In Kislev, this month of miracles, there is a very important lesson we can connect to in the Zohar from the section Lech Lecha that explains the process and tools through which we can awaken miracles. It talks about the story of the wife of Ovadyahu who experienced a miracle when the small amount of oil that she had in her house overflowed and filled so many vessels that it allowed her to pay off all her debts.
The Zohar says, regarding this story, “Rav Yehuda began, ‘Through awakening in our physical world, we awaken Lights in the supernal worlds. Because the supernal Lights, the flow of energy, of Light, of blessings, does not come from above until there is a vessel, an awakening created from below, by us." The Zohar here is telling us that the blessings from above cannot rest unless there is something - whether it’s a physical thing, an essence, consciousness, or so forth - into which that blessing can come. “But if there is emptiness,” it says, “if there is nothing there, then the miracle, the blessings, cannot rest, cannot come down.”
When the wife of Ovadyahu came to the prophet Elisha, he said to her, “Tell me what you have in your house, because blessings from above do not rest on an empty table, and they do not rest in an empty place." She answered him, "I have nothing in my house except a small measure of oil.” Obviously, it was a very little amount of physicality. But after hearing this, Elisha said to her, "You have now given me an opening, because I didn't know where the blessings could rest. If you had nothing in your house, if you had emptiness, there would be no place for the miracles, for the blessings to come down and rest. But now that I understand that because you have even a small amount of oil, there is a place for the blessings to come down and rest."
The Zohar is teaching us a very important lesson. Yes, in this month of Kislev there is the energy to draw down miracles into all areas of our lives; but miracles do not – cannot - rest in an empty place. And that's why we can never give up hope, because when we want to create miracles, we have to have certainty that miracles can come down. Whether it's in business, relationships, or our health, we have to find those pathways, that door, that place, into which the blessing, the miracle, can enter.
As we come to this month, we know that we can draw blessings and miracles into our lives for the entire year and for the entire world. However, in order to do this, we have to make sure that we are finding the place in which these miracles, these vessels, can rest. And that is why the idea of consciousness and certainty is so important. This month, remember that if there is no certainty, if there is no small opening, if there is no small amount of oil in which the blessings and miracles can occur, they don't have a place to come down.
