Chanukah is unique.
Its highlight is to kindle neiros — pirsumei
nissa. It nonetheless has a rare brochoh: "Haro'eh ner
Chanukah" — one who only gazes at the lights
— recites a blessing about the miracles. Why are these
nights different from other nights?
HaRav Avrohom of Sochatchov, author of the Avnei
Nezer, suggests an original approach which underscores
the theme of Chanukah itself.
In the aftermath of the Mabul, the Almighty blessed
mankind once more to be fruitful. Noach had emerged from the
ark and planted grape shoots he had stored away. He imbibed
their produce and became intoxicated.
"Vayar Chom" — Chom beheld the state his father
was in, and told his brothers, "Bachutz," in the
shuk, publicly, of this, as Onkelos interprets it.
Shem and Yefes, sensitive to their father's dignity, did not
gaze at him but walked backwards to cover him.
Chom defiled his sight and speech by what he did.
Subsequently, his offspring were cursed to be servants.
Hence, a Canaanite slave, his descendant, goes free if the
owner displaces an eye or a tooth, as they represent the
abilities of speech and sight. This is his tikkun
— the injury fixes Chom's sin so he need not remain a
slave. (Medrash Rabbah 36:8)
There's a lot more beneath the surface, however.
Consider this: Light travels at 186,000 miles/second (300,000
km/sec) while sound goes only 1,700 feet (1,000 m/sec) in the
same time. The fact that sight moves much faster suggests
that it is more spiritual in nature. The faculty of sight
includes not only the physical capability to see, but also
the intellectual capability to perceive and discern as
well.
Speech is spiritual in essence, too. Onkelos explains the
verse, "man became a nefesh chayoh" to mean that a
person was endowed with the spiritual faculty of speech.
Since Chom defaced these faculties of the human being, he
lost the maaloh of ruchniyus and impacted the
potential for his descendants for spirituality — man's
purpose on this world. They spend their lives in servitude.
They are chomri, people of material existence.
Shem and Yefes chose a different path; they were rewarded
with seichel or intellect, the consummate faculty of
perception. Of Yefes' descendants, the gemora in
Megilloh (9b) sees Yovon (Greece) as his standard
bearer. "The beauty of Yefes shall rest in the tents of Shem"
(Bereishis 9:27). This refers to the language of
Yovon, (Rashi ibid.). The nation of Yovon inherited
Yefes' legacy and was given the gift of creative thought, or
philosophy.
Shem's descendants received a different wisdom —
Hashem's coveted wisdom, the Torah.
Noach's blessing impacted Yefes' children for years to come.
"Yaft Elokim leYefes." According to Ramban
(Bereishis 9:27) this means, "The Almighty shall widen
Yefes' boundaries." This means his descendants will spread
out all over the land.
Who was the fountainhead of chochmas Yovon? That in
order to accept something as truth one must first experience
it. If ordinary man cannot experience Divine Revelation,
reward and retribution — if you can't tangibly have
"hands on" contact with these phenomena — that means
they're not there! Ramban (Vayikra 16:8) comments that
the "Yevoni" — (i.e. Aristotle) "Hickchish
kol dovor zulosi hamurgash lo" — rejected anything
he could not experience firsthand.
During Golus Yovon, a colossal clash between
civilizations ensued: Are speech and sight — the
essence of a human being — to be utilized as the
Syrian/Greeks perceive them, or is the worldview of Klal
Yisroel genuine?
The Struggle
During the tenure of Antiochus, the ruler of the Syrian-
Greeks, the Jewish people were at a crossroads. The
Hellenists confronted them with a culture that glorifies
human strength, complemented by philosophic thought based
solely on human sight: physical experience. This was at
loggerheads with the Torah.
The Yevonim tried to coerce Jews to embrace their lifestyle.
Rambam (Igeres Shmad) writes that no Jew could lock
the doors of his house — no one could privatize his
life and perform a mitzvah alone at home. Kedushoh
— something consecrated — doesn't exist. Why not
broaden your horizons and explore nature and the universe as
freethinkers, instead of being restricted?
