In the North Terranian Hemisphere Teveth is the darkest month of the Hebrew Year but it is far from quiet. There are events on the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 17th/Tekufat-Teveth/Nitlnacht, 18th-25th/Kalenda/Nitlkatan and 29th/Nitlgadol.
Teveth begins with the last days of Hanukkah on the 1st and 2nd. After the celebrations of Hanukkah we enter the darkest time of the year, the Tekufat of Teveth, which used to last 18 days from the 3rd to the 20th inclusive followed by the 8 days of Kalenda (Nitl Katan) finally the day of Nitl Gadol. But Messianic Noahide celebrations on the 6th and 8th shortened it so that it began on the 9th and from 1582 the 8th Day of Kalenda became Dec 25th followed by 10 days of limbo before Nitl Gadol (29th Teveth).
Tekufat Tevet is associated with Nitlnacht, Saturnalia and Antinomianism among Luciferians but associated with fasting among believers. Fasting lasts through Nitlnacht until the start of Kalenda (Nitlkatan) on the 18th. Nitlgadol lasts 1 day and used to be immediately after Kalenda but is now separated from the 8th Day of Nitlkatan by several days due to the Gregorian Calendar reform of 1582.
The Tekufat Tevet Fasts are the origin of Ramadan as proven by the Chronology of Prophetic Events by Fazlur Sheik as well as the origin of the Nativity Fast of Advent.
This darkest time of the North Terranian Year symbolises Haadam's hopelessness after first arrival on earth when he thought that the shortening nights heralded the end was nigh. Hence Luciferian Gnostics indulge in Antinomianism and Saturnalia as a way of cursing creation which they deem to be inadequate and spit upon.
First of all there is the fast of the 9th of Teveth.
The 9th of Teveth is the yahrzeit for Saint Rabbi Simeon Colpas, the Compiling Editor of the NT and founder of the Bei Abedan Yeshiva and is for remembering his martyrdom. Saint Rabbi Simeon Colpas was originally highly esteemed by Herod Agrippa II and Gamaliel II's Council of Jamnia (80–115) but was martyred after Herod Agrippa II had died and been succeeded by Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes (erroneously identified as Herod Agrippa II's son). Saint Rabbi Simeon Colpas was martyred during a time of persecution under the emperor Trajan (Ecclesiastical History 3:32). One intent of this persecution, which began with an order by Domitian, was to eliminate all Jews of the Davidic line, which would have included the "Desposyni" among the Jewish kindred of Jesus Christ following the suggestion of the proconsul Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes in the vicinity of Jerusalem having disobeyed the order of Herodes not to go to Ai to find a diplomatic solution. Saint Rabbi Simeon Colpas went in secret but was betrayed by two courtiers who accompanied him being cast down from the Mount of Olives on the way to Ai. His body was taken to Herodes who was delighted by the murder. Herodes did not allow the body of Saint Rabbi Simeon Colpas to be removed from the palace until Herodes himself died, whereupon the Sanhedrin established the date of his martyrdom as a fast day.
After the fast of the 9th we have the fast of the 10th for 8 days (10th to 17th of Tevet inclusive). This is the fast of Adam Kadmon to resist the Saturnalian ways of the Gentiles.
The last nights of the Tekufat Teveth Fast (originally one of the three darkest days in the winter solstice) are a time for the Apostate Notzrim of Northern Israel who have secretly done things against the L-rd. It is at this time of the year that the demonic Yosl Pondrik spirit seeks to turn humans towards sexual Immorality. This spirit is named after a stepbrother of Jesus called Joses Pandera who in Judaic tradition raped a disciple of Jesus called Magdalena who named her illegitimate offspring after her teacher causing all manner of chaos. Hence seasonal ghost stories (Christmas Carol, Gremlins, Krampus) are appropriate for the time while sexual activity among believers also ceases at this time to deprive Yosl Pondrik of hosts through whom he can sire his children.
