Shalom alechem to all readers, in this Dvar Torah we will look at the nature of chanukah, how we celebrate the holiday, compare to other rabbinical holidays and discover an inspirational message for us all!
What is Chanukah?
Chanukah is described as the festival of light due to the Jewish victory over the Seleucid Empire, gaining religious freedom from the Seleucid Empire and the miracle of the Menorah (the 7 branch oil lamp used in the Jerusalem temple of old as is described in Exodus 25:37) burning for 8 days despite having enough oil to burn for only one. Most commentaries agree that Chanukah is the celebration of a spiritual victory due to the threat itself being spiritual, since the Assyrian Greeks sought out to change the Jewish people into a Hellenistic people not exterminate them.
Even in the celebration of Chanukah the spiritual nature of the holiday is evident, as there are only two requirements of the rabbinical holiday one is to read Hallel (a celebration prayer) and the other one is the lighting of the Chanukiah:
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מִצְוַת חֲנוּכָּה, נֵר אִישׁ וּבֵיתוֹ. וְהַמְהַדְּרִין, נֵר לְכׇל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד. וְהַמְהַדְּרִין מִן הַמְהַדְּרִין, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים: יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן מַדְלִיק שְׁמֹנָה, מִכָּאן וְאֵילָךְ פּוֹחֵת וְהוֹלֵךְ. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים: יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן מַדְלִיק אַחַת, מִכָּאן וְאֵילָךְ מוֹסִיף וְהוֹלֵךְ.
The Sages taught in a baraita: The basic mitzva of Hanukkah is each day to have a light kindled by a person, the head of the household, for himself and his household. And the mehadrin, i.e., those who are meticulous in the performance of mitzvot, kindle a light for each and every one in the household. And the mehadrin min hamehadrin, who are even more meticulous, adjust the number of lights daily. Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagree as to the nature of that adjustment. Beit Shammai say: On the first day one kindles eight lights and, from there on, gradually decreases the number of lights until, on the last day of Hanukkah, he kindles one light. And Beit Hillel say: On the first day one kindles one light, and from there on, gradually increases the number of lights until, on the last day, he kindles eight lights.
Comparing to other rabbinical holidays
The only other rabbinical holiday is Purim the festival of Jewish deliverance at the hand of a minister of the Achaemenian (first Persian) Empire named Haman. The book of Ester revolves around this story and explains how Haman (descendant of Amalek) sought out to wipe out the Jews, hence the commentaries explain that this threat to the Jewish people was a physical threat.
In fact we see the physical nature of the holiday in the 5 rabbinical requirements: hearing the Megillah, feasting, giving presents to two people, giving to the poor and to drink more than normal (though it is forbidden to drink too much resulting in damaging one's health). *Talmud-Megillah*
The question!
Now that we have established that Chanukah is a spiritual celebration and Purim is a physical celebration, because of the threat being either spiritual (as in the case of Chanukah) or physical (as in the case of Purim). Then why did the Jewish people respond in the opposite manner?
In the Chanukah story the Assyrian Greeks tried to Hellenise the Jewish people, hence a family of priests from the Hasmonean family, started a revolt, later named the Maccabean revolt. Hence in the story of Chanukah, a spiritual threat was countered with a physical response. While in the case of Purim, where Haman tried to annihilate the Jewish people the response was to pray to god. Hence in the case of Purim a physical threat was countered with a spiritual response.
This creates an unlogical difficulty as why would the Jewish people respond with the exact opposite response.
The answer to the difficulty
By nature the Jewish people are small in number compared to the rest of the world, hence when we are attacked physically there is little we can do besides praying to G-d. Though fighting back and defending one self is encouraged, one must always understand that ultimately G-d is the one who has been ensuring that the Jewish people survive through the centuries of persecution that plagues Jewish history. For without G-d the Jewish people would have ceased to exist a long time ago considering how minuscule the Jewish people are to its enemies.
But when it comes to spirituality, things are different. It is every Jews responsibility to ensure that they have a spiritual connection to G-d and should strive to achieve that connection to its fullest abilities. In the case of Chanukah when the Jewish people were being forced to lose their connection to G-d; they fought back. The Jewish people showed how they will commit to their connection to G-d despite the physical challenge that may come along the way. For in the end the Maccabees would rather die like a Jew than live like a Greek.
The lesson for us all
We are fortunate enough to live in an age where there is no oppressing power threatening us spiritually or physically; we are free to choose our own way. Hence when one lights the Chanukiah they should be thankful for the fact that G-d has put them in a time where they can practice in relative peace. But one must also understand that our service, our faith in G-d is what makes us special. It is the drive behind the Maccabean revolt which was almost suicidal. If Jews 2000 years ago were willing to die to be a Jew, then we should be willing to commit to live like a Jew.
(This Dvar Torah is originally taken from Hasidic texts)
Have a meaningful festival,
Happy Chanukah!