Why do we celebrate Chanukah?
(ד) אָז אֶגְמוֹר בְּשִׁיר מִזְמוֹר חֲנֻכַּת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ.
(4) I will complete with song and psalm the dedication of the altar.
(ה) בִּימֵי מַתִּתְיָהוּ בֶּן יוֹחָנָן כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל חַשְׁמוֹנַאִי וּבָנָיו. כְּשֶׁעָמְדָה מַלְכוּת יָוָן הָרְשָׁעָה עַל עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּוֹרָתֶךָ וּלְהַעֲבִירָם מֵחֻקֵּי רְצוֹנֶךָ:
(ו) וְאַתָּה בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים עָמַדְתָּ לָהֶם בְּעֵת צָרָתָם. רַבְתָּ אֶת רִיבָם. דַנְתָּ אֶת דִּינָם. נָקַמְתָּ אֶת נִקְמָתָם. מָסַרְתָּ גִבּוֹרִים בְּיַד חַלָּשִׁים. וְרַבִּים בְּיַד מְעַטִּים. וּטְמֵאִים בְּיַד טְהוֹרִים. וּרְשָׁעִים בְּיַד צַדִּיקִים. וְזֵדִים בְּיַד עוֹסְקֵי תוֹרָתֶךָ. וּלְךָ עָשִׂיתָ שֵׁם גָּדוֹל וְקָדוֹשׁ בְּעוֹלָמֶךָ. וּלְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשִֹׂיתָ תְּשׁוּעָה גְדוֹלָה וּפֻרְקָן כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה:
(ז) וְאַחַר כַּךְ בָּאוּ בָנֶיךָ לִדְבִיר בֵּיתֶךָ. וּפִנּוּ אֶת הֵיכָלֶךָ. וְטִהֲרוּ אֶת מִקְדָּשֶׁךָ. וְהִדְלִיקוּ נֵרוֹת בְּחַצְרוֹת קָדְשֶׁךָ. וְקָבְעוּ שְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה אֵלּוּ. לְהוֹדוֹת וּלְהַלֵּל לְשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל:
In the days of Matisyahu the son of Yochanan the high priest from the Chashmonai family and his sons, when evil Greek kingdom stood over your nation Israel, to make them forget their Torah, and to make them pass over Your laws. And You in Your great kindness stood up for them in the time of their trouble. You fought their fights, You judged their case. You revenged on their behalf. You handed the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, and the wicked in the hands of the righteous. The heathens in the hands of those who busy themselves with Torah. And to You, a great and holy name was made in your world. To Your people Israel, You made a great salvation and pronouncement on this day. Afterward, Your children came to Your Temple, and cleaned it out, and purified it, and lit candles in your holy courtyard, and set out the 8 days of Chanukah to publicise and praise Your great name.
(כא) יְוָנִים נִקְבְּצוּ עָלַי אֲזַי בִּימֵי חַשְׁמַנִּים.
(כב) וּפָרְצוּ חוֹמוֹת מִגְדָּלַי וְטִמְּאוּ כָּל הַשְּׁמָנִים.
(כג) וּמִנּוֹתַר קַנְקַנִּים נַעֲשָׂה נֵס לַשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים.
(כד) בְּנֵי בִינָה יְמֵי שְׁמוֹנָה קָבְעוּ שִׁיר וּרְנָנִים.
(21) The Grecians were gathered against me in the days of the Hasmoneans;
(22) they broke down the walls of my towers, and defiled all the oils;
(23) but from one of the last remaining flasks a miracle was wrought for thy beloved*Likened to a lily in Song of Solomon 2:2.,
(24) and their men of understanding appointed these eight days for song and praises.
The Sages: Character, Context and Creativity (Rabbi B. Lau)
There is a view that this was part of an attempt to conceal the miracle of the Hasmonean rebellion, or even a conscious attempt to suppress the record altogether. In this context, the claim is made that during the period of the Mishna’s compilation, after the Bar Kohba revolt, there was an attempt to pacify the Roman Empire by rewriting Jewish history. They were effectively saying: “We are not a rebellious nation. We do not seek political freedom. We despise wars.” Rabbi Yehuda the Prince, the redactor of the Mishna, “concealed” the rebellion in an effort to appease. A rebellion? Perish the thought!..... (Many years later) The Babylonian Talmud does refer to Hanukkah… And so, a new miracle story emerged, one which posed no threat to any empire, and which allowed us to remember and perpetuate the memory of Hanukkah without any disturbance. It became a festival bearing the deep imprint of the exile, lacking any suggestion of political independence… (page 166)
Hasmoneans: Heroes or Villians?
