This essay was first published in 1996 (5757), 25 years ago.
One Rosh Yeshiva said that at the end of a Yom Tov one should not exclaim: "Another Yom Tov has gone by," but should proclaim: "Another Yom Tov has been absorbed."
The day following the Sholosh Regolim was assigned for this meditation and has been called Isru Chag (Binding the Festival—in the heart). After Chanukah it is also proper to make a cheshbon hanefesh (spiritual accounting) to assess new spiritual acquisitions. Every few years the day following Chanukah is Shabbos kodesh parshas Mikeitz, in which many of the lessons of Chanukah are reviewed and reemphasized. [This year, 5782, Mikeitz is Shabbos Chanukah.]
It says in the Parsha: "And it was at the end of two years etc." Midrash Rabbah comments: "`He (G-d) set a limit to the darkness.' He set a time for Yosef how many years he must spend in the darkness of the (Egyptian) prison. As soon as the time expired, `And Pharaoh had a dream'."
Afterward it says: "And Pharaoh sent (messengers), and he called Yosef, and they hurried him out of the pit." The Sforno comments: "...as is the way with all salvations from G-d that are done with precision etc. When the time allotted for Yosef to be in the pit expired, it was forbidden for him to be there for even one more instant, and therefore they hurried him out of the pit."
From here we see the need to believe in the precision of Divine Providence over each and every detail of the creation. One of the primary lessons of Chanukah is that this tenet contains two aspects: 1) There is an obligation to believe it with all of one's heart. 2) It brings about innumerable practical applications in one's daily activities, as will be'eizer Hashem be explained.
The Terrible Greek Edicts and Their Causes
We find in the Chanukah prayer: "When the Greek government stood against Thine nation Israel to make them forget Your Torah, and to remove them from the laws of Your will etc." It is further explained in Megillas Antiochus that the Greeks made edicts on three specific matters: "And Antiochus the wicked said to his ministers: `Do you not know that among us is the Jewish nation in Jerusalem etc., and they forsake the laws of the king in order to follow their own doctrine, and they await the day of the fall of the Greek empire etc., and they say: "When will our King rule over us, etc." It is not befitting the Greek kingdom to allow them to exist. Now let us fall on them and abolish the treaty that they have regarding 1) Shabbos, 2) Rosh Chodesh, and 3) Bris Mila etc.'" It is then depicted in great detail how the Jews sacrificed their lives to sanctify the name of Hashem.
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There are a number of points which require further explanation.
1) Why were the Greeks led to think that they could abolish the Jewish religion through the annulment of these three mitzvos in particular?
2) We know that evil decrees are a punitive measure for specific sins, the purpose of which is to bring repentance. The Bach zt'l wrote that the specific sin which brought about the Greek edicts was laziness in the performance of the Service in the Holy Temple. According to this, although the Service was indeed being done, it was attended to with a certain indolence. Why should this be a cause of the aforementioned Greek edicts?
3) The Bach further asks why the celebration of Chanukah is primarily of a spiritual nature while the celebration of Purim incorporates physical pleasure as well.
He answers the third question by saying that each celebration is consonant with the type of salvation which the Jews experienced at the time of the respective miracles. The edict of Homon was physical: destruction of all Jewish bodies, and for this reason the celebration on Purim incorporates physical pleasures.
Judaism Versus Hellenism
On the other hand, the Greek threats of physical death were only secondary measures for implementing the ultimate goal of the dissemination of their Hellenistic culture. The terrible edicts were aimed mainly at (G-d forbid) the spiritual and cultural decomposition of Judaism, and not at the physical destruction of Jews. The hell-enistic doctrines centered around the glorification of the human body and intelligence, and its capacities for appreciating and enjoying art and beauty. While philosophical theories were expounded about perfect beautiful beings that existed in spheres of perfection, the concept of a deity was seen as something so perfect that an imperfect human being could not possibly relate to it in any manner other than admiration from a distance.
