Motto for the Month of Tevet

On the 8th of Tevet the Torah was translated into Greek, and darkness descended upon the world for three days. Greece (whose defeat we celebrated on Hanukkah) caused, in a sophisticated manner, the apostasy of many Jews. First by changing their dress, then by changing their culture and language, and finally through intermarriage and conversion. The translation of the Greek Torah symbolized a further stage that the Sages feared. But in Rav Kook's view, as with every process, despite the great fear there was also a blessing in it. The translation of the Torah into Greek, which caused destruction, gave birth together with it to the repair of the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty and the spread of faith in one God. It allowed the world to sense the depth and greatness of the Torah. It brought to the world, in its own language, the most immense light that exists in our world. The light of the Torah.

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