The Ramban (Bereishis 49:10):
The throne will never leave the tribe of Yehuda: This verse hints to the fact that Yehuda’s tribe will rule over the Jewish people…In my opinion, the Kings who reigned in the northern Kingdom of Israel after David were transgressing…and they were relying on the words of Achiya Hashiloni the prophet who anointed Yeravaam who stated:” And you will afflict the house of David for this…however not forever”. When the northern tribes continued setting up king after king and didn’t return to the kingship of Yehuda, they transgressed the will of that elder (Jacob), and they were punished as a result, as Hoshea states:” they chose a king but not from one of my own”. This was the punishment of the Hasmoneans that ruled in the second temple period. Were it not for these godly people, Torah and Mitzvot would be forgotten from the Jewish people. Nonetheless they were punished in a most severe manner because the kings which ruled in the Hasmonean dynasty with all their strength and successes (against the Greeks)fell into the hands of their enemies, to the extent that if anyone says that they come from the house of the Hasmoneans is a slave (Bava Basra 50B)…Furthermore, it is possible that it was a sin for them to be kings because they were priests and they were commanded to ‘guard their priesthood’…
Shem Mishmuel
It is very hard for us to imagine how such great leaders, men who had saved the Jewish nation by their valiance, could transgress a clearly stated Torah principle. Not only that, but it is reasonable to say that the Chashmonaim acted with the consent of the Sanhedrin and, by extension, the whole jewish people, and we have no evidence to suggest that any objection was raised to their reign. It is also problematic to suggest that while the heroes of the war were reightous, their descendents were not, and so they took the kingshiup. THe Gemara explicitly refers to the victors themselves as the “kingship of the House of the Chashmonaim implying that they actually ruled as kings.
However, we can suggest a solution to this quandary… As with the oil, the victory in the war against the Greeks was a great miracle. The Chashmonaim risked their lives, prepared to die for the holiness of God’s name and his Torah. A tremendous miracle occoured, and they won the war against all odds. Like the oil, the Chashmonaim were...raised above their natural physical boundaries and limitations, which enabled them to succeed in their mission. We could say that they were no longer subject to general Torah law...
Symbolism of the Menora
The mussar, allegorical lesson conveyed by the lights of the menorah is us that only by the “right” side representing preoccupation with eternal values, life in the future, working together with the “left” side which represents the concerns with physical life on our planet, will we be able to attain our purpose on earth. Our sages in Chulin 92 phrased it thus: אלמלי עלייא לא מתקיימא אתכליא, “if not for the input from celestial regions, spiritual input, the creatures on earth would not be able to survive at all.” [I have not found this precise quote, but it means more literally that if there were no wise people who could tutor the ignorant, the world as we know it would collapse. Ed.] In order for this universe to function as G’d wanted it to, all social levels of the people have to make their respective contributions.
A major function of the combined activity by the “tutored and the ignorant” is to ensure that G’d’s name would be hailed, revered and enthusiastically acknowledged by every segment of mankind, all of His creatures. An example of such a thing happening is found in Exodus 19,8 ויענו כל העם יחדו ויאמרו כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה, the emphasis here being on the word יחדו, i.e. all the people in unison would combine to carry out G’d’s will.
