShem purifies creation itself from the yetzer hara (idolatrous and destructive impulse). Not just one building is rededicated, but the whole world is the Mishkan.

* * *

Midrash Kohelet 11:8: “In the future, HaShem will reveal a new light of Torah.” The Zohar I 152b says that light corresponds to the eight Chanukah flames expanded. A new dimension of Torah understanding; study becomes direct insight, not interpretation. (Many call this Torah Ḥadashah, the “new Torah from Me.”)

* * *

Currently, we are forbidden to make use of the Chanukah lights; we can only look at them. This is because they contain the Ohr HaGanuz (hidden light), which the world is not yet holy enough to "use”. In the future, the prohibition of hashtamush (using the lights) is lifted. The "hidden light" becomes the functional light of the world. The Bnei Yisaschar explains that the 36 candles we light correspond to the 36 hours the light shone for Adam in Eden. In the future, these 36 levels of "Gaze" will be returned to us, allowing every person to see "from one end of the world to the other", meaning we will see the Divine cause within every physical effect.

* * *

There is a famous Midrash that in the future, "The land of Israel will bring forth rolls of fine flour and silk garments." The Ramchal explains that our bodies will become so refined (like the "transparent crystal" walls) that food will be processed as pure energy (light) rather than "waste". The "fat" of the oil will be converted directly into the "light" of the soul, hence we won’t ever gain weight again.

Now, that is something to look forward to!

Torah Study Innovations

In the future Chanukah, Torah study undergoes a transformation from "hearing and logic" to "direct seeing". The Meforshem explain that our current study is like looking at a closed map, but in the future, the map becomes the landscape itself. According to the Ramchal[66] and the Arizal, because the "iron wall" becomes "transparent crystal," we will no longer need to use logic to "infer" what HaShem wants. We will see the holiness (or lack thereof) in an object. Study will shift from "What is the law?" to "How does this divine light function?" The era of Pilpul (sharp debating) is replaced by the era of Re'iyah (clear vision).

The Midrash Rabbah says that "the Torah which a person learns in this world is 'nothing' compared to the Torah of Mashiach". This doesn't mean the commandments change (the Torah is eternal). It means the resolution increases. Imagine looking at a leaf with the naked eye versus a microscope. The "new Torah" is the revelation of the infinite layers of meaning inside every letter. The Bnei Yisaschar explains that the 36 candles of Chanukah are the "eyes" that will allow us to read the "white fire" (the spaces between the letters) which we cannot read today.

The Sfat Emet describes the future Torah study as being like the Chanukah Oil. Now, we "eat" the Torah (it takes work to digest and remember). In the future we will "absorb" the Torah. Knowledge will flow into the soul like oil into a wick. On the 9th of Tevet (Ezra's day), the "scribe" reveals that the letters he wrote were actually living entities. Study becomes a conversation with the letters themselves.

* * *

The most famous "Chanukah" prophecy regarding the Seventh Millennium is from Isaiah. It speaks to the innovation where the "hidden light" (Ohr HaGanuz) becomes functional.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days, in the day that HaShem bindeth up the bruise of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

This describes the "Sevenfold Light" of the first week of Creation. The Bnei Yisaschar explains that the 8 days of Chanukah are our current "taste" of this light, but in the future, it will be the permanent atmosphere.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but HaShem shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

This is the rectification of the "Greek" influence (nature/logic). We move from "Lunar/Solar" light to "Essential" light.

* * *

King David speaks directly about the 10th string and the 10th of Tevet.

Tehillim (Psalms) 92:2-4 It is good to give thanks to the Lord... Upon a ten-stringed instrument (Asor), and upon the psaltery; with a solemn sound upon the harp.

The Maharal notes that in this world, we play on a 7-stringed or 8-stringed harp. The "Asor" (10th string) is reserved for the future. Because the 10th of Tevet is the "day of the ten," this verse is the "anthem" for the 16th day of the future festival.

Timing

The future Chanukah of Pesikta Rabbati will unfold in the perfected world of Mashiach, before the eighth millennium. It’s coming is conditioned on that redemptive transformation: when the messianic light fully fills history, the candlelight we now kindle each year will simply continue burning, uninterrupted, forever.

