Jonah Aline Daniel @sickwitchherbs

In Jewish time, the day begins with the darkness. Before there is light, before there is sun, before there is activity and labor, there is rest. There are dreams. Almost as if rest, surrender, and the wisdom brought from connection with darkness and our dream worlds are required for having balanced, just and fulfilling days.

From Dreaming the World to Come 5784: Kislev
[dreamingtheworldtocome.com]

“Light” is identified as being connected with experiences of knowing, of lucidity, enlightenment and clear understanding. “Darkness” is identified with the places of not-knowing, of unknown territory and the unconscious. Thus the darkness scares us, for our greatest fear is our loss of control in the encounter with the unknown.

From Chagigah, p.141 (Kislev “To Light the Shamash”) - my translation

Seasonally, those in the northern hemisphere now transition into the winter time, when the sun shines less and the nights grow longer. Our time shifts away from the dominance of the Sun and into the domain of the Moon…
The Moon represents our internal world - our mind, our emotions, our healing process. With long Moon nights, we sleep more and hence dream more as well.
During the month of Kislev, the Torah portions we read on Shabbat are filled with stories of dreams… Judaism teaches that dreams are a glimpse of prophecy. When we dream, we receive vision and subtle information about our internal realities. The Moon invites us into these prophetic experiences…

This month invites us to let go, to listen inwardly, to surrender our need to know. Instead, Kislev asked us: how do we dance in the dark?

Ritual:
Make space this month for your internal process. How can you clear your calendar and empty time for yourself?

From Dreaming the World to Come 5783: Kislev
[dreamingtheworldtocome.com]

Demonization of the dark … is at the root of body-hatred, hatred of women and their bodies; destruction of peoples the colours of the earth; fear and hatred of the erotic; queer/transphobia; Islamophobia; Judeophobia; fear and hatred of paganism and earth-based traditions; fear and hatred of people with disabilities; fear of wombs, fear of tombs…

We are the originators of the ‘rest as resistance’ and ‘rest as reparations’ frameworks, and create sacred spaces where the liberatory, restorative, and disruptive power of rest can take hold. ... We believe our bodies are portals. They are sites of liberation, knowledge, and invention that are waiting to be reclaimed and awakened by the beautiful interruptions of brutal systems that sleep and dreaming provide.

- Artist, theologian, writer and Nap Bishop Tricia Hersey.