Light is one of the more difficult phenomena to explain and
describe. What the zeidim consider light and refer to
as "enlightened," we call folly and darkness. Light and dark
are separated by a very thin line; they may appear in
combination and to flesh and blood darkness can appear like
light.
Go out into the city streets and you will see a whole country
celebrating the Festival of Lights, including many of our
wayward fellow Jews. They mark the holiday with shows and
festivals; to a few the holiday primarily reflects victory
over the Chashmonaim in war through the symbolism of eating
doughnuts and public candlelighting ceremonies; and only to a
very small minority is Chanukah expressed through the pure
light flickering in it.
Today, in their own way, these and many other porkei
ohl celebrate the Festival of Lights. They are the
Hellenists of our generation who seek to exchange the holy
Torah for vain pursuits, to trade eternal life for temporal
life. The same people, who do not cease to establish laws
against the holy Torah, continue to celebrate Chanukah in
total contradiction to its original, historical
objectives.
And the absurdity cries out. What possible reason could all
the products of the government schools and government-
religious schools—to whom the concept of Torah in
purity is a thorn in their side—have for celebrating
the miracle of the pure jar of oil remaining in the hands of
oskei Torah? In remembrance of what miracle that took
place bayomim hoheim bazman hazeh through the candles
of the pure menorah are they celebrating the Festival of
Lights? Is it really of such great significance to them that
a jar of pure oil was found, leading to the establishment of
the eight days of Chanukah to give thanks and praise to His
great Name? Do they really feel inclined to celebrate the
defeat of Greek culture and all it stands for?
*
During these trying times when primitive, unenlightened
public figures try to restrict the pathway of Torah-true
Judaism through means, such as attempts to interfere with the
approach to education our yeshivas, talmudei Torah,
schools and seminaries adhere to, we must gird ourselves and
disseminate the powerful, true light found in our midst, for
only this contains the real answer to counter the dark
ignorance descending on our Land and trying to take control
of our lives.
All those who rise up against us in every generation with
evil designs—from Pharaoh to the Greeks, from Homon and
his band to the present—try to force darkness upon us
at any price, whether by waylaying and restricting our
forward progress in ruchniyus through vain attempts to
interfere with our lives or by taking stabs at large families
materially with the declared intention of striking out at the
holy Torah, chas vesholom. But we have been promised
none of their devices will prevail. We will overcome them and
HaKodosh Boruch Hu will always be with us.
The gedolim taught us that what the haters of the holy Torah
sitting in gloom and the shadow of death call "light," i.e.
enlightenment, is darkness — backwardness and
primitiveness from our standpoint. Greek culture obscures Am
Yisroel's vision. They tried to turn the wisdom of the
nations into light in order to do their deeds in the dark.
Their light is darkness to us.
There are two ways to fight against the dark. One is to shed
a bit of light: take a match and light a single candle that
illuminates the surroundings, the flame rises up to light the
way—and a bit of light drives off a lot of darkness. Or
one can remove the darkness entirely and transform it into
light, ushering in a new day with a large sun shining bright
until the gloom of night flees from it and vanishes.
Those who fought against the Greeks began by lighting a bit
of real light, using a small, sealed jar of oil that
miraculously managed to burn for eight days. This humble
light removed much of the darkness, flooding the Beis
Hamikdosh with pure, holy light until the light reached
chatzros Kodshecho and the following year those eight
days were established as a commemoration. This brought order,
separating forever between light and dark, between pure and
impure, between holy and profane. As it says in Yeshayohu,
"Woe to they who call evil good and good evil, who put
darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter
for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (5:20).
But there is another way to arrive at true light. "...When I
sit in darkness Hashem will be a light to me" (Michah
7:8). Sometimes light can spring forth from the darkness
itself. When every road leads to a dead end and there is no
way out, when the future does not appear rosier or more
promising, when attempts are being made to hinder our
progress and cast darkness upon our paths—here we see
another light. Just as dawn only appears at the very end of
the night of darkness and gloom and cold.
In these difficult times, when it seems there is no greater
darkness, at the end of the night we are promised a
propitious time, a different kind of future has been waiting
for us since a bygone generation bearing happy tidings of
salvation and redemption: "When I fall I will rise, when I
sit in darkness Hashem will be a light to me" (Ibid.).
When is the darkness at its peak? Just before alos
hashachar! When the moon and the stars take their leave,
there is no greater darkness. And HaKodosh Boruch Hu
raises the dawn from out of the darkness, and illuminates the
world (Medrash Shochar Tov 22).
*
The victory of oskei Torah was not a one-time event, a
historical anomaly among our people two millennia ago. Every
year the children of the Chashmonaim and their descendants
who called out with pride "Mi leHashem eilai" and
"Mi komocho bo'eilim Hashem" have the merit of seeing
the light of the miraculous jar of pure oil illuminate their
souls with a precious light, from which they draw purity
throughout the year.
Everybody is looking for light. There are young people who
travel to faraway lands, to remote deserts and jungles, and
they may even endanger their lives trying to grasp onto
something there that will light up their lives. Some wallow
in murky vortexes for years in the hopes of finding a spark.
Recent studies confirm the alarming rate of the spread of the
disease of drug abuse among youth and university students
trying to flee to other realms where light and dark
intermingle in a state of disorder.
Nobody likes to sit in a dark, gloomy room or a dungeon;
nobody in hiding likes to crawl through black, subterranean
tunnels. By nature people typically want light.
The same applies in feeling of inner light, which is
generally called enlightenment and joy. Everyone wants to
feel the satisfaction and joy of a bright light all around,
but the path to a bit of light passes through many dark and
winding passages.
Our victory throughout the generations is in finding the true
light within us, in the daily lives of thousands and tens of
thousands of bnei Torah who have spiritual tranquility
and a constant feeling of the light of Torah—oroh zu
Torah. Honor Hashem with lights. In the true light
flickering in the eyes of lomdei Torah lies the honor
of Torah. A light present in the hearts and souls of those
unseen yoshvei ohalim who are busy learning. A great
light shining forth from the Torah halls and Torah
fortifications everywhere.
Zor lo yavin es zos. The foreigner cannot comprehend,
but every young boy engrossed in his learning understands
exactly what this refers to. Veho'eir eineinu beSorosecho
vedabeik libeinu bemitzvosecho.
