|
Dec. 7, 2012
Time for rededication, renewal
Understanding the spiritual facets of Chanukah is integral to the future of the Jewish people.
ESTHER TAUBY
This year, Chanukah begins on Dec. 8, Saturday evening, and continues through to Sunday evening, Dec. 16. The name of the eight-day festival is derived from the Hebrew word chinuch, which means education, and also dedication. What is the connection of chinuch to Chanukah?
First, Let’s look back at the period in history when Chanukah took place. Assyrian Greeks were in power in Israel. Antiochus IV Epiphanes took deliberate steps between 169 BCE and 167 BCE to Hellenize the Jews of Israel by attempting to destroy Judaism. In the Book of Maccabees, this period is referred to as “a reign of terror.”
Antiochus understood the Jews very well. To him, these people were obsessed with time – Jews even try to make time holy! He reasoned that if time were destroyed so, too, would be destroyed Jews’ ability to practise Judaism. So, Antiochus attempted to dissolve the Jewish calendar. He forbade the observance of Shabbat, the observance of Rosh Chodesh (the New Moon) and the observance of the holidays; Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. He wanted Jews to calculate the festivals based on the solar system. The dates that the Torah prescribes for all the festivals are based on the lunar system, however. Without a calendar based on the moon, we would not know when to observe any Jewish holiday and they would all be forgotten.
Next, Antiochus forbade keeping kosher and studying Torah. He had Torah scrolls publicly burned and pigs sacrificed over Jewish holy books, knowing that this animal is specifically forbidden to Jews. Lastly, Antiochus forbade circumcision. To Jews, this is the physical, tangible sign of our covenant with G-d. The Greeks, who worshipped the perfection of the human body, considered circumcision a mutilation.
The things that Antiochus forbade were the practices that we Jews cherish the most; the ones that keep us connected to our Creator and allow us to express our faith in Him through the many traditions that we have.
One of the miracles of Chanukah that we recount each year in the Al Hanisim section of the Birkat Hamazon and in the Amidah prayer throughout Chanukah, is the miracle of the military victory that the Maccabees fought against the Greek army. The Maccabee army was estimated at about 12,000 men. The Greek army was estimated at about 40,000 men. The tiny, Jewish, poorly trained and equipped army was able to defeat a much larger and professional army that included equipment, training and a herd of elephants (the tanks of the ancient world). This war took 25 years of fighting with many casualties on both sides.
Thanks to the defeat of the enemy (circa 138 BCE), Jews were then able to celebrate and observe all the Jewish festivals without any fear. They cleansed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem from all the items the Greeks had used to defile the holiness of that sacred place.
A dedication celebration took place for eight days in which the Divine service, including the lighting of the menorah, was resumed, and the Temple as a whole was rededicated to its original and holy purpose.
The purity of our service to G-d, symbolized by the one flask of pure olive oil that had escaped the Greeks, was found with its seal still intact. The miracle of the oil that was only enough to last for one day and lasted for eight days took place.
Dedication is also the theme of the passages that the sages chose for the daily reading of the Torah during Chanukah. These are from the sections of the Torah (Numbers 7:1-8:4) that describe the daily offerings of the heads of each of the 12 tribes of Israel to the temporary sanctuary (Mishkan) in the desert, ending with the dedication ceremony. As well, each morning after services during Chanukah, Psalm 30 is read, which begins, “A song of the dedication of the Temple [chanukaht HaBayit].”
There is a special beauty and inspiration in the increase of candles each night of Chanukah. Our sages explain that the miracle of the oil in the Temple became more and more glorious as each day passed. G-d’s reassuring message to the Jewish people, “I’m with you even in the darkness and exile of persecution,” became progressively clearer as the one-day supply of oil continued to burn on and on.
By the eighth day, the revelation of a Divine hand above natural law was apparent to all. For us, too, there is the potential each year to feel greater and greater delight as the number of candles and the extent of the miracle they commemorate increases with each day of Chanukah.
Some commentaries teach that the amount of spiritual light accessible during a festival is greatest and most potent specifically at its end. This can be compared to the grand finale of a fireworks show, which has the most intense and brilliant display.
On a spiritual level, the enduring power of the days of Chanukah can serve as an inspiration to renew our service to G-d, especially through prayer, to assist us in regaining the purity of our desire to be more loyal Jews, even in the face of powerful opposing forces in society and within us. We can be certain that our sincere efforts at “rededication” at whatever level, will awaken a response from G-d, just as the self-sacrifice of the Maccabees led to His responding with the miracle of the military victory and, ultimately, the miracle of the oil in the Holy Temple.
During Chanukah every year, the Jewish month of Kislev ends and the Jewish month of Tevet begins. Rosh Chodesh Tevet this year is on the sixth day of Chanukah (Friday, Dec. 14). The fact that there is always a Rosh Chodesh during Chanukah alludes to the theme of rededication, as well.
We can see this, too, from the word chodesh, month, which comes from the root word chadash, new. The month depends on the renewal of the moon. The moon wanes, disappears and renews itself.
With the renewed moon we have our new month. The holiness of Rosh Chodesh is contained in this very concept of renewal.
Renewal means that we can start fresh anytime. On Rosh Chodesh, as in all sanctification of time (Shabbat, festivals), we have help from the Master of the Universe. Rosh Chodesh is the time when we can reach out to Him most easily and successfully to establish our self-renewal. It gives us strength, if we use it. It helps us see that every mitzvah of the Torah is an opportunity to have a unique experience as we perform it. Rosh Chodesh is the time we can use to feel again this sense of renewal and, at that moment, we can start anew.
Just as the moon begins very small and continues to grow until it reaches its fullest point on the 15th of the Jewish month, so too the history of the Jewish people is a series of cycles of greatness and grandeur, with a peak after 15 generations during the era of King Solomon. Unfortunately, there are also times of degradation and abasement. Throughout our history, we have suffered much persecution and baseless hatred. However, in the same way the moon comes back to its fullness every month, so too will the Jewish people. Like the moon, the Jewish people will rise up again and light up the night.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe put it this way:
“That a time of smallness is a time to become great,
And a time of greatness is a time to become small.
For in smallness lies the power to receive,
And in receiving lies the power to become great.
And greatness endures only through its power to be small.”
That is why the chinuch, or education, part of the word Chanukah is essential. We need to educate ourselves about the history and miracles of this special eight-day festival so that we will be able to teach our friends, students, children and grandchildren all about it. Then they will know so much more about Chanukah than just candles, latkes, doughnuts and presents. They will appreciate the festival even more and will continue to pass on their knowledge of Chanukah and its traditions to their future generations as they enjoy the festival each year.
Wishing you a happy and meaningful Chanukah.
Esther Tauby is a local educator, writer and counselor.
^TOP
|
