HaRav Shach zt"l
In a talk on Chanukah in Ponovezh Yeshiva, HaRav Shach said:
One of the things that marks the difference between an ordinary person and a ben Torah is that generally people look at things that happen superficially and not with any depth. This happened and another thing happened.
Their lives are very superficial, they do not go into the purpose of life with any depth. People say things like, "The main thing is your health," "We can go to work and earn money," and then "We can eat and then go to work and earn money and then go eat again, and so on."
There are games in the world, things without any content. People go to watch other people play soccer and other games, without any thought or content. If we stop an older man and ask him why he does a particular thing, he will not be able to explain why he does it. Even if they see a miracle they just say that it just happened and they do not go into it to try to understand what it means.
A ben Torah is different. And he must be different. A ben Torah who once opened up a Mesillas Yeshorim and saw the first question there: What must a person do in the world? He will stop and think: You are alive. Why are you alive? What is the purpose of life? What are you doing with your life? What is its purpose? This question demands that a person be serious.
A superficial life is when one lives without understanding the content of life. People just eat and drink because tomorrow they will die. Even if they will not say thing openly it is clear from the way they live.
We had the nes of Chanukah. How do we explain the idea of the nes Chanukah? "There was a problem and they were saved and so we thank and praise." This is a very superficial approach.
The purpose of the nes was so that we will realize that everything in life is a miracle.
What does nes mean with respect to HaKodosh Boruch Hu? He knows everything and sees everything from Bereishis and there are no coincidences by Him.
The point of the nes for us is so that we will learn from here that there is nothing special about nes. Everything the Creator does is in the same status. "Hamechadesh betuvo bechol yom tomid maase Bereishis." The nes should teach us to understand what this means. The difference is that nissim which are common and nissim that are unusual.
Every person has many difficulties and tests. When he contemplates and realizes that his entire life, everything he does and thinks, are all nissim, everything is maasei Hashem, then a lot of problems just melt away.
That is what we can learn from these days.
