Affectionate Light of Chanukah

[Nagishkaw 510]

Chanukah is an unusual holiday. While the military victory of the Hasmoneans over the Greek army enabled us to practice our religion freely, that miracle gets no specific ritual in commemoration. We focus instead on the miracle of the oil and the light that lasted eight days.

There is something different and special about the lights of the Chanukah candles. Unlike even the special Shabbos candles, we treat these candles with extreme reverence. While the light from the Shabbos candles is meant to be used, at the very least, to prevent injury in the dark, Chanukah candles may not be used for any purpose other than observation and reflection. What is it that makes these lights so special that lighting them is the representative mitzvah of this holiday?

While it is true that the military victory was an awesome miracle - thirteen Maccabees against the mighty Greek Empire - and we thank HaShem for that miracle in the Al Hanisim prayer, it is argued that that miracle and victory were absolutely necessary for the very survival of our nation. As Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz explains in Sichot Mussar, HaShem was obligated to save us, for He had promised this to our forefathers, and HaShem is always true to His word. But the miracle of the oil went above and beyond this obligation. The miracle of the oil was that extra smile and embrace from Hakodosh Boruch Hu that was an actual manifestation of His love and dedication to our emotional, as well as our physical, well-being.

It is perhaps comparable to a wife who is obliged to pack brown bag lunches for her husband, but adds a little "thinking of you" love note into the bag to help get him through a difficult day. It is the note, not the sandwich, which brings the smile to her husband's face. In a similar way, the miracle of the oil validated HaShem's love for us.

There is precedent in the Torah for this beautiful interpretation. When Yosef was sold to a caravan of merchants, the Torah makes a point of telling us that the caravan was carrying spices rather than its usual, foul-smelling cargo. This extra detail in the usually ultra-terse Torah is there to tell us that, although it was necessary for Yosef to be enslaved and brought to Egypt, it was not required that he suffer with terrible odors in the process. In spite of his dire circumstances, Yosef was comforted, for he now "smelled" HaShem's presence and caring alongside him.

B'nei Yisroel had become distant from HaShem. Many had taken on the hedonistic Hellenist culture. While the priests continued to bring the sacrifices in the Temple, for many of them this holy service became a mechanical routine, rather than the exaltation of the human spirit it was meant to be. The sense of connection with Hakodosh Boruch Hu that the korbonot were meant to establish and maintain was gone. As we turned cold faces to HaShem, He tried to remind us of His centrality in our lives by bringing the enemy over us; an enemy that would enact decrees that could destroy our identity as a separate people, and especially as the nation of HaShem.

What were these decrees? They were not heavy taxes or exile. They were three laws that were meant simply to assimilate the Jew. The Jews were forbidden from observing circumcision, Shabbat and the sanctification of the New Moon. Upon a close study of these decrees, we can establish a certain balance, a measure-for-measure relationship, between these decrees and the failings of B'nei Yisroel.

The first two banned observances, circumcision and Shabbat, are specifically called oht and brit. They are covenantal signs of the special relationship B'nei Yisroel has with the Creator. When we distanced ourselves from HaShem and broke this special bond, He took away our privilege of easily fulfilling these mitzvot by making their fulfillment a violation of man's law. Further, he removed the effortless observance of the symbol of renewal, the sanctification of the New Moon, as a countermeasure to our becoming lackadaisical and rote in our observance, of going through the motions of the mitzvot without investing our hearts and minds in them. If we would distance ourselves from Him, then He would try to bring us back through the very pathways we had detoured.

Enter Matisyahu and his sons. With superhuman effort, with the fire of passion, they fought the Greeks and, with HaShem's help, they freed Israel from the yoke of the oppressors. But they were not yet done. The passion burned in them. They were the priests and they yearned to bring the extinguished light of the menorah back to the Temple. As their ancestor Aharon, the first kohain, had done, they wanted to renew and rededicate themselves to HaShem's service each day with fresh passion. They searched vigorously for a jug of pure oil. All they found was a tiny cruse, sufficient for one day.

But they wouldn't be deterred. They lit the menorah, and HaShem sent down the Heavenly fire to join the earthly fire from within their souls manifested in the flame of the menorah, so that the joined flames could rise upward. Each moment was renewal. The oil from the last moment was gone and new fuel was in its place. The excitement and enthusiasm of performing the Temple service would no longer be rote. And HaShem responded to this love and passion from below with His love note from above. He did not let that flame go out.

Further, our Chassidic rabbis teach us that the eighth day of Chanukah has a special aura that envelops the day and us. On the eighth day, HaShem removed the Heavenly fire so that the earthly flames ignited by His people could rise to His throne and become His flame. This was a special miracle exclusive to the eighth day, reminiscent of the bush that burned but was not consumed. It is the day when the total 36 candles have been lit and we proclaim ourselves to be His (lo, which is 36 in numerology). This special, eighth day is viewed by our Chassidic masters as the final day of judgment, even beyond Hoshanah Rabbah, a day when the Heavenly gates are open for special requests.

Here is the message of the Chanukah candles. Just as that flame does not go out, just as each moment the fuel is new and the flame is new, so too must we be in our service to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. While we wish to dwell always in HaShem's house, may each day be new to us, as if we are visiting His sanctuary for the first time. Let us be inspired by the flames of the menorah and thank HaShem with each breath of our lives for each breath of our lives, and for the constant loving kindness He shows us each moment, as He renews each day with His goodness. Let us fulfill His mitzvot with the fiery passion of a Maccabee, with their focus and determination. Let the fire they lit continue to burn within us.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/9199

[scandal 951]

A FREILICHEN LICHTIGEN CHANUKAH! May all your latkes be crispy and your sufganiot be coated in powdered sugar! :star:

[Nagishkaw 510]

Chag Urim Sameach!

[scandal 951]

Our freshly made latkes tonight...

Do you prefer sour cream or apple sauce?

Me, I'm a sour cream kind of guy.

Happy 3rd night of Hanukkah, to one and all...

[웃 910]

Our freshly made latkes tonight...

My grandma's latkes look just like that. Well, the one that is 'golden' / cooked through. I've never had any latkes except for hers! The latkes that come back on a google image search look different; stringy-er...

Edited December 14, 2009 by Confucian

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Happy Hanukkah!

These are latkes I made last year. Our place smelled like fried potatoes for days afterward! But they were delicious, if I do say so myself!