Dvar Torah for Chanukah

Based on Likutey MoHaran I, Lesson #2

"God said to Moshe, 'Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aharon...."
(Leviticus 21:1)
"The basic weapon of Mashiach is prayer."
(Likutey MoHaran I, 2:1)

After the Chashmonaim (Hasmonaeans) had led the Jews to a miraculous victory over the more numerous, better trained, better equipped Greek army, they entered the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) to re-inaugurate it in the service of God. For the re-inauguration they needed to light the Menorah and for that they needed pure olive oil. They found exactly one jug containing such oil, enough to light for just one night. The miracle of the war was followed by the miracle of the oil—it burned for eight nights.

The miracle of the oil was "measure for measure." When the religous persecution of the Jews reached a critical level, the Chashmonaim realized that the Jewish people were down to their "last jug of olive oil," the last reserves of their Jewishness. They also knew they were no match for a well trained army that outnumbered them. How were they going to be able to make any attempt at battle against such overwhelming odds? With the basic weapon—prayer.

Rebbe Nachman refers to prayer as "a double-edged sword" (Psalms 149:6) because it has two general facets: praise of God and the requesting of one's needs. Rebbe Nachman taught us that this "sword" comes in many sizes. One is worthy of having a small one merely by wanting it, but to have a larger "sword" one must follow the example of Yosef HaTzaddik (the tzaddik). (In parshat VaYeishev the wife of Yosef HaTzaddik's employer does her best to seduce him, but he successfully resists the temptation. See Genesis 39.)

However, merely having a sword is not enough. One must know how to use it. One has to know what to pray for and how much to pray, keeping in mind that though he must pray as best as he can, God, in His lovingkindenss, sends salvation as He sees fit. By giving charity one can pray judiciously because giving charity itself requires the exercise of judgement—how much to give and to whom. The Chashmonaim were kohanim, descendants of Aharon haKohen (the kohen/priest). Aharon haKohen gave as charity something that everyone, man and woman, needs, in every time and every place. He gave peace and friendship (Avot 1:12). As a result of the Jewish people being so precious to him Aharon haKohen merited wearing their names on his heart (Exodus 28:15), the most important ingredient of prayer.

Yet, as we all know, prayer is subject to attack by stray thoughts, thoughts of past events, future appointments, despair or plain old tiredness. They blind us and we cannot "see" to Whom we are praying. The darkness that the Greeks sought to impose (Bereishis Rabbah 2:4) put our prayer, our intimacy with God, in great peril. Faced with the threat of a Holy Land that would no longer be particularly holy and a Judaism that would no longer be particularly Jewish, the Chashmonaim judged that there was no choice but to go to war, for as great as peace is, "there is a time for war" as well (Ecclesiastes 3:8).

"The basic weapon of Mashiach is prayer." Sadly, there are situations when other weapons need to be used. However, when such a situation passes the other weapons can be placed aside. The Chashmonaim failed to let go of those other weapons and so today none of them are left (Kiddushin 70b). May we all always hold on to the basic weapon and use it judiciously, in peace and in praise of God. Amen.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!