Page 5-THE NEWS-December, 1985
LUBAVITCH OF N. C.
Thoughts From The Lubavitcher Rebbe
Chanakah, Then and Now
By Rabbi Yossi Groner
The story of Chanukah is
described in the Tahnud in the
following manner:
During the occupation of the
Holy Land by the Greeks, the
latter entered the Hechal Inner
sanctum of the Holy Temple
and defiled all the oils in the
Hechal. When the Hasmo-
neans defeated them, one
cruse of oil was found,
however, which evidently had
not been touched by the
Greeks. It contained oil suffi
cient for one day only. The
menorah was rekindled and
the oil miraculously lasted for
eight days (until new oil could
be prepared for the menorah).
From the text of the Talmud
it is clear that the defilement
of the oil was not accidental,
but intentional and systema
tic. A question arises: If the
purpose of the Greeks was to
put out the menorah and pre
vent its rekindling, why did
they merely defile the oil; they
could have more effectively us
ed it up or destroyed it
completely?
The answer is this: By em
phasizing that the Greeks
defiled all the oils in the sanc
tuary, our Sages indicated to
us the true objective of the
Greeks, namely, that it was
not to prevent the rekindling of
the menorah, but rather that
it should be rekindled with
defiled oil; hence they purpose
ly left a supply of defiled oil in
the sanctuary to be readily
available for this purpose.
Here lies the essential
aspect, as well as the message,
of Chanukah:
Chanukah recalls the colli
sion of two worlds: the Jewish
world of faith, Torah, and par
ticular way of life, based on
pure monotheism, with its con
cept of holiness in the daily life
down to the minutest detail,
on the one hand; and the
Hellenistic culture, with its
polytheistic and largely
materialistic concept of life, on
the other.
The Greeks used force of
arms to impose their culture
on conquered peoples and
lands. However, their aim was
not to eradicate indigenous
cultures, but rather to
Hellenize and assimilate them.
The Greeks were willing to
recognize the Torah, or even
accept it, as a perfect and
beautiful literary creation, a
work of poetry, wisdom pro
found philosophy, etc., provid
ed it was considered as a
hum£in creation, something
like their own mythology,
which was a human invention,
and where the deities were
represented in human shapes
and forms, with human
characteristics, passions, etc.
As such, the Torah could be
changed and modified from
time to time, so as to be made
to harmonize with the
character of the ruling class
and the novel ideas of the
period, which, would do away
with the permanence and im
mutability of religious institu
tions, such as the Shabbat, cir
cumcisions, etc.
Thus it was not the suppres
sion of the Torah that they
Slimed at, but at its acceptance
as the G-d given word. Similar
ly they were not averse to the
moral and ethical values con
tained therein, but they pro
hibited the Divine statutes,
which distinguish the Jewish
way of life.
Moreover, they favored, and
actually endeavored to bring
about the rekindling of the
menorah, specifically in its
hallowed place in the sanc
tuary, so it could spread its
light everywhere as before, ex
cept that its light should have
the Greek “touch,” the
“touch” that defiles the oil.
The menorah, which was
kindled with pure and con
secrated oil, was the visible
symbol of the purity of the
Jewish way of life. Its
Perpetual light flashed this
message from the Holy Tem
ple to every Jew wherever he
might be.
The Greeks were resolved to
change this. Indeed, there
were Jews, too, Jewish
Hellenists, who felt that the
“touch” of the more moder
nistic and sophisticated Greek
culture ought to be applied to
the Jewish faith, religion and
Torah. But a handful of
Hasmoneans, whose vision
had not been blurred, recogniz
ed that this “touch” is a fatal
blow that strikes at the inner
sanctum of Jewish life.
Divine Providence saw to it
that a cruse of oil, pure and un
contaminated, should be left,
with which to rekindle the
menorah, and that it should
not only hold its own, but
should grow and spread and
keep the Perpetual Light
burning.
What was there in those
days is just as true in our day
and age. Under the assault of
environmental influences, a
Jew may find his attachment
of G-d (through the obser
vance of the Torah and Mitz-
vot invaded and contaminated
by ideas which are alien to the
Jewish way of life.)
But in the inner sanctum of
his soul there is always a
“cruse of oil” that remains
pure and holy: that spark of
G-dliness which is his Divine
Soul, which is indestructable
and beyond reach of defile
ment. The Jew has but to kin
dle it, and although it may
seem like a tiny light at first,
it is sufficient to light up one’s
whole being until it becomes a
Perpetual Light.
The Jewish Cedendar
Candlelighting
Dec.
6 -
Dec.
7 -
Dec.
8 -
Dec.
9 -
Dec.
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Dec.
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Dec.
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Dec.
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Dec.
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Dec.
20 -
Dec.
27 -
Jan.
3 -
Jan.
10 -
4:53 p.m.
5:53 p.m.
5:28 p.m.
5:28 p.m.
5:28 p.m.
5:28 p.m.
5:28 p.m.
4:54 p.m.
5:54 p.m.
4:57 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
5:06 p.m.
5:12 p.m.
(1st night Chanukah)
(2nd night Chanukah)
(3rd night Chanukah)
(4th night Chanukah)
(5th night Chanukah)
(6th night Chanukah)
(7th night Chanukah)
(8th night Chanukah)
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LUBAVITCH OF NORTH CAROLINA
prsssn ts
ADULT EDUCATION - WINTER 1986
Sunday - 8:00 p.m.
Couples Evening ^ exploring Judaism as it relates to family life
Monday - 8:00 p.m.
Torah & Commentarv — a study of the Bible on the weekly portion
with commentary and Midrash
Tuesday - 7:45 p.m.
Exploring Jewish Ethics — a philosophical discussion on Jewish
ethical issues based on “Ethics of our Fathers” and Jewish mysticism
Wednesday - 7:45 p.m.
Chassidic Philosophy — a course in the book of Tanya
REMEMBER: It is important to study Torah every day!!!
Can you honestly say ...
“I’ve given Judaism a fair chancc?”
Can you truthfully tell yourself...
“I’ve studied Torah extensively & rejected it?”
Can you sincerely claim ...
“I know exactly what being Jewish is all about?”
Classes open to anyone interested.
All classes are held at Lubavitch Residence
Please feel free to call for more information.
Rabbi Yossi Groner
at
LUBAVITCH OF NORTH CAROLINA, INC.
6500 Newhall Road • Charlotte. N. C. 28226
(704) 366-3984