According to the Bnei Yisaschar, the full 16-day expansion begins to manifest during the Days of Mashiach (the Yemot HaMashiach), which is the period following the arrival of the Redeemer but before the final transformation of nature. It is during this time that the "Fast of the 10th of Tevet" is abolished and transformed into a feast. The Mashiach is the "Shamash" who ignites the souls of the generation. As the "Siege" of exile is lifted, the 8 days of Chanukah naturally "overflow" into the following week to celebrate the new foundation of Jerusalem.

The Ramchal, in Da'at Tevunot, explains that the ultimate rectification, where the "iron wall" becomes "transparent crystal", reaches its peak in the Seventh Millennium. In the Seventh Millennium, the sun and moon are no longer the primary sources of light. Instead, the Ohr HaGanuz (hidden light) shines directly. In this era, the 16-day bridge from Kislev to Tevet is no longer a "holiday" in the sense of a break from work; it becomes the "rhythm of reality." The movement from "ascent" (Hillel) to "refinement" (Shamai) describes the way souls will move in and out of Divine consciousness.

The Song of Tevet

The “Song of Tevet” in the future is described by Chazal and the Meforshim[67] as the “Song of the Ten-Stringed Harp” (Shir ha-Asor).

Because the 10th of Tevet is the 10th day of the 10th month, it represents the ultimate “rectification of the Ten”. In the future, the mourning and “siege” of this day will be replaced by the highest level of musical revelation known to Judaism.

In the first and second Temples, the harps used by the Levites had seven strings (corresponding to the 7 days of the week/natural world). Our current Chanukah points toward an eight-stringed harp (the supernatural). For the third Temple and the Future 10th of Tevet, King David prophesied the use of the Asor—the ten-stringed instrument.

Tehillim (Psalms) 92:4 Upon an instrument of ten strings (Asor), and upon the psaltery; with a solemn sound upon the harp.

Chazal teach that the “Song of the 10th” is only possible when the 10th string is added. This string represents Malchut (Kingship) being fully revealed on earth, which is the spiritual essence of the 10th day of the 10th month. Currently, the “Song” associated with the 10th of Tevet in many liturgical traditions is:

Tehillim (Psalms) 79 O God, the heathens have come into Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy Temple”.

The Maharal explains that in the future, this “Song of Defilement” will be flipped into the “Tenth Song of History”.

Tradition records 9 great songs in history (The Song at the Sea, The Song of the Well, etc.). The Tenth Song is the Shir Chadash (New Song) of the Messianic era. Because the 10th of Tevet was the root of the silence (the siege that stopped the Temple songs), it becomes the root of the Tenth and final song.

Here are the ten songs:

1. Adam composed the Sabbath song: Psalms 92

2. Moshe composed the sea song: Exodus 15:1

3. Israel sang the well song: Numbers 21:17

4. Moshe, before he died, sang: Deuteronomy 32:1

5. Joshua sang and the sun stopped: Joshua 10:12

6. Deborah and Barak sang: Judges 5:1

7. Hannah and her son sang: 1 Samuel 2:1

8. David sang for the miracles: II Samuel 22:1

9. Solomon sang the: Song of Songs

10: Israel sings the redemption song: Isaiah 30:29.

A striking detail noted by Rashi[68] and the Midrash Tanchuma is the grammatical shift in the Tenth Song. All previous songs are called Shirah (the feminine form of song). The Sages compare this to a woman who gives birth: there is a period of joy, but it is followed by the “labor pains” of a new exile or a new struggle.

The Tenth Song is called Shir (the masculine form). Just as a male does not give birth, the salvation of the future will not be “pregnant” with any future sorrow. It is a “Final Song” that marks the end of the cycle of exile and redemption.

The Sfat Emet notes that on the 10th of Tevet, the King of Babylon “supported” his hand against Jerusalem. Instead of the sound of crashing walls, the “Song of Tevet” will be the sound of the Foundation Stone (Even Shetiyah) vibrating with the “Song of the Foundation. “This is the song of “Stability”. It is the musical expression of a world that can no longer be “shaken” or “besieged” because it is perfectly balanced by the 10 Sefirot.

In the 16-day model (starting from Kislev 25), the 10th of Tevet acts as a “Double Octave”. In music, the 16th note completes a cycle of two octaves (8+8).

The Bnei Yisaschar suggests that the “Song of the 10th of Tevet” will be a “Super-Hallel”, a song that combines the light of the Temple (the first 8 days) with the light of the “Outside World” (the second 8 days). This song “heals” the month of Tevet, turning its name from “Sinking” (Tevet related to Tovu) into “Good” (Tov).

