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Dec. 16, 2011
Mystical meanings of Chanukah
Antiochus forbade four mitzvot of the Torah – those showing our complete faith in G-d.
ESTHER TAUBY
Every year at this time, we celebrate the festival of Chanukah, which commemorates the Jewish people’s miraculous victory over the Assyrian Greeks during the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The battle that the Hasmoneans fought against the Greeks was not only a physical battle, but also a spiritual one, in fact, the most spiritual one in Jewish history.
The Greeks didn’t attempt to physically destroy the Jewish people, or even deprive them of their religion. They only wanted to Hellenize them, and thereby enlighten their lives with the culture and philosophy of Greece. In the Al Hanisim prayer read throughout Chanukah, it says that the Greeks, “sought to make them forget Your Torah and make them violate the decrees of Your will.” They wanted to say that the Torah was just part of human wisdom and not
G-d’s law and, therefore, divine. The Hasmoneans fought for these principles; for the mitzvot of the Torah are commandments of G-d’s will through the Torah, which cannot be tampered with. This is the very soul of Judaism.
In fact, the Greeks believed only in things that could be understood by the human intellect, even though it is limited. They believed there was nothing higher than human intelligence. They didn’t want to accept anything that wasn’t rooted in the natural order of the world, which defines human intellect, so King Antiochus Epiphanies forbade four specific mitzvot of the Torah, those which show our complete faith in G-d and His wisdom.
The four were circumcision (brit milah), keeping the Sabbath (Shabbat), observing the new Jewish month (Rosh Chodesh) and learning Torah (talmud Torah). First, circumcision which represents the covenant between the Jewish people and G-d when we recall how Abraham, the first Jew, circumcised his newborn son Isaac at eight days old, as requested by G-d. Second, Shabbat is the declaration of a Jew’s belief in G-d as the creator of the world, when He created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Third, observing the New Moon and declaring the new Jewish month: this was set by the Jewish court, divinely blessed by G-d with the wisdom to know how to witness, observe and declare the New Moon each month (without any technology) and then calculate the Jewish festivals accurately – it was vital in order to know when the festivals would occur. For example, Passover falls on the 15th day of the month of Nissan, so they needed to know when the first day of Nissan fell to know when the 15th would be. Finally, the fourth mitzvah, learning Torah, the Assyrian Greeks wanted to deny that it was divinely given, to claim that it was just an intellectual pursuit; we believe, however, that the mitzvot of the Torah are the supra-rational will of G-d.
G-d, creator of nature, is over and above nature. So, of course, we can’t understand Him or His ways. We can know some specific things about G-d, such as how wise He is and that He created such an amazing world filled with beautiful nature, people and animals. We know He is good and kind from all the goodness and kindness we see around us, and all the blessings we receive each day. So we can know something of what G-d does, but not what G-d is.
In the same way, the Torah and mitzvot, which G-d gave us on Mount Sinai in the year 2448 after creation, and which contain G-d’s wisdom and will, are beyond our understanding except in a limited way. To the extent that G-d revealed them and made them known to us, we can know them, too. The wonderful thing about Torah and mitzvot is that the more Torah we learn and the more mitzvot we observe in our daily lives, the more we become attached to G-d’s wisdom. We are no longer limited to our own limited sources of intellect. We become connected to the unlimited source of Divine wisdom.
In fact, the root of the Hebrew word mitzvah is tzavtah, meaning connect. The more we observe them, the more we understand them, as they become a part of us. For example, when we give our time or money to those less fortunate to fulfil the mitzvah of tzedakah from the Torah, we connect to that part of our soul that is connected to G-d and His wisdom in teaching us to help others who need help when the need arises.
One mitzvah that the Greeks couldn’t understand at all, was why the oil used in the holy Temple daily to light the large, golden menorah, had to be only pure olive oil, sealed by the high priest. Why did it matter who touched it? What difference did it make what kind of oil it was? So, they purposely defiled all the oil that was there in the Temple.
However, Judah Maccabee revolted, kicked out the Greeks and, when they entered the newly rededicated Temple, G-d performed a miracle and the Jews found, hidden, one small flask of pure olive oil sealed with the seal of high priest. G-d made this miracle precisely to show the Greeks that, even though they don’t understand it and it is above their intellect, this law was divinely ordained and is holy.
This miracle of the Jews over the Greeks was a miraculous one in the battlefield but also a spiritual one, as stated above. The miracles of the victory that led to the Festival of Lights were not only supernatural but showed that the true approach to Torah and mitzvot is not through limited human intelligence, but through their fulfilment, first and foremost.
To this day, we celebrate Chanukah for eight days, to show our connection to the supernatural way G-d saved us then and keeps us alive today. Every night, we add one more light to dispel more darkness in the world and light up our homes and communities with the warmth of our candles.
This year, even in tough economic times, the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles is an inexpensive and easy way to bring the message of hope, light and love to those around us. When we light our Chanukah candles facing the outdoors, we show others that we are proud Jews and have faith in G-d who has given us this opportunity to share this message while spreading light and warmth to others.
When we celebrate with family and friends, eat latkes and doughnuts, play dreidel and sing Chanukah songs, let’s remember that G-d is with us now, as He was then and will always be. Wishing you a very happy Chanukah!
Esther Tauby is a local educator, writer and counselor.
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