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| Yosl Pondrik's Offspring |
For Messianic Noahides, it is the best time to try and convert Yosl Pondrik's Offspring to faith in God's Word and according to Judaic tradition it is at this time of the year that the Evangelion (New Testament) was first compiled by Rabbi Simeon Colpas in order to do just that. After all, it is out of faithless Edom that righteous Thyatira's offspring were redeemed to rule the world with an Iron Rod and even conquer the armies of Gogmagog. Rabbi Simeon Colpas conquered the Notzrim with God's Word when he used miracles to introduce his Evangelion to them on the First Day of Kalenda in the Jewish year 3849 (88/89AD).
The conquered personifications of Tekufat Tevet therefore carry chains as depicted in the stories of Krampus and Jacob Marley as a warning to others who have not embraced the Gospel.
Food eaten during Tekufat Tevet should be layden with Garlic to ward off various evils associated with the season.
Natal Night
The last and darkest night of Tekufat Tevet is also known as Blind night or Murderous night but also Natal night because it was the night when the mother of Jesus went into labour. It is traditional not to visit the study house on Natal Night.
Tekufat Tevet ends at Midnight where a candle is lit to study a passage of Torah symbolising the victory of light over darkness before retiring to bed.
Kalenda (Nitl Katan)
This year, Christmas invites you to join in the
2025th NATIVITY ANNIVERSARY
Let Christ be born in us anew!
When the frosty wind howls down the chimney and drives tiny deerhorn-like snowflakes across the rooftops in the North, Christmas will come again towards the Messianic New Year personifying death and rebirth and the Alpha and Omega, for the Old Year hands over authority to the New Year represented as the Baby Jesus by St Francis but in the middleages as Boy Bishops and by Mary, the Christkind who delivers the word, by Martin Luther.
Good Old Christmas also became known as Old Father Christmas from 1658 earning it Epithets like Grandfather Frost and Kal Gaxan.
The personifications are well known, but what is Christmas?
Christmas is Kalenda (Nitl Katan) and literally means "Christ's Mission".
And what is Christ's Mission?
Christ's Mission is a Story, Christ's Engeel (the Christingle symbolised by the Christcandle) the blood-red-robed and mitred Saint Mikölas (i.e. Michael not Nicolas with whom he came to be identified), riding his white cavalry BenThyatira on the clouds revealing and Establishing the Rule of God's Inconquerable Logos in the Human Heart to liberate us from the deathly freezing power of darkness and bringing joy to all the oppressed.
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| BenThyatira & Christ's Engeel |
When it is time for Noahides to swap HaAdam's Nittel fast for Adam's Kalenda celebration, the faithful remnant of Pharisees still describe the influence of Tekufat Tevet through the life of the Talui and recount how this influence was broken by the disciples of Jesus because Christmas is the effort of the disciples of Jesus and without the effort of his disciples there is no Christmas.
Christmas Eve, on the 7th day of Christmas (7th day of Kalenda)...
As already mentioned, the darkest night Vigil ends at 00:00:00am on the 18th of Teveth and the hiatus on studying Torah ends at midnight with the beginning of the 8 day Kaleyd (Yiddish for the Talmudic Kalenda i.e. Christmas) celebration established by Adam Kadmon to celebrate the lengthening of days now called Nittel Gadol. The protective covers are removed and a Mitzva is observed to begin each new season like Kalenda with a fresh supply of sweet water, as brought down by the 10th century Hai Gaon.
But it is Christmas Eve the 7th day of Kalenda which is the correct day for Jews to give non-Jewish friends presents to separate ourselves from any Gentile activities around the New Year season.
This Halakhah about when to give presents during Kaleyd was recorded by Israel Isserlein (1390-1460) in Austria mentioned in the Terumas HaDeshen [Siman 195. :
שו"ת תרומות הדשן (סי' קצה')
Responsa of the Terumat haDeshen 195
שאלה: בכמה עיירות נוהגים היהודים לשלוח דורונות לכומרים ולשלטונים ביום שמיני לניתל כשמתחדשין להם השנה, יש
חשש זהירות בדבר או לאו?