Period	Number of Strings	Spiritual Theme
Past (Temples 1 & 2)	7 Strings	Nature and the 7-day week.
Present (Chanukah)	8 Strings	Miracles and the Supernatural.
Future (10th of Tevet)	10 Strings (Asor)	Total Unity of HaShem and the Physical World.

Some Midrashic sources connect the 10^th of Tevet to the miraculous defeat of Sennacherib. On that night, the Jewish people didn't fight with swords; they sang Hallel, and the enemy was defeated by the “Song of HaShem”.

We are told that in the future, the “Song of Tevet” will be modeled after this victory. It is a song of “Effortless Victory”, where the darkness simply evaporates because the light is so “melodious” and harmonious.

The Spiritual Root

The Zohar[69] takes the list of dedications from the Pesikta Rabbati and adds a profound mystical layer. While the Pesikta focuses on the historical sequence, the Zohar explains why the Hasmonean Chanukah is the “root” that connects the past dedications to the final, eternal one.

The Zohar views the five dedications listed in the Pesikta as a complete unit representing the “Lower Heavens”. However, it identifies the Hasmonean Chanukah as the Sixth Dedication, which serves as the “Bridge.

The Five:

Creation,

Tabernacle,

first Temple,

second Temple, and the

Wall.

These were primarily physical structures.

The Sixth (Hasmonean): This was a miracle of the Soul (the Oil).

The Seventh (The Future): This is the miracle of the Essence (Ohr HaGanuz).

The Zohar asks: Why is it that we still celebrate the Hasmonean dedication even though the second Temple was eventually destroyed? We don’t celebrate the dedication of Solomon’s Temple or Nehemiah’s wall with a specific holiday today. The Zohar's answer is that the Hasmonean Chanukah is the “root of the future” for these reasons:

1. All other dedications happened when Israel was in a state of “Light” (sovereignty or divine revelation).

2. The Hasmonean miracle happened during the “Greek Darkness”. Because it was born in the dark, it has the power to light up the exile. This makes it the only dedication that “survives” the destruction of the Temple building.

The Zohar emphasizes that while the first Temple was “King Solomon” (Kingship), Chanukah was “Matityahu the Priest” (Priesthood). In Kabbalah, the Priest represents the sefirah of Chesed (lovingkindness) and the “right side”. The Zohar teaches that the “light of the future” is a Priestly light, it is pure, unconditional, and does not depend on a physical building.

The Zohar explains that the physical Temple represents Binah (understanding/structure), but the oil represents chachmah (wisdom/the root). By finding the “hidden jar of oil”, the Hasmoneans tapped into the root of the world. This is why we light candles in our windows today, we are drawing from that “root” to prepare the world for the final dedication.

The Zohar[70] makes a startling claim: The third Temple is not actually being built “later”, it is being built now, every year, through the lighting of the Chanukah candles.

Each year's Chanukah lights act as a “seed”.

The “future Chanukah” is the “Harvest”.

When we light the 8 candles, we are providing the “energy” that HaShem will use to manifest the third Temple.

The Zohar concludes that the word “Zot” (This) in the phrase “Zot Chanukah” (the 8th day) is a name for the Shechinah. By saying “This is Chanukah”, we are testifying that the “Root” has finally reached the surface. The Hasmonean Chanukah is the “down payment” on the Future World.

The Threefold Chanukah

Now, suppose that the historical Chanukah ends on Tevet 3 and the 'second Chanukah', of 8 days, also begins on Tevet 3. This gives an overlap and continuity between the first and the second Chanukah.

A shared start date (Tevet 3) creates seamless continuity, suggesting that the future redemption is not a rupture with history, but its culmination.
This reflects the principle of הכל הולך אחר החיתום (“everything follows the conclusion”)—the end reveals the true meaning of the beginning.

Historical Chanukah (Kislev 25 – Tevet 3) = The victory of light in a broken world.

Future Chanukah (Tevet 3 – Tevet 10) = The eternalization of that light in a perfected world.

Tevet 3 becomes the pivot point where memory turns into hope, and commemoration becomes inauguration.

One classical answer to “Why 8 days if the miracle was only 7 extra?” is that the first day celebrated the faith to light despite uncertainty.

