Kislev: Hanukkah, variable length and Sagittarius
Kislev is the ninth month counting from Nisan. It follows Cheshvan, precedes Tevet and can have either 29 or 30 days in the fixed Hebrew calendar. Hanukkah begins on 25 Kislev and continues into Tevet, so its ending date depends on the length of Kislev.
Prepared by Mazalogy · Published · Our editorial approach
| Hebrew name | כסלו |
|---|---|
| Order counted from Nisan | 9 |
| Days in the fixed calendar | 29 or 30 |
| Gra letter | ס · Samekh |
| Gra zodiac correspondence | Sagittarius |
| Gra faculty, concise gloss | Sleep |
One festival crosses a changing boundary
If Kislev has 30 days, the eight daytime date labels from 25 Kislev end on 2 Tevet. If it has 29, they end on 3 Tevet. This follows by counting the dates, without changing Hanukkah’s eight-day duration. Keep the year’s month length beside the example you are checking.
Find 25 Kislev in one chosen year, then follow eight dates across the boundary. Write the Hebrew labels before converting them to civil dates. The exercise helps explain why a fixed festival length can still produce different Hebrew ending dates, and why civil dates need a year.
Sources: Chabad · The Jewish Month: order and fixed-calendar lengths
Hanukkah and the source’s community setting
Chabad’s Kislev introduction explains Hanukkah as an eight-day festival beginning on the twenty-fifth. It also discusses 19 Kislev in Chabad history. These entries have different scope: a festival appearing broadly in Jewish calendars and a date with particular importance in a named community.
When building a study note, identify which kind of date you are recording. Avoid labeling a community-specific anniversary as a universal Jewish festival. For event planning, retain the opening evening and local arrangements rather than relying on a month description to provide practical candle-lighting instructions.
Sources: Chabad · Kislev month introduction
Samekh, Sagittarius and the Gra version
In the Gra version of Sefer Yetzirah, Kislev is associated with Samekh (ס) and Sagittarius; Mazalogy renders the connected faculty as “sleep.” This is a named textual correspondence, not a calculated natal Sun position.
The Gra correspondence connects Kislev with Samekh, Sagittarius and sleep. As an original reading exercise, compare the faculty list in the two linked versions, then write the reference and the words you found. A faculty is part of a textual arrangement; it does not establish a sleep pattern for someone born in Kislev.
Sources: Sefer Yetzirah · Gra version, chapter 5:9 · Sefer Yetzirah · Compare another version, chapter 5:1–2
Use it in a calendar or birthday record
A birthday on 30 Kislev requires special attention in a year that has only 29 days in the month. Save the original birth date and keep the anniversary calculation separate. Do not choose an alternative original date merely because a future calendar lacks the thirtieth.
Sources: Hebcal · Birthday and yahrzeit calculation conventions
Continue from Kislev
Explore the Hebrew calendar · Find your Hebrew birthday · Study the correspondence system
Sources and approach
Prepared with AI assistance using the linked sources and original reading exercises. Calendar facts, named textual correspondences and contemporary applications are kept distinct. The Gra version is the reference for this table; other versions can assign faculties differently.