Tevet is the tenth month of the Hebrew calendar; in it, we celebrate the end of Hanukkah, but we also have the fast of Tevet, which recalls the siege of the First Temple and its destruction. Tevet is one of the calendar’s dark (spiritual) months, so we must have an overcoming spirit this month!
As we begin this month, we are taking the greatest lights of Hanukkah with us to face the darkness ahead. The Hanukkah lights symbolize the truth of Torah; Psalm 119:105 tells us that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and light for our path. Proverbs 6:23 in the Complete Jewish Bible reads, “For the mitzvah is a lamp, Torah is a light, and reproofs that discipline are the way to life.” Leviticus 18:4-5 says, “You are to obey My rulings and laws and live accordingly; I am ADONAI your God. You are to observe My laws and rulings; if a person does them, he will have life through them; I am ADONAI.”
Notice that the verse says that we will have life through them. Psalm 19:8(7)-12(11) CJB “The Torah of Adonai is perfect, restoring the inner person. The instruction of Adonai is sure, making wise the thoughtless. 9 (8) The precepts of Adonai are right, rejoicing the heart. The mitzvah of Adonai is pure, enlightening the eyes. 10 (9) The fear of Adonai is clean, enduring forever. The rulings of Adonai are true, they are righteous altogether, 11 (10) more desirable than gold, than much fine gold, also sweeter than honey or drippings from the honeycomb.”
To Christians, verses like these unfortunately sound wrong; it seems like we are being saved by works. We need to understand the order of salvation; Israel was delivered from slavery and then given the law to know how to live. Yeshua prayed in John 17:17, “Set them apart for holiness by means of the truth – your word is truth.”
It’s important for us as believers to understand the place of the Torah in our lives. It’s also important to realize that Torah does not mean law in a negative sense, but it means teaching and instruction. One of the most dangerous teachings in the church is that of law-gospel distinction. We should see a law-gospel connection, but that is a topic all its own.
As we go through this month, being in the Word and warring with the Word against difficulties is imperative. Of course, we need to be in the Word every day of every month, but there are times when, for our strength, we need to double that time; Tevet is one of those months. We must keep a positive outlook this month; generosity is also key.
Matthew 6:19-34 CJB “Do not store up for yourselves wealth here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and burglars break in and steal. 20 Instead, store up for yourselves wealth in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and burglars do not break in or steal. 21 For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also. 22 ‘The eye is the lamp of the body.’ So if you have a ‘good eye’ [that is, if you are generous] your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if you have an ‘evil eye’ [if you are stingy] your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can’t be a slave to both God and money. 25 “Therefore, I tell you, don’t worry about your life — what you will eat or drink; or about your body — what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds flying about! They neither plant nor harvest, nor do they gather food into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they are? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his life? 28 “And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread, 29 yet I tell you that not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these. 30 If this is how God clothes grass in the field — which is here today and gone tomorrow, thrown in an oven — won’t he much more clothe you? What little trust you have! 31 “So don’t be anxious, asking, ‘What will we eat?,’ ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘How will we be clothed?’ 32 For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. 33 But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Don’t worry about tomorrow — tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough troubles already!”
Let the light of the Word guide you as you push through darkness and difficulties this month, keep a spirit of worship and joy in your heart, and remember the words of David in Psalm 23 CSB “Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.”
For more information on the Hebrew Calendar, visit chabad.org and consult A Time to Advance: Understanding the Significance of the Hebrew Tribes and Months by Chuck D. Pierce with Robert and Linda Heidler.
Casey D. Bell 
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