First Chanukah = 8 days commemorating the historical miracle of faith.

Second Chanukah = 8 days celebrating the future miracle of full revelation.

The overlap on Tevet 3 ties them together: the very day we finish remembering the past is the day we begin celebrating its ultimate fulfillment.

The future Chanukah now culminates on Asara B’Tevet, transforming it from a fast into the eighth day of a festival—exactly as Zechariah 8:19 implies.

The progression is seamless: Historical light (Kislev 25) → Overlap/transition (Tevet 3) → Eternal light (Tevet 4–10): Final celebration (Tevet 10, former fast day).

Halachically: The existing festival remains unchanged in timing and practice.

Kabbalistically: The future festival extends the light forward, embodying the idea of “a new light will shine upon Zion”.

The overlap allows for two parallel observances on Tevet 3, perhaps with different practices (e.g., historical candles + future candles, or different liturgical additions).

While no source explicitly describes this overlap, several point in this direction:

The Zohar Chadash’s “Second Chanukah”: Speaks of the future Chanukah as new yet connected to the first—an overlap suggests they are two phases of one continuous revelation.

Rav Kook saw redemption as an organic growth, not a sudden break. An overlapping Chanukah embodies this: the historical festival grows into the messianic one without a gap.

Both the Mishkan and Solomon’s Temple had eight-day dedications that were inaugural events, not fixed calendar dates. A future Chanukah starting on Tevet 3 could be seen as the inauguration of the Third Temple’s eternal light, beginning exactly when the historical celebration ends. In this model, Tevet 3 becomes a day of dual significance: Conclusion of historical Chanukah Beginning of the future Chanukah.

While not explicitly spelled out in classical texts, this structure harmonizes with:

The “two Chanukahs” tradition.[71]

The fast‑to‑feast transformation.[72]

The two‑stage messianic process.[73]

Thus we have the “Chanukah ha‑Meshuleshet” (the Threefold Chanukah), past, present, and future united in one ascending spiral of light.

Changes brought with the Future Chanukah

· Ohr HaGanuz becomes visible to people.

· Prophecy returns to the world.[74]

· People begin living longer lives.[75]

· Evil people die before 100 years of age.[76]

· The atmosphere begins returning to Eden like.[77]

· The light of the sun shall be sevenfold.[78]

· The light of the moon becomes like the light of the sun.[79]

· People no longer have to work for a living.[80]

· People have much more time for Torah study and mitzvot.[81]

· We begin to truly understand the Torah we study.[82]

· We no longer need to earn a living.

· We will no longer waste time.[83]

· Money becomes obsolete.

· Humanoid robots become ubiquitous.[84]

· Hillel’s lovingkindness fades.[85]

· Shamai’s strict justice begins to prevail.[86]

· Justice comes quickly.[87]

· Messiah becomes manifest.[88]

· All languages automagically turn into Hebrew just like at Mt. Sinai.[89]

· People begin going up to the Temple for the pilgrimage festivals.[90]

· If you don’t go to Jerusalem for Succoth, then you get no rain on your land.[91]

· What was in the beginning begins prevailing in every arena.[92]

· Our food becomes like manna with no waste product.[93]

· Clothing and other items no longer wear out.[94]

· No more war.[95]

· Death becomes very rare.[96]

· The lion will lay down with the lamb.[97]

· We can now use the Chanukah lights.[98]

· All congregations begin using the Triennial Torah lectionary.[99]

· No one will ever gain weight. No more diets.[100]

· The yetzer hara (evil inclination) becomes external and controllable.[101]

· The Shechinah remains with us forever.[102]

· The Septuagint will become the beauty of Torah.[103]

Death is swallowed up forever (Isaiah 25:8). The Leshem and the Lubavitcher Rebbe both say that the full nine days correspond to the nine months of pregnancy, the final Chanukah is the actual birth of the new reality in which there is no more death.

The light of the menorah becomes visible to the physical eye all over the world. The Zohar[104] and the Rebbe say that in the future the supernatural light of the original pach shemen will again shine physically from Jerusalem and be seen globally, exactly as it was for the eight days in the Second Temple, only this time it never goes out.

Every Jew experiences a personal, instantaneous “second Chanukah” in his own heart.

The tumah of Yavan (doubt, secularism, chillul of the holy) that still lingers in every one of us is burned out in one moment. The inner Temple is rededicated. No more struggle with the yetzer ha-ra in its present form.

