Jump forward to the last day of Chanukah. You’ve eaten enough doughnuts, lit the menorah, said Hallel for eight days and are feeling satisfied. You are waiting to clean the oil off the menorah and to put the Chanuka paraphernalia away. Is that it? What are you planning on taking from Chanukah this year? What enduring ideas do you wish to inculcate into the hearts of your loved ones. In the Rambam’s formulation of the Chanukah story a number of distinct ideas emerge.
During the period of the second Beis Hamikdosh when the Greek kings were in power, they proclaimed decrees against the Jewish people, abrogating their religion and forbidding them to study the Torah or to perform the Mitzvot. They took our money and our daughters; they entered the Temple and broke through it, defiling the things that were pure. The Hasmonean Cohanim won victories, defeating the Syrian Greeks. When, on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the Jews had emerged victorious over their enemies and destroyed them, they re-entered the Beis Hamikdosh where they found only one jar of pure oil, enough to be lit for only a single day; yet they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days, until they managed to press olives and produce pure oil. Because of this, the Rabbis of that generation ruled that eight days should be kept as days of rejoicing and praising Hashem. Candles are lit in the evening so as to display the miracle. These days are called Chanukkah, when it is forbidden to lament or to fast. Israel's kingdom was restored for a period of more than two centuries, until the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh.
The first idea describes a threat to Judaism and the performance of Mitzvos. The second idea is the defiling of the Beis Hamikdosh. Finally, the description of the bravery needed to vanquish the enemy and the resulting sovereignty for more than 200 years.
Tzadikim teach that the spiritual potential that was present at the original Chanukah manifests itself every year “Ba’yomim ha’hem bazman hazeh”. We all need a champion, someone to stand up for us, to support and energise us when we are down. How powerful would our world be if we were not afraid to take risks, not afraid to think? Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be. Every adult could be that champion for another adult too. Adults need supporting as much as children.
It took 25 years for the fighting to come to an end between the Maccabees and Syrian Greeks. There were many casualties along the way on both sides. I have often thought it strange that we don’t pause and reflect on the Jewish lives that were lost. Perhaps night three could be that night. We still have more darkness than light. We are now into the miraculous days of the oil lasting longer than the expected 24 hours. We need to realise that our champions did not have it easy. Their achievements required sacrifice, determination resilience and grit. All these qualities would make perfect gifts to give to loved ones during the Yom Tov. Chanukah gelt can’t buy these precious commodities, they must be taught and inculcated in those we have responsibility for.
After three years the brave Jews succeed in rededicating the Beis Hamikdosh. They could have ignored the fact that the Beish Hamikdosh needed to be purified, after all “tuma hutra B’tzibur”. They didn’t need to find pure oil when everything around was impure. These were the champions of our people and they behaved differently. Not only did they believe in Hashem, they believed in themselves and the Jewish people. There was a reason to fight, not only against the external enemy but against apathy and laziness, against weakness. They were prepared to sacrifice time and energy, they had the requisite determination, the resilience and bucket loads of grit. Seforim Hakedoshim suggest that a miracle happened. The Kohanim were drawn to the oil, literally “al yedai kohanecho” due to their desire to do the right thing.
A Greek garrison remained stationed in Jerusalem in the Acra fortress and the Greek armies continued to besiege Jerusalem attempting to re-conquer the City. Against this backdrop the Jewish army prove even more remarkable. It is one thing to appear brave when victory is assured, but it’s quite different when the enemy still loom large.
“Be bold or brazen as a leopard” says the Mishnah. This is explained as:
That one who is embarrassed becomes moved, gets pushed off his goal, on account of the embarrassment. And if he is moved, he will not do mitzvos. Brazenness is that he not be embarrassed.
Rebbe Nachman teaches that “ a man who is lowly and miserable, without any holy boldness, also has no share in the Torah. As Chazal teach: Why was the Torah given to the Jewish people? Because they are bold (Beitzah 28b). For it is necessary to possesses holy boldness. As Chazal teach: Be bold as a leopard. By virtue of our having the holy boldness to oppose all those who rise against us to prevent us from keeping Mitzvos {Chas Veshalom}, we overpower them with great boldness, i.e., holy boldness. Yet a person must measure his ways, how best to behave with the boldness so that it does not become brazenness, , which is a very evil trait. He should, nevertheless, possess holy boldness.
What an awesome challenge we have. Lamentably the years after the Chanukah story was marred with brazenness. What started out as holy boldness deteriorated into a dark place, ultimately no descendants were left alive from the original Chasmonaim.
A leading thinker in character development has defined grit as “sticking with your future, day in and day out, and not just for the week, not just for the month, but years.”
So in the days before Chanukah let us commit to transmitting holy boldness. We can do this by modelling this attitude in everything we do. Always trying to serve Hashem with a purity of heart, with a dedication to the cause even when it’s difficult. A lot of people seek the shortcut to success. They want to work less while still achieving more. Unfortunately, that’s not how success works. Where there is passion, there is always a purpose. More importantly, they live in alignment with their truth and inspire others to do the same. Living with passion is about paying attention to and following what makes you come alive inside. When you put the menorah and oil away, and the lights no longer burn bright in your home, know that the fire inside you must continue to burn brightly.
Comments