Question: In many cities it is the custom for Jews to send gifts to priests and nobles on the Eighth Day of Nittel when they begin their New Year. Should we be concerned about the danger of this or not?
תשובה: יראה דיש ליזהר בזה שלא ישלחו ממש באותו יום אלא יום קודם או אחריו...
Answer: It appears that we should be careful regarding this practice not to send it on the actual day of the festival (lest they think we are celebrating) but rather on a day before {Christmas Eve} or after {Boxing Day}.
The correct Hilchos is for Jews to send gifts to non-Jews on the eve of their New Year (ie the 7th day of Kalenda) or the (Boxing) day after rather than the 8th Day (Christmas Day) itself.
In the 1400s when Israel was writing, there had been no Georgian calendar reformation and the 28th of Teveth was New Year's Day but it became the 4th of January after the counter-reformation calendar and was gradually replaced by the 25th of December. Interestingly this responsum along with several others on the topic of dealing with apostates and Gentiles was apparently omitted from the original Terumas HaDeshen out of fear of the censor. The responsa were printed at the end of the sefer in certain editions.
In accordance with his ruling the Rema [
Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 148:12] writes in the mid 1500s: “If a person wishes to send a gift to a gentile
on the eighth day of Nittel which they call New Year when they view it as a good omen if they receive a gift —
he should send it the night before. (The words in
italics were censored from later editions.)
Nittel Katan & Nittel Gadol
Thus there were two periods of Christmas which Jews called Nittel Katan and Nittel Gadol. These two periods were the 8 days of Kalenda itself and the following Jewish Gifting day when the Jews and Kings gave gifts on Boxingday, after all religious obligations had been fulfilled for Christmas. The 7th day of Kalenda (Nittel Katan) was when Noahides gave gifts on Christmas Eve. The 8th Day of Nittel Katan was not supposed to be a day of gifting but of Tikkun Olam Mitzvot.
When the Calendar reform of 1582 took place, the Orthodox and Protestants who were not under the influence of the Vatican were 10 days later than Catholics in celebrating Christmas and Boxing day causing a change in how Jews observed Nitl. Noahides had to adapt quickly and began to celebrate Nittel Katan on Christmas Eve while Jews and non-Catholic Royal Families held out longer passing presents out on what had become the 12th day of Christmas (the Gregorian 5th of January) rather than 25th of December.
25 New Christmas (Nitl Katan 8),
26,
27,
28,
29,
30,
31 Old Jewish Gifting Day,
01 Magical Gift Day,
02 Old Nittle Gadol,
03,
04,
05 New Nitl Gadol.
Both nights came to be considered equivalent to each other and what became January 5th came to be considered equivalent to the Feast of Stephen resulting in the idea of 12 nights then days of Christmas rather than the original 2.
29th Teveth (Nitl Gadol)
Meanwhile, Kalenda is associated with the Gregorian 24th of December 1BC which corresponded to the Hebrew Calendar date 29th of Teveth 3760 while earlier in that same Gregorian year, the Julian 5th of January 2BC corresponded to the 29th of Teveth 3759. So the significance of Christmas Eve and 12th night has even earlier roots.
All of this resulted in a makhlokhes. over the correct timing of Nittel observance among Perushim. In the end, Christmas Eve became recognized as Nittel Katan while the 12th Night "Feast of Stephen" remained Nittel Gadol making 12 days of Nittel from Dec 25th to Jan 5th followed by Epiphany season which begins on the 6th of January.
But in 1901 the Julian Calendar had slipped by 2 days causing many formerly Julian countries to adopt the Gregorian Calendar in the 20th century and in recent decades, the significance of Nittel Gadol has diminished everywhere outside of the sphere of Russian Influence. While among certain Anapabtists, the 12th days of Christmas still remain significant as a lasting testimony to resisting the Gregorian Calendar reform. It is likely that the observance of 12 days of Nittel will eventually vanish if the remaining Orthodox Churches abandon the Julian Calendar in favour of the Gregorian.