While seemingly rendering ultimate honor to the concept of a perfect deity by considering it as something so perfect and so far removed from the human realm that a human could not have any type of personal contact, in truth, this pseudo philosophic exaltation of art and beauty was nothing more than a convenient cover for the unbridled pursuit of physical pleasures.
The fundamental principle was that the further the concepts of deities and perfect beings were removed from the human sphere, the more freedom a human would have for the satisfaction of his banal passions. The more the human being is glorified, the more his passions are excited and aroused. Rather than the sublimation of human achievement being a practical manifestation of a philosophic doctrine, quite the opposite was true: The Greek philosophy was both a product and an expression of the commitment to the unlimited pursuit of base desires.
The Beis Hamikdosh—the Home of Holiness
Judaism, believing in a Creator who created the world for a specific purpose to which all human endeavor is bound and is ultimately held responsible and accountable, stands in direct opposition to unlimited hedonism.
The Sefer Hachinuch writes that the Beis Hamikdosh in Jerusalem symbolizes the fact that the presence of G-d can dwell among the people—when they live in accordance with purity and holiness. This entails a strict discipline of resistance from many (not necessarily all) temptations during one's daily activities. Human nature dictates that this commitment become weakened with the passage of time and the ongoing involvement in temporal experiences.
The Chassid Ya'avetz zt'l writes that since the Beis Hamikdosh retained aspects of the spiritually perfect state of the creation before there had been any sin, therefore overt miracles constantly occurred there. One would therefore come to the Beis Hamikdosh from time to time to refresh the intensity of his direct awareness of kedushoh and of his total dedication to it.
In the absence of the Beis Hamikdosh, this can be accomplished by involvement in the daily activities of our Batei Midrashos, which are called "Mikdosh Me'at (Miniature Mikdosh)," which reinforce the intensity of our feelings of emunah through Torah study, mussar (the development of spiritual feelings), Tefillah, and the development of good character traits.
The Nefesh HaChaim writes that through this program, the human being himself can eventually assume some of the innate characteristics of a Beis Hamikdosh—as long as he carefully protects his extremely delicate sensitivities to purity and holiness! The ultimate purpose of Chanukah, then, is to bring the human being to a constant state of innate holiness.
Yirmiyohu Responds to Plato
The Ramah zt'l relates the incident when the Greek philosopher Plato met the prophet Yirmiyohu crying at the ruins of the Beis Hamikdosh. He asked Yirmiyohu why such an intelligent person would cry over the destruction of wood and stones. Instead of giving a direct answer to the question, Yirmiyohu asked Plato if he had encountered any difficult philosophical problems to which he had no answers. Plato then fired one difficult question after another, and Yirmiyohu answered all of the questions without any effort.
Impressively overwhelmed by Yirmiyohu's knowledge, Plato re-exclaimed his renewed and increased astonishment that someone so wise would cry over the destruction of wood and stones. Yirmiyohu then explained: "It was through these holy stones that I acquired all that I know!"
What he meant is that since knowledge has value only inasmuch as it leads to spiritual growth, therefore true knowledge can be derived only from an attachment to its goal, namely the source of all kedushoh.
The Greek's defilement of the Beis Hamikdosh, by not affording G-d a place to dwell among human beings, was a symbolic expression of their desire to be free from obligation to such a Supreme ruler.
The subjugation of everything to the Divine will of the Creator demonstrates the belief that everything is His and is under His direct rule. The Chassid Ya'avetz zt'l explains that the three mitzvos of Shabbos, Rosh Chodesh, and Bris Mila are all expressions of the basic belief in the constant supervision of the Creator over even every minute aspect of His creation—including man's body; and of man's obligation to utilize everything solely for the service of his Creator and not for any personal human gain.
Unlike the Greeks, our relationship with G-d is both direct and personal. This is expressed in every facet of Judaism. In halacha, we find laws dealing with every aspect of daily life, including Torah study, children, education, charity, speech, time, money, marital obligations, interpersonal relations, food, thoughts, emotions, etc., with reference to such minute details as to which shoe should be put on first and which shoelace should be tied first!
