Dvar Torah for Chanukah

Based on Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #2

In the Future nothing will remain but thanking and praising God, knowing Him.
Likutey Moharan II, 2:1

Chanukah was established as a bona fide Jewish holiday in order to thank Hashem (God). One of the korbanot (sacrifices) that was brought when the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) stood was the korban todah (thanksgiving offering). A person would bring this korban was specifically after having been saved from danger. Our entire sojourn through this life—crossing this narrow, narrow bridge—is filled with peril. Not only as individuals, but as a people as well. When those of us who survive will reach the other side of the bridge, when the long awaited World to Come has arrived, it will certainly be a time for thanksgiving.

Until we get there, however, we have to deal with all that happens in life. Some things are pleasant, some things are painful; some things are frightening, some things are reassuring; some things are exciting, some things are boring. People have questions: What's the point? Who's responsible? Whom do I complain to? How do I express my thanks? These questions are not new, nor are they Jewish, per se. However, the more Jewish the answers are, the more successful one will be in crossing the narrow bridge.

How does one explain that fire burns and destroys the forest that the water of the rains nurtured? How does one explain that a normally calm and life-giving river overflows its banks and destroys the crops and people it sustained? How does one explain that a person can be at once excited by one pastime and totally indifferent to another? Or that a person is now madly in love with someone whom he once despised?

Our dearly departed enemies, the Greeks, offered mankind an answer: their pantheon. One “god” controlled this part of the natural world, another controlled another part and others controlled other parts. The “gods” themselves were given to constant bickering, intrigue, vengeance, violence, adultery. One could thus explain why things happened and how they might be influenced so as to bring about a desirable result. Rebbe Nachman teaches that we can't really expect more from the Greeks because the human mind cannot fathom that contradictory happenings come from the same source.

Creation is contradictory. Consider: fire/water, light/darkness, sky/earth, earth/sea, day/night, domesticated animals/wild beasts, animal/man, animal-man/angelic-man. All these God brought into being during the six days of Creation. We can fathom these contradictions because of the present that Hashem gave us: Shabbat, the day of rest. The rest is not only ours. Creation itself is (or, should be) at rest. By ceasing our efforts at controlling the various elements of nature so that they would do what we desire, we allow ourselves an opportunity to gain harmony and thereby perceive that there is only one Master of nature.

However, it's not enough to keep Shabbat only on Shabbat. No! The spirit of Shabbat has to overflow into the weekdays, when the elements are at odds with one another and we are in danger of viewing them as disparate powers. Then, as the battlC:\PROGRAM FILES\COFFEECUP SOFTWARE\Working\e rages, we have to reveal Hashem's unity. By doing hitbodedut (talking to God in your own words, telling Him what’s on your mind), you acknowledge that the various forces impinging on your life are all under His control and bring Shabbat into each day.

Now, it may be asked, Don't we have different names for God? Don't we sometimes call Him E-l, sometimes Elokim and sometimes Hashem? How does that differ from what the Greeks did? The answer is that the Greeks actually considered their gods as different from one another. We, on the other hand, know that we are always dealing with one God. Nonetheless, because we change and relate to God in various ways we have different names with which to describe Him. For example, E-l is a name of prayer because it describes God as being Almighty. Elokim is a name of Torah because it refers to God being it indicates that He is our Lord who rules over us. The Tetragrammaton (YHVH) is the name of inter-personal relationships, in particular that of husband and wife. The Tetragrammaton is the holiest of God’s names, perhaps because it points to the unity of God that can be more easily appreciated when there is unity, friendship and love among people.

So, what's all this got to do with Chanukah? Shabbat is the seventh day, the day that enables us to remove the veil of the six days so that we can glimpse God's unity. Chanukah, which is eight days, is the delight of awareness, of knowing God. May the light of Chanukah continue to shine for us throughout the year, piercing the darkness of this world so that our awareness of Him grows constantly. Amen.

agutn Shabbos.
Shabbat Shalom.