Parshat Miketz  2 Tevet 5763, 7 December 2002

Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Miketz - Hanukkah    Genesis 41:1- 44:17

By Shlomo Riskin

Efrat, Israel - This last Shabbat of Hanukkah - this year we are treated to two Sabbaths of Hanukkah - is especially beautiful and festive, with the eight Hanukkah menorah lights joined to the regular Sabbath candle-lights to emblazon the Friday evening meal with the warmth of extra fire and the illumination of extra lights. I would like to take this special opportunity to further analyze the significance of the fire-light by attempting to understand the real muscle of Hanukkah within the context of its relationship to the Sabbath Torah readings of Joseph and his brothers.

The most fundamental question we must ponder is the true nature of the miracle of Hanukkah - what was it and why was it! The "al haNissim" (lit. "for the miracles") prayer which serves as an addendum to the Modim (thanksgiving) blessing of the Amidah throughout the festival of Hanukkah, explains: "In the days of Mattathias the son of Yohanan High Priest, the Hasmonean and his sons, when the wicked kingship of the Greek-Syrians rose up against Your nation Israel to cause them to forget Your Torah and to abrogate the laws of Your will, You, in Your many mercies stood up for them in the time of their pain, You battled their battle…' You gave over the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many in the hands of the few… . For Your nation Israel You effected a great salvation and redemption at that time…" It is indubitably clear from the perspective of this prayer - and the Men of the Great Assembly who presumably composed it - that the miracle of Hanukkah is the military victory of the few, valiant Judeans against the multitude of cruel Greek-Syrians.

There is, however, another source, first found in the late, Tanaic Megillat Taanit, and then cited by the Babylonian Talmud, which emphasