In the month of Tevet we sink into the deep sleep of winter and there is great darkness in the world. What gives us the strength to overcome the darkness? The Hanukkah candles that we light at the beginning of the month.

Rosh Hodesh Tevet, which takes place during Hanukkah, receives the light of the candles upon all the days of the month, since everything depends upon Rosh Hodesh. The fact that we light [a total of] thirty-six candles [on Hanukkah] may allude to the notion that the candles bring light from the beginning of Hanukkah until the end of Tevet [a total of thirty-six days]. I heard from my teacher, my grandfather, of blessed memory, [Rabbi Yitzĥak Meir Alter of Ger, author of Ĥiddushei HaRim,] that the word Tevet comes from the term “preparation [hatavat] of the candles.” It is possible to explain, as it is written in the [holy] books, that the days of Tevet are days of [God’s] concealment, and therefore He provided the remedy ahead of time, because the candles provide illumination during these dark days as well, and [“God saw the] light that it was good” (Genesis 1:4). (Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter, Sefat Emet, Hanukkah 5650)