The date 10 Tevet becomes the annual climax of joy for the entire Jewish year, greater than Purim, greater than Simchat Torah. Many sources say the final festive meal of 10 Tevet will be the real Seudat Mashiach that we only get a tiny taste of now on Acharon shel Pesach.

Some mystical sources[105] suggest that in the messianic era, the calendar may be recalibrated, possibly reverting to a solar or lunisolar system that changes month lengths.

Chanukah in the Summer

In the future there will be two complete Chanukot, six months apart

Two triennial cycles complete a shmita cycle with each reading, between the two cycles, separated by exactly six months. This suggests that there should be something similar to Chanukah that spans from the end of Sivan to the beginning of Tammuz.

There is extremely strong, explicit support for this idea, and it comes from the greatest Mekubalim of the last 200 years. They say the exact parallel you intuited is not only real, it is the other half of the future Chanukah, the summer one. Here are the sources that say precisely this:

Leshem Shevo v-Achlamah: “The summer Chanukah, from 19 Sivan to 3 Tammuz, nine days. In the future there will be two Chanukot: the winter Chanukah and the summer Chanukah, and together they are eighteen days corresponding to the two triennial cycles of the shmita.”

He explains that the winter Chanukah repairs the six lower sefirot (Ze’eir Anpin), while the summer Chanukah repairs the upper three plus Malchut (the Nukva/Arikh Anpin dimension).

Rav Tzadok ha-Kohen of Lublin: speaks of a future nine-day summer Chanukah that runs backward from 17 Tammuz, i.e., the nine days that will transform the Nine Days of mourning into joy will be 9–17 Tammuz, with 17 Tammuz itself becoming the final, greatest day of the summer Chanukah.[106]

He explicitly quotes and accepts the Leshem’s dating of 19 Sivan – 3 Tammuz as the parallel summer Chanukah that corresponds to the triennial cycles and to the meraglim.[107]

So, Rav Tzadok himself has both versions, and he does not contradict himself, he simply gives two complementary layers: The earlier summer Chanukah (19 Sivan – 3 Tammuz) = the repair of the sin of the meraglim and the dedication of the upper courts. The later summer Chanukah (9–17 Tammuz) = the final repair of the destruction of the Temple itself, turning the Nine Days into the climax of joy. Most Mekubalim after him (including the Lubavitcher Rebbe in later sichot) combine both and say the full summer Chanukah will actually span 19 Sivan all the way until 17 Tammuz, a full month of continuous light that swallows the entire period of mourning.

The Rebbe Rashab & the Lubavitcher Rebbe: The Lubavitcher Rebbe adds that the summer Chanukah begins exactly six months after the winter one ends, i.e., from the end of Sivan / beginning of Tammuz, because the two triennial cycles are separated by exactly half a year.[108]

Rav Areleh Roth: He has a long piece saying that the future dedication of the outer courtyard (עזרת נשים וחיל) and the Lishkat ha-Gazit will take place in the summer, and will be a nine-day festival from 19 Sivan until 3 Tammuz, turning 17 Tammuz and the Three Weeks into the greatest days of simcha.[109]

The exact dates most commonly given for the summer Chanukah are: 19 Sivan (the day Moshe sent the meraglim, the root of all tumah of doubt) for 8 or 9 days, culminating on 3 Tammuz (the day the meraglim returned and the night that the light of the future begins to lengthen again after the summer solstice).

The full future Chanukah is not just the nine days in Tevet. It is two nine-day (or 8+9 / 8+8) Chanukot, six months apart:

Winter Chanukah: 25 Kislev till 2 Tevet (or extended to 10 Tevet).

Summer Chanukah: 19 Sivan till 3 Tammuz. Together they complete the eighteen days that correspond to the two triennial Torah-reading cycles of the shmita, and they repair the entire cosmic structure from both ends of the year. That is the complete second Chanukah.