Regarding Torah study and the proper use of time, it should be mentioned that this mitzvah applies to every instant of a twenty- four hour period, except for time necessary for mitzvos that cannot be done by others such as prayer, certain personal needs, in certain instances the earning of a living, acts of kindness, and more. (For the proper application of these precepts to individual circumstances, authoritative—and very personalized—rabbinic counsel must be sought).
The Vilna Gaon zt'l writes that for each and every word of Torah study one receives reward as if he had performed all of the six hundred and thirteen mitzvos. After experimentation, our rebbe and master the sainted Chofetz Chaim zt'l determined that a human being can speak two hundred words per minute. This means that one can receive the reward of 122,600 mitzvos per minute, 7,356,000 mitzvos per hour, and 88,172,000 mitzvos per twelve hours. The Chofetz Chaim points out that (G-d forbid) the same numbers of sins can be accumulated through wasted time.
In prayer we beseech all of the above, and are not ashamed to include: "Our Father, lay us in bed in peace etc."
It is therefore easily understood why the materialistically oriented Greeks would not tolerate such practices. They thought that if (G-d forbid) they could abolish all belief in an immanent G-d who has constant contact with the world, then the selfish limitless pursuit of hedonism could continue undeterred.
And to Serve Him With All of Your Heart
While serving G-d with only half a heart shows some basic belief in general terms that man must serve Him, it at the same time demonstrates a certain degree of callousness to the belief that all details of the creation are subjugated to Him. If indeed everything is His, then all human intellectual and emotional potential is included, and must be sanctified by being utilized exclusively for mitzvos. (It is brought in the name of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Brisker zt'l and HaGaon HaRav Aharon Kotler zt'l that not learning with all of one's powers is a measure of bitul Torah). Therefore the negligence of the Jews to do the service with a full heart was reciprocated with an edict aimed specifically against the belief in the Divine Providence over all of the details of the universe.
It was only through a renewed total dedication of everything— including human life itself—to our basic belief in Divine Providence that we merited having the danger thwarted.
Therefore, on Chanukah we celebrate the salvation of purely spiritual values through distinctly spiritual expressions of gratitude, including the kindling of candles, the recitation of special prayers of gratitude, and the public reading of portions of the Torah.
The Challenges of Our Generation
Chazal relate that each generation has its own specific trials and tribulations. Today we, like Yosef Hatzaddik and the Chashmonaim, live in societies that in many ways resemble those of the Egyptians and the Greeks. There is a predominant emphasis on using human potential to perpetuate a life style which affords maximum opportunities for physical comforts that come in attractive packages. The turbulent currents sweep away young Jewish blood before it is properly absorbed in pursuing spirituality. The result is (G-d forbid) at least partial—and sometimes total—assimilation in a way of life that is antithetical to basic Jewish tenets.
Those who resist conformance to this way of life are made to feel that they are outcasts. Society pressures them to seek counsel from schools of thought that are based on precepts that early in life their attitudes and psychological makeup did not develop along the lines of the pursuit and successful satisfaction of passions. Others seek complete freedom from all pressures and responsibilities and rebel against parents and other forms of establishment. Neither approach solves the problem at its root.
The proper response of a Jew should be based on the message of Chanukah, which is the total absorption of the body, the heart, and the mind to uniquely spiritual ideals.
According to HaRav Dessler zt'l, after the destruction of the Yeshiva world during the war, this should find specific expression in rededicating ourselves to actively joining and supporting the activities of our miniature Batei Hamikdosh—the holy Yeshivos. The Shelah HaKadosh zt'l and the Chasam Sofer zt'l wrote that on Chanukah this should appropriately be accompanied by increased Torah study.
May we absorb the kedusha of Chanukah, emulate the dedication and purity of Yosef Hatzaddik and the Chashmonaim, and thus merit seeing the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdosh with the advent of the Moshiach.