DARKNESS
(ד) רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ פָּתַר קְרָיָא בַּגָּלֻיּוֹת, וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ, זֶה גָּלוּת בָּבֶל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ירמיה ד, כט): רָאִיתִי אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה תֹהוּ. וָבֹהוּ, זֶה גָּלוּת מָדַי (אסתר ו, יד): וַיַּבְהִלוּ לְהָבִיא אֶת הָמָן. וְחשֶׁךְ, זֶה גָּלוּת יָוָן, שֶׁהֶחֱשִׁיכָה עֵינֵיהֶם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּגְזֵרוֹתֵיהֶן, שֶׁהָיְתָה אוֹמֶרֶת לָהֶם, כִּתְבוּ עַל קֶרֶן הַשּׁוֹר שֶׁאֵין לָכֶם חֵלֶק בֵּאלֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
(4) Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish interpreted the verse to be about the exiles: "And the earth was null" - this is [a reference to] the exile of Babylonia, as it is stated (Jeremiah 4:23), I have seen the earth and it is null;" "and void (bohu)" - this is [a reference to] the exile of Media (Esther 6:14), "And they hurried (yavhilu) to bring Haman;" "and darkness" - this is [a reference to] the exile of Greece, who darkened the eyes of Israel with their decrees, as it said to them, "Write on the horn of a bull that you have no share in the God of Israel".
(א) מִזְמ֡וֹר שִׁיר־חֲנֻכַּ֖ת הַבַּ֣יִת לְדָוִֽד׃ (ב) אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣ ה' כִּ֣י דִלִּיתָ֑נִי וְלֹא־שִׂמַּ֖חְתָּ אֹיְבַ֣י לִֽי׃ (ג) ה' אֱלֹקָ֑י שִׁוַּ֥עְתִּי אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ וַתִּרְפָּאֵֽנִי׃ (ד) ה' הֶֽעֱלִ֣יתָ מִן־שְׁא֣וֹל נַפְשִׁ֑י חִ֝יִּיתַ֗נִי מיורדי־[מִיָּֽרְדִי־] בֽוֹר׃ (ה) זַמְּר֣וּ לַה' חֲסִידָ֑יו וְ֝הוֹד֗וּ לְזֵ֣כֶר קָדְשֽׁוֹ׃ (ו) כִּ֤י רֶ֨גַע ׀ בְּאַפּוֹ֮ חַיִּ֪ים בִּרְצ֫וֹנ֥וֹ בָּ֭עֶרֶב יָלִ֥ין בֶּ֗כִי וְלַבֹּ֥קֶר רִנָּֽה׃ (ז) וַ֭אֲנִי אָמַ֣רְתִּי בְשַׁלְוִ֑י בַּל־אֶמּ֥וֹט לְעוֹלָֽם׃ (ח) ה' בִּרְצוֹנְךָ֮ הֶעֱמַ֪דְתָּה לְֽהַרְרִ֫י עֹ֥ז הִסְתַּ֥רְתָּ פָנֶ֗יךָ הָיִ֥יתִי נִבְהָֽל׃ (ט) אֵלֶ֣יךָ ה' אֶקְרָ֑א וְאֶל־אדושם אֶתְחַנָּֽן׃ (י) מַה־בֶּ֥צַע בְּדָמִי֮ בְּרִדְתִּ֪י אֶ֫ל־שָׁ֥חַת הֲיוֹדְךָ֥ עָפָ֑ר הֲיַגִּ֥יד אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃ (יא) שְׁמַע־ה' וְחָנֵּ֑נִי ה' הֱֽיֵה־עֹזֵ֥ר לִֽי׃ (יב) הָפַ֣כְתָּ מִסְפְּדִי֮ לְמָח֪וֹל לִ֥י פִּתַּ֥חְתָּ שַׂקִּ֑י וַֽתְּאַזְּרֵ֥נִי שִׂמְחָֽה׃ (יג) לְמַ֤עַן ׀ יְזַמֶּרְךָ֣ כָ֭בוֹד וְלֹ֣א יִדֹּ֑ם ה' אֱ֝לֹקַ֗י לְעוֹלָ֥ם אוֹדֶֽךָּ׃
(1) A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the House.
This refers to the dedication of the Temple after the greeks defiled it.
(2) I extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, and not let my enemies rejoice over me.
The 'enemies' being referred to here relate to the greek empire.
(3) O LORD, my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.
We cried out to G-d because of the sins which occoured as a result of hellenization.
(4) O LORD, You brought me up from Sheol, preserved me from going down into the Pit.
This is referring to the darkness of the greeks.
(5) O you faithful of the LORD, sing to Him, and praise His holy name.
'The faithful are the kohonim'.