Teveth is followed by the Epiphany (1 Shevat) New Year for Trees.
It seems appropriate at this point to mention even more sources from Orthodox Judsism which are relevant to The Way of the Messianic Hebrews originating among the Chazal of the Shimon ben Shetach Yeshiva following both Talmuds and
the Teliya of Yochanan ben Zakkai (c.20-c.100).
We should also consider the Christology of Aqiba (c.50-c.135) who has never been disregarded for having temporarily mistaken Bar Kokhba for the Sar HaPanim. His student Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai who said "There is a perfect man, who is an messenger, this messenger is Metatron, the keeper of Israel; he is a man in the image of the Holy One, blessed be He, who is an emanation from Him; yea, He is HaShem; of him cannot be said, He is created, formed or made; but he is the emanation from G-d. This agrees with what was written in Jeremiah 23:5-6 of the sprout from David, that though he shall be a perfect man, yet he is ‘the Lord our Righteousness’ " in The Propositions of the Zohar.cap 38, Amsterdam Edition.
We should also consider the Piyyutim of Eleazer ben Kalir (570 – c. 640) which mention Sar HaPanim and the preexistence of our righteous Messiah.
Here I provide a list of some of the Scribes and Pharisees who made comments relevant to Messianic Noahides:
The Pirqoi ben Baboi (8th–9thC.).
Rabbeinu Bahiya (1050–1120);
Rashi (1040 – 13 July 1105);
the Tosafists
{like Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry (d. 1105);
Rabbeinu Tam (1100 – 9 June 1171);
Yechiel of Paris (died c. 1268);
Moses ben Jacob of Coucy (fl.1240s);
Judah of Melun (fl.1240s);
Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise (fl.1240s)};
the Hassidei Ashkenaz
{such as Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (1150 – 1217);
and other Rishonim
{like Nachmanides (1194–1270);
the Meiri (1249–1316);
Rabbeinu Yerucham (1290–1350);
and Ibn Shaprut (born c.1350)};
the Litvak Perushim
{like the Rema (1530-1572);
Elijah Baal Shem of Chelm (1520 – 1583);
Moses Rivkis (17thC.) who said "the gentiles in whose shadow Jews live and among whom Jews are disbursed are not idolaters. Rather they believe in creatio ex nihilo and the Exodus from Egypt and the main principles of faith. Their intention is to the Creator of Heaven and Earth and we are obligated to pray for their welfare."
The there is Jacob Emden (1697 – 1776)}
Moses David Valle (d.1777);
Baruch Fränkel-Teomim (1760–1828);
Nachman MeUman (1772-1810);
Elijah Tsvi Soloveitchik (1805–1881);
Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808 – 1888) who said "although disparaged because of its alleged particularism, Judaism….has been at pains to stress that, while in other respects their views and ways of life may differ from those of Judaism, the peoples in whose midst the Jews are now living [i.e. Christians] have accepted the Jewish Bible of the Old Testament as a book of Divine revelation. They profess their belief in the God of heaven and earth as proclaimed in the Bible and they acknowledge the sovereignty of Divine Providence in both this life and the next.
Israel produced an offshoot [i.e., Christianity] that had to become estranged from it in great measure, in order to bring to the world—sunk in idol worship, violence, immorality and the degradation of man—at least the tidings of the One Alone, of the brotherhood of all men, and of man’s superiority over the beast. It was to teach the renunciation of the worship of wealth and pleasures, albeit it not their use in the service of the One Alone. Together with a later offshoot [Islam] it represented a major step in bringing the world closer to the goal of all history."
The there was Isaac Lichtenstein (1824-1908);
Chaim Yedidiah Pollak (1854-1916)
Judah David Eisenstein (1854 – 1956);
Pinchas Lapide (1922 – 1997);
Harvey Oscar Falk (1932-2006);
the Rabbonim of the CJCUC;
and this project has also been supported by Rav Dov Meir Stein (d.2020) of blessed memory and other members of his Nascent Sanhedrin Project currently under my Sandak, Nasi Meir Hakak HaLevi.
