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Too many Jews today are missing the intended purpose of one of Judaism's most beloved holidays By Rabbi Boruch Leff
The Talmud (Shabbas 21a) asks, "Why Chanukah?"
This seems like a strange way to phrase a question
about Chanukah's meaning and purpose. Yet, what the
sages seem to be teaching us is that all types of questions are
welcome in Judaism, as long as one is sincerely seeking an answer.
More than that, however, the Talmud is encouraging us to
probe the significance of this wonderful holiday.
''Why Chanukah?'' looms larger when one considers that during
the 2nd Temple period in which Chanukah occurred, there
were other significant victories against the Greek empire that
the Jews experienced. In Megillas Taanis, an ancient work that
lists and describes the triumphs of the Jews at that time, hardly a month goes by without some mention of a battle fought with the Greeks in which the Jews prevailed.
For example, on the 7th of Elul, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt after the Greeks successfully breached them.
On the 24th of Av, a decree that crippled the Jewish court system and wrought havoc on Jewish society was lifted.
These are two of many examples.
Why then was the experience of Chanukah chosen to become
a festival when one could justify establishing a holiday
for any number of events listed in Megillas Taanis?
In fact, from
a historical perspective, Chanukah was a fleeting moment of
Jewish victory because, despite the Jewish victory in Jerusalem
and the Temple, the Greeks remained in control of most of
Israel. Additionally, most of the Maccabees, the heroes of the
Chanukah story, were killed shortly after the conquest in the
Temple. So … why Chanukah?
The name "Chanukah" comes from the root word chinuch
(Rashi, Genesis 15:14) which means rededication or
initiation. There are many explanations as to the significance
of this name. Some explain that it refers simply to the rededication
of the Temple after the Greek domination. But the 19th century Chassidic master, the Sfas Emes, teaches that the rededication and initiation refers to
the profound inner strength necessary for Jewish survival
throughout the long exile. Chanukah was to be the last blatant
miracle until Messianic times, and the Jewish people
would have to derive deep faith and undaunted hope in G-d
from within Chanukah, that would last throughout the centuries
of exile.
In a similar vein, the 16th century scholar and mystic, the
Shelah Hakadosh, maintains that Chanukah
rededicated the entire world to its purpose, allowing a focus
once again upon spirituality. This fits well with a Midrash (P'sikta
Rabbasi 2:27) that lists seven "Chanukahs" that are to take place
throughout history. This group of seven is:
CHANUKAH AND US
Let us begin by analyzing the central thrust of the festival of
Chanukah, the victory over the Greek empire and culture.
During most years, the Torah portion of Mikeitz coincides
with the celebration of Chanukah. This interrelationship of Chanukah
to Mikeitz clearly ties the story of Joseph to the holiday. But
what is the connection?
Let's consider one idea; that of Joseph's attitude
toward his remarkable rise from a lowly jail cell to the inner
sanctum of almost-limitless power. Overnight, Joseph the prisoner
finds himself standing as an honored visitor in the court of the
king, and being recognized as a man of singular wisdom and talent.
Listen to what the Torah says when Joseph is asked to do nothing
less than interpret Pharaoh's dream and offer his counsel.
Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg (the late dean of Ner Israel Yeshiva in Baltimore),
explained that the attitude of Mattisyahu and the Maccabees
paralleled the attitude of Joseph. The Maccabees could have
easily viewed their stunning military victory over the Greeks as
a reflection of their prowess and brilliant strategy. But instead,
they understood the true source of their strength and remarkable
success. They didn't react to victory by establishing an annual
parade to display the latest military technology. Rather,
they reacted by establishing the holiday of Chanukah. They instituted
the lighting of the menorah to publicly proclaim G-d's
control over the natural world and to affirm that only He could
enable them to defeat the Greeks in battle.
This perspective that animated the response of the Maccabees
is reflected throughout the prayer that we say during Chanukah.
This prayer describes the miracles of the war against the Greeks.