(6) For He is angry but a moment, and when He is pleased there is life. One may lie down weeping at nightfall; but at dawn there are shouts of joy.
(7) When I was untroubled, I thought, “I shall never be shaken,”
(8) for You, O Lord, when You were pleased, made [me] firm as a mighty mountain. When You hid Your face, I was terrified.
(9) I called to You, O LORD; to my Lord I made appeal,
(10) “What is to be gained from my death, from my descent into the Pit? Can dust praise You? Can it declare Your faithfulness?
(11) Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; O LORD, be my help!”
(12) You turned my lament into dancing, you undid my sackcloth and girded me with joy,
(13) that [my] whole being might sing hymns to You endlessly; O LORD my God, I will praise You forever.
The Tzror Hamor: Rabbi Abraham Sabba
Abraham Saba (1440–1508) was a preacher in Castile who became a pupil of Isaac de Leon. At the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain he took refuge in Portugal, where he met with further misfortune; for scarcely had he settled in Oporto when King Manuel I of Portugal ordered all Jews to be expelled from Portugal, all Jewish children to become Christians, and all Hebrew books to be burned (December 24, 1496). Saba's two sons were forcibly taken from him, and he fled from Oporto, abandoning his entire library and succeeding only at the risk of his life in saving his own works in manuscript.
"He fled to Lisbon, but before reaching there was told of a new order of the king decreeing the death of any Jew with whom a Hebrew book or tefillin (phylacteries) were found. He hid his manuscripts and tefillin under an olive-tree and entered the city. Upon leaving Lisbon he attempted to recover his hidden treasure, but being discovered by the king's guards, he was thrown into prison, and after a six months' confinement was sent across the frontier. He went to Fez, Morocco, where he resided for ten years. Soon after his arrival he fell ill; his great privations and terrible sufferings having undermined his health."
(א) ואתה תצוה. ואחר שצוה במשכן הקדש ובכל כליו. חזר לצוות בענין המנורה ובהדלקתה ובשמן הראוי לה. לפי שהיא כלי נבחר מכל הכלים. וכמו שבראשונה צוה בעשיית הארון. שהוא כלי נבחר מכל הכלים. בתורת ה' תמימה שנקראת אור דכתיב ותורה אור. כן רצה לצוות בכאן בראשונה על נר מצוה שהיא המנורה. הראויה לישראל להאיר אפלתם. וזהו שמן זית זך. כאומרם ז"ל ישראל נקראו זית. דכתיב זית רענן יפה פרי תואר וגו'. ואמרו מה השמן עולה על כל המשקין ואינו מתערב עמה. כך ישראל עולין על כל העו"ג ואינן מתערבין עמהם. והרמז שאעפ"י שישראל נמשלו לזית שהוא כתית. וכן ישראל הם מדוכאים ומעונים. ועכ"ז יעלו למעלה. בסבת התורה שנקראת שמן זית זך. כדכתיב לריח שמניך טובים. הם תורה שבכתב ותורה שבע"פ. ובסבת זה הם זוכים לאור באור פני מלך חיים....:
After G-d had commanded concerning the Tabernacle and all of its vessels, he commanded again concerning the Menora and its lighting, and the oil which is fit for it. Because it is the most chosen of all the vessels (of the Mishkan). Just as in the beginning, G-d commanded the creation of the Aron, which is the most chosen of all the vessels, (as it contains the Torah and shards of the first set of tablets), and Torah of Hashem is complete, and is called Light, as we see in the verse תורה אור. So too G-d wanted to command here concerning the first part of the verse נר מצוה which is the Menorah.
The Menorah is fitting for the Jewish people to light for them during times of darkness. This is the olive oil which is pure. Our sages have compared the Jewish people to the olive tree as it states in the verse זית רענן יפה פרי תואר, The sages said further: Just as olive oil floats over all liquids, and doesn't mix with it, so to the Jewish people are above the nations of the world and don't mix with them. What is being hinted to here is as follows: Just as the Jews are compared to oil which is crushed, so too the Jews are afflicted, and even through their affliction, they lift themselves up through the Torah which is called pure oil, as is evidenced in the verse לריח שמניך טובים - this refers to both the written and the oral Torah. It is through these reasons we merit to see the light of the Living King (i.e. G-d)...