Chazal comment (Bereishis Rabba 2:4) with regard to
the verse that describes Creation — "there was
choshech on the face of the tehome" —
"choshech" signifies Yovon. A dark hole would engulf
the Jewish people under the Syrian/Greeks. "Inscribe on the
horns of your oxen that you have no part in the Elokei
Yisroel," they ordered.
Let There Be Light
What is true broad-mindedness in the Torah's terms? King
David writes in Tehillim (25:17), "Tzoros levovi
hirchivu" — lit. the travails of my heart have
widened. The Gra (commentary to Megillas Rus) explains
the passage this way: When a person experiences adversity in
life, it wakes him up to reality. Someone is watching from on
high and is sending you a message! Reality kicks in.
Hashgochoh sends a message. Look, aveiros don't
pay and man is not in control of his destiny.
In this way, life's challenges broaden a person's perception
of living. This is real harchovoh; to live with the
reality of the inescapable truth is to be broad in thought.
It gives one a commanding view of history and the world.
Based on this, we can gain insight into a passage we say in
Hallel, "Min hameitzar korosi Koh" — when one is
in a tight place, a person asks Hashem, "Onnoni bamerchav
Koh" — make things broad so I can maneuver. A word
from the same root — harchovoh — is used
once again. When Hashem grants salvation, it opens mankind's
eyes to the truth. This is the genuine expansion of knowledge
— to comprehend the Borei Olom in this world.
During the Bayis Sheini, the Chashmonaim stood
firmly to stop Yovon's designs. They sounded the alarm with
the call, "Mi chomocho bo'eilim Hashem" — no
matter what military strategy one employs, things are in the
hands of the One Above. The Syrian/Greeks said there's no
such thing as kodesh to oppose the chol, so the
spiritual elite, the five holy sons of the Kohen
godol, were moved to lead a rebellion.
The colossal battle had a unique quality: An army composed of
a stellar group of individuals motivated for
Shomayim's sake — chassidei elyon as
Ramban (Bereishis 49:10) refers to them — would
engage the mighty Greek legions. Vastly outnumbered, how
could they hope to vanquish their foe?
Obviously, the Maccabim went to battle with mesiras
nefesh — they were willing to give up their lives
for the Torah's sake. They had simple faith that Hashem would
save them and the Jewish people. This is the sophistication
of simplicity. The Chashmonaim showed what Jewish
heroism is really about — not physical prowess or
ability, but rather the greatness of the spirit — the
belief that, in the end, Hashem will help.
Throughout the oppression, every last vestige of
kedushoh was supposed to be erased. Upon returning
victorious from battle, the Bnei Chashmonai returned
to the Mikdosh to find it full of idolatry; nothing
remained pristine, save a single cruse of oil with the
Kohen godol's seal.
Matisyohu's sons rededicated the Temple, and Hashem said, Let
there be Light! The vessel that always testified that the
Shechinah rests among us — the Menorah
with its ner ma'arovi that burned twenty-four hours
— once again filled the world with illumination, as a
single small jug of oil burned in the Menorah for
eight days.
It was the victory of eternal Chochmas HaTorah over
Syrian/Greek culture; it was Shem's descendants who had the
true legacy of the gifts of speech and sight.
We now have a new insight into the posuk we quoted
before. "Yaft Elokim leYefes" (Bereishis 9:27) —
if the Almighty gave Yefes wide expanses of knowledge, it
must be a blessing, but there's a stipulation here —
"veyishkon be'oholei Shem!" All wisdom and disciplines
must be compatible with Shem's tent. They must first be seen
through the Torah's prism — the blueprint of
creation.
We can now appreciate the halochoh that, unlike other
mitzvos, he who merely sees the Chanukah lights recites a
blessing (Shabbos 23a). Shem, son of Noach, was
blessed with broad vision for his descendants — the
victory of the Chashmonaim demonstrates that it's the
Torah that lets a person see the big picture. Thus, Chazal
were mesakein a Bircas Haro'eh to correspond to
the ayin — the gift of perception through Torah
with which Shem's children were blessed — and
lehodos, to thank Hashem for the nissim that
took place by using the power of speech.
Indeed, Chanukah is the yom tov of chochmas
haTorah. Through its study and emunah we will once
again merit miracles as in those days, bazman hazeh
— in our time.
