The Lesson Of Chanukah

The holiday of Chanukah has many deep teachings which are ever so relevant. In order to understand its lesson, we need to understand the essence of the holiday and why our Sages chose to immortalize this miracle above the myriad of miracles throughout our Exile. During the time of the 2^nd Bet Hamikdash (Jewish Temple) Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire and commenced the era of Greek rule over the Jewish nation. Though Alexander was good to the Jews, those who succeeded him were for the most part bitter opponents of Judaism. These dictators promulgated harsh decrees which chipped away at the tenets of Judaism: The belief in G-d, His Commandments, and His Torah.

Amongst those decrees, the Greeks specifically targeted the practice of setting the Jewish calendar. During that time, the Jewish courts relied on a special legal system of witnesses to calculate and declare the new month. These calculations would then be used to determine and set all subsequent holidays. The Greeks viewed such ‘national holidays’ as a threat to their goal of assimilation, and therefore attacked this legal process.

On a deeper level, the Greeks were attempting a different kind of harm to the Jewish nation. The Sages explain that the court’s ability to legally set the month carried a mystical effect on time. This viewpoint was incompatible with Hellenism, which pedestaled hedonism and materialism, and diminished the role of spirituality in daily life. The Greeks therefore quashed any traditions which demonstrated an interaction between spirituality and physicality, even if they felt it was merely imaginary.

Interestingly, Chanukah always occurs within the weekly Parshiyot (Torah Chapters) which describe the story of Yosef. Our Rabbis explain that this is no coincidence, and derive a deep correlation between the two. Our forefather Yaakov stayed in the house of his devious father in-law Lavan only until Yosef was born. This was because Yaakov was worried of returning to his homeland at the risk of encountering his brother Esav. Esav posed two distinct dangers to his brother Yaakov. His anger was potentially an existential threat, but his friendship raised the prospect of spiritual annihilation. Our Sages thus teach that Yaakov was more worried regarding Esav’s ability to infect others with the poison of ‘intellectual’ hedonism.

After Yosef was born, however, Hashem ensured Yaakov that his son Yosef was like a flaming torch which would burn Esav’s influence away like chaff. Hashem revealed to Yaakov that in all situations, the strength to overcome Esav lies within the heart of his son, Yosef. This became evident after Yosef was sold as a slave in Egypt. Egypt was the epicenter of immorality and materialism, yet Yosef not only survived, but actually thrived! Yosef was able to filter different elements of his environment without any compromise to his holy way of life. Yosef recognized the value of spirituality even in a place as dark as Egypt. He held a light in the darkest place, and used it as a guide when all seemed irredeemable. This is why Yosef is Esav’s spiritual nemesis; where Esav finds a draw to materialism, Yosef finds the opportunity to sanctify G-d. Hashem therefore reassured Yaakov that Yosef embodies the mental light which obsoletes and elevates Esav’s gross materialism.

The Greeks were interested in obliterating spirituality and spoiling our way of life. They wanted to remove holiness from the world. When they broke into our Temple, they didn’t destroy the holy oil for the Menorah, but instead contaminated it. It was a war against the Jewish soul. When the Hasmoneans saw the light of Truth dwindling amongst their kin because of Hellenism, they wondered about how to counter. They then drew inspiration from the above teaching, and discovered that a small spark was sufficient to burn through the entire façade of Greek philosophy. By reigniting their hearts to serve Hashem, the Hasmoneans found the strength to reclaim their holy service and, by miracle, dispelled the Greeks.

We live in a world of gross materialism, competing ideologies and alternative ways of life. Amongst all this noise, we may sometimes feel that spirituality is a still sound in the background.  What do we do? How do we inspire the next generation? Our Sages instruct us to stare into the flames of the Chanukah candles and recall and understand. As dark as the fog may be, a bright light however small will be seen far and wide. We must ignite a spark in our hearts to serve Hashem the right way. If we do this, than the entire world can gather against us with their theories, demands and ultimatums; our light will shine through it all. Like the Menorah by the window, our light is for all passersby’s to see: Look how Hashem protects His children when they uphold his teachings, His Word is a Light to all Humanity. May we merit the days where all nations will recognize the Truth of the Torah. May we merit welcoming the Mashiach and the Geulah, speedily in our days, Amen v’ Amen.

 By Adam Suionov