It does not discuss our strength and power, but describes us as a
weak nation against a powerful army: G-d delivered giborim b'yad
chalashim — "the strong into the hands of the weak. " We end this
prayer by stating that the entire purpose of Chanukah is that we
express thanks and praise to the Almighty: l'hodos u'l'halel L'Shimcha
Hagadol — "to express thanks and praise to Your great Name."
VICTORY ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF THE SPIRIT
All that needed to be accomplished could be accomplished
by man, on his own, with no assistance at all. This is why the
Greeks so desperately wanted to crush Judaism. In the case of
other conquered peoples, the Greeks were benevolent to their
new citizens. They only wanted to display their new advances
and enlightened ideas of the supremacy of man in all areas of intellect and achievement: philosophy, sports, theatre, architecture,
and more. Yet, within the Jews, the Greeks encountered
a nation that was not interested in elevating human intellect,
ability, and achievement to such a lofty plane. The Jews had no
interest in worshipping the human being; they wished only to
serve and thank G-d.
AL HANISIM — ACKNOWLEDGING
Looking again to the teaching of Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg, he
explains that the Talmud (Shabbas 21b with Rashi) identifies Al Hanisim
as a prayer of hoda'ah, 'thanksgiving,' and not as one of hallel,
'praise.' Apparently, among all the Jewish holidays, only Chanukah
and Purim require us to express hoda'ah — thanksgiving,
while the other holidays necessitate hallel — praise. Why might
this be? The difference between the events commemorated on
Chanukah and Purim, and the events commemorated by the
other holidays, is that the miracles of Chanukah and Purim were
hidden and not open and obvious for all to see.
The miracles of Passover, Shavuos (Pentecost), and Succos (Tabernacles) were clear and apparent for all to
recognize. No one could deny God's involvement in them. Purim
and Chanukah occurred without obvious, supernatural miracles
and a person could reject God's involvement if he so chose.
Consequently, it is specifically concerning Chanukah and
Purim that we must be modeh, we must express thanks.
Modeh literally means "to admit", not merely to thank. When we express thanks, we are admitting that we owe gratitude. Regarding
open miracles, it is impossible to leave G-d out of the
picture. With hidden miracles, we must acknowledge that the
events did not just come about through nature; we admit and
are modeh that we owe our salvation to G-d. We don't rest on our
own strength but we know all our success comes from G-d.
When reflecting on Al Hanisim, we notice that the whole notion
of the prayer is discussed in the Talmud only in the context of
Chanukah. Only then is it applied to Purim as well. This is because
Chanukah has a deeper connection to the concept of hoda'ah, "admitting",
than Purim. Purim, with all of its laws, is never described
as hoda'ah in the Talmud, while Chanukah clearly is (Shabbos 21b).
The concept of "admitting" is more intrinsic to Chanukah
because of the nature of the Greek enemy. Greek culture worshipped
man and his accomplishments and removed G-d
from the equation. They valued and believed only in man, his
body and mind, and built countless statues proclaiming this
conviction. They fought the Jewish belief system harshly, making
decrees forbidding Jewish practice, although these decrees
went directly against the Greek ideals of "freedom" and "civil
liberty". They did this because they saw in the Jew a negation
of all that Greek civilization stood for. The Jew attributed all his
successes to G-d, refusing to rely only on man.
The Al Hanisim prayer states unequivocally that the Hasmoneans
did not take any of the credit for their victory over
the Greeks. They admitted (hoda'ah) that it was only G-d who
helped them and defeated the Greeks.
Today, we need to internalize the lessons of Chanukah and
Al Hanisim, in order to stand strong against prevailing ideologies
that seek, once again, to deny G-d's direct involvement in
earthly, human affairs.
In G-d we trust, not in man. When we light the menorah
this year and recite the Al Hanisim, let's light up our gratitude
to G-d, infusing our lives with a sense of rejuvenation and rededication,
with a spirit of Chanukah in our spiritual lives.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes uplifting articles. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Rabbi Boruch Leff is a vice principal at Torah Institue in Baltimore. To comment on this article, please click here.
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