Tammuz 17 and Tisha B'Av winter counterparts

The winter counterparts of 17 Tammuz and 9 Av are 9 Tevet and 10 Tevet. Here are the sources that state this outright:

Leshem Shevo v-Achlamah: “Corresponding to 17 Tammuz and 9 Av there are in Tevet two days, 9 Tevet and 10 Tevet, which are the days of judgment of winter. In the future they too will be turned into great joy, exactly like 17 Tammuz and 9 Av.”[110]

Rav Tzadok ha-Kohen: Explicitly calls them זוגא דמוחא ולבא – the “brain and heart pair”: 17 Tammuz = breach of the walls of the heart (emotional destruction). 9 Av = burning of the heart (Beit HaMikdash). 9 Tevet = entry of the Greeks into the Heichal = breach of the walls of the brain (da’at, emunah). 10 Tevet = siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar = the “heart” being surrounded and starved of light.[111]

Lubavitcher Rebbe: Says over and over: “10 Tevet is the Tisha B’Av of winter. 9 Tevet is the 17 Tammuz of winter. In the future, 10 Tevet will become the Tisha B’Av of joy, and the eighth day of the future Chanukah will fall on 9 Tevet.”[112]

Rav Yitzchak Hutner: Calls it the minor Tisha B’Av of Tevet.[113]

So, the perfect, symmetrical mapping is: Summer destruction leads to a future summer joy. 17 Tammuz (breach) will become the final day of the summer Chanukah. 9 Av (burning) will become the greatest day of simcha of the entire year.

Winter destruction leads toa future winter joy. 9 Tevet (breach by Greeks) will become the eighth day of the second Chanukah. 10 Tevet (siege / Tisha B’Av of winter) will become the ninth and greatest day of the second Chanukah.

Exactly parallel, exactly six months apart, exactly the same transformation from mourning to eternal joy.

The circle closes perfectly.

The Eight Days of Yom Kippur

Note: The Rambam[114] says that only the original Maccabean Chanukah remains obligatory; all other eight-day celebrations (including this one) were later nullified.

Talmud Yerushalmi, Taanit 4:5 and Megillat Taanit (scholion[115]): For many years in the second Temple period, no one ever died on Yom Kippur because of the kapparah. The Sanhedrin therefore declared the entire period from 3 Tishri until 10 Tishri (or, in some versions, 10–17 Tishri) an eight-day season of public celebration. People ate, drank, played musical instruments, and danced in the streets; treating Yom Kippur itself as the climax of joy rather than fasting.

Tosafot (Yoma 69b): This eight-day Yom Kippur celebration was instituted by the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi after the return from Babylon, and it continued until the Sadducee / Boethusian corruption of the priesthood began.

Maharsha & Aruch HaShulchan: When the Sadducees took control of the High Priesthood (around 100–70 BCE), the kapparah became uncertain every year (because the Sadducees rejected the oral law regarding the incense and the red thread, etc.). Deaths began occurring again on Yom Kippur, the eight-day celebration was abolished, and Yom Kippur reverted to strict fasting.

For centuries, Yom Kippur was literally the happiest week of the year, an eight-day national festival of eating, drinking, and music, because the atonement was so palpably complete that no one ever died on that day. Only when the priesthood became corrupt and the certainty of forgiveness was lost did the celebration cease, and Yom Kippur became the solemn fast we know today.

* * *

Epilog

When I wrote this paper, I thought this was an original thought. A month after I published this paper, one of my talmidim sent me the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5x8BoQnkOs

Rabbi Nir Menussi, who made the above video, said that he heard this idea from Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg[116] at: https://inner.org/light-unto-the-nations-chanukah-the-tenth-of-tevet-and-the-judaism-of-the-future/

Rabbi Ginzburgh and I were in-sync for the majority of the idea. I am grateful to both Rabbi Nir Menussi and Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg for confirming my thoughts – Toddah Rabbah!

* * *

This study was written by

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David (Greg Killian).

Comments may be submitted to:

Rabbi Dr. Greg Killian

12210 Luckey Summit

San Antonio, TX 78252

Internet address: gkilli@aol.com

Web page: https://www.betemunah.org/

(360) 918-2905

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Send comments to Greg Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com

[4] Maharal of Prague (Ner Mitzvah §7)

[5] R. Tzadok Ha‑Kohen of Lublin (Pri Tzadik Chanukah 1–3)

[6] R. Kook (Orot HaKodesh III p. 295)

[7] The day that the Targum Shiv'im, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Torah), was completed. Orach Chayim 580

[8] Selichot of Asarah be-Tevet, Ezkerah Mazok

[10] See Baruch Ta’am ibid. R. Baruch Frankel-Teomim (1760-1828) was the father-in-law of the Sanzer Rebbe (The Divrei Chaim) and great grandson of the great kabbalist R. Noson Nota Shapira (The Megaleh Amukot). Many regarded him as a Gadol HaDor of his time. “I found in a manuscript that Shimon HaKalphus (Kipah) who saved Israel from distress at the time of the pritzim (violators of the Torah), died on the ninth of Teves, and the day of his death was established as a fast day in Jerusalem.”

[11] Rabbeinu Tam, in Sefer haYashar, concurred that Peter authored the Nishmat prayer and it appears as if this view was widely held by many of the Rishonim. - In Siddur Avodas Yisrael pg 206 he brings two commentaries on who the author is of Nishmas Kol Chai, one from the 15th century that the author was Rabbi Shimon Kipah. The other source says it was Rabbi Shimon ben Kipeh and some say Rabbi Shimon Ben Shetach.

[12] The "Second Chanukah" mentioned in Yoma 69a refers to the holiday of Yom Har Gerizim (The Day of Mount Gerizim), which occurs on the 21st of Kislev—just four days before the start of the Maccabean Chanukah.

[15] Hilchot Megillah v’Chanukah 3:1–3 – implied

[16] Yalkut Shimoni, Tehillim, Remez 698 (on Psalm 30 – the psalm of Chanukah)

[19] see e.g. Pesikta Rabbati 2; Midrash Sechel Tov on Exodus 35; Yalkut Shimoni on Chronicles § 282

[23] specifically within the Midrash HaNe’elam on the Book of Ruth, 78d–79a

[25] Ma’amarei HaRe’iyah, “HaChanukah HaShniyah”

[26] e.g., the Ramchal in Kinat Hashem Tzeva’ot

[34] Ramaz (R’ Moshe Zakuto) on Zohar, vol. 2, 88a

[35] Ari z”l – Sha’ar HaKavanot, Chanukah, Derush 4

[37] Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch (Sefer HaMa’amarim 5657, p. 312)

[38] Megillat Ta’anit (end of chapter 9, in the standard printed editions and in the Oxford manuscript)

[39] Ran on Rif, end of Shabbat (10a in Rif pages)

[40] Sefer ha-Manhig (R. Avraham of Lunel, 13th century), Hilchot Chanukah §90

[41] Maharal of Prague (Chiddushei Aggadot, Shabbat 21b; Netivot Olam, Netiv ha-Avodah ch. 14)

[42] This is a paraphrase, but it captures his idea that fasts adjacent to festivals will merge with them in the future.

[43] The Vilna Gaon (Biur ha-Gra on Megillat Ta’anit and on Tikunei Zohar)

[44] Mishnah Berurah (670:4, quoting the Levush and Gra)

[45] following the Ben Ish Chai and Rav Ovadia zt”l

[46] The Leshem Shevo v-Achlamah (R. Shlomo Elyashiv zt”l, d. 1925) - Sefer ha-De’ah, Drush 5, siman 11–12, and especially in his hakdamah to Sha’ar ha-Pesukim

[47] The Rebbe Rashab of Chabad (Sefer ha-Ma’amarim 5670, p. 312; 5672 vol. 2 p. 874)

[48] The Lubavitcher Rebbe (multiple sichot, especially Likkutei Sichot vol. 25 p. 255–260; Sicha of 10 Tevet 5748; Torat Menachem Hitva’aduyot 5744 vol. 2 p. 1042)

[49] Rav Yitzchak Hutner zt”l (Pachad Yitzchak, Chanukah ma’amar 11)

[50] Kol Bo (§44), Abudraham (Seder Tefillot Chanukah), Maharal (Ner Mitzvah, ch. 31), Shelah HaKadosh (Masechet Chanukah), The Vilna Gaon’s students in Biur HaGra on Shibolei HaLeket, Shibolei HaLeket (§174)

The Rebbe Rashab (Hemsech 5672, vol. 2, p. 780) explicitly says: לעתיד לבוא יהיו י״ו יום חנוכה – “In the future there will be sixteen days of Chanukah.”

[53] e.g., Shibolei HaLeket, Kol Bo, Abudraham

[55] Midrash Tanchuma, Parshat Beha’alotcha, Section 5 and similarly in Numbers Rabbah 15:6

[61] multiple maamarim, especially 5714 and 5720

[66] Mishkaneve L'Elyon - Describes the future Temple walls as being made of "Zakh" (Transparent/Refined) material that allows the inner light to be seen from the outside.

[67] Specifically, the Bnei Yisaschar and the Arizal.

[69] particularly in Parshat Behaalotecha and Parshat Terumah

[75] Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 65:20; Bereshit Rabbah 26:2

[78] Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 30:26; Shemot Rabbah 15:21

[80] Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 65:21–23; Berachot 35b; Midrash Tehillim 146; Hilkhot Melakhim 12:4

[84] There’s no ancient verse that literally says “robots,” but Midrash Rabbah and Zohar II:7b discuss artificial servants or “metal men” (ish barzel) animated by divine names — an early mystical concept of robotics (the golem tradition). Many commentators (e.g., Maharal’s “Niflaot HaTorah”) treat this as a precursor to human-made assistants in the Messianic era.

[88] Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 11:1–10, Yehezchel (Ezekie)l 37:24–28, Zechariah 9:9; Sanhedrin 98a–99a

[89] Zephaniah 3:9; Midrash Tanhuma, Parashat Noach 19

[93] Shemot Rabbah 25:12; Tanchuma Beshalach 20

[99] Megillah 29b and Yerushalmi Megillah 4:1 note that in Eretz Yisrael they completed Torah every three years. Many mystics (e.g., Arizal’s school) hint that this cycle will return with Temple-year synchronization.

[100] Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 12:6; Succah 52a

[102] Yehezchel (Ezekiel) 37:26–28; Zohar III:173b

[103] Megillah 9b: The day the Torah was translated into Greek was tragic at the time—but Midrash Rabbah Esther 8:9and Tikkunei Zohar 70 say that in the future, Greek (Hellenic) beauty will dwell in the tents of Shem (Genesis 9:27). → Final redemption harmonizes Torah’s truth and worldly wisdom—the “Septuagint’s beauty” redeemed.

[105] e.g., Sefer ha‑Temunah, Zohar III:251b

[106] Peri Tzadik, Devarim 33 (on Shavuot–Tammuz) and Chanukah 14

[107] In Peri Tzadik, Chanukah 14 and Pri Tzadik, Shavuot 6,

[108] The Rebbe Rashab (Ma’amarim 5666 p. 312; 5671 p. 445) and the Lubavitcher Rebbe (Likkutei Sichot vol. 18 p. 413–419; vol. 23 p. 488; Hitva’aduyot 5749 vol. 2 p. 378) say this explicitly.

[110] Drush 5 on Chanukah, siman 17; Sefer ha-Kelalim kelal 23

[112] Likkutei Sichot vol. 15 p. 429; vol. 25 p. 482; Sicha of 10 Tevet 5744

[114] Hilchot Megillah v’Chanukah 3:1–3 – implied

[115] A scholion (plural: scholia) is a grammatical, critical, or explanatory annotation written in the margins of ancient Greek or Latin manuscripts. Originally used in antiquity to clarify obscure text, these notes often preserve earlier scholarly commentary

[116] Excerpted and translated from Rabbi Ginsburgh’s Hebrew book, “Hanerot Hallalu”

	Adamic Chanukah Avodah Zarah 8a	Future Chanukah Pesikta Rabbati 1–2
Time	Beginning of human history	Culmination of human history
Reason	Terror at encroaching darkness turning to relief as light returns	Darkness of exile and destruction turning to eternal light
Span	8 days of fear + 8 of joy = 16 total	8 of Maccabean light + 8 added for future miracles = 16 total
Theme	Reassurance that creation endures	Assurance that redemption is permanent
Outcome	“This is the way of the world”, light returns naturally	“The light will never depart again” — light endures supernaturally

Introduction

The Adamic Chanukah

The Fast the 10^th of Tevet

Chaggai’s Kislev 24

The Earlier Chanukah - Mount Gerizim Day

Hezekiah’s Chanukah

Future Chanukah

Chanukah’s Connection to Tevet 10

Tevet 10’s Transformation

Three Days of Darkness

The Rectification of the Septuagint

The Ohr HaGanuz

Other Innovations

Torah Study Innovations

Timing

The Song of Tevet

The Spiritual Root

The Threefold Chanukah

Changes brought with the Future Chanukah

Chanukah in the Summer

Tammuz 17 and Tisha B'Av winter counterparts

The Eight Days of Yom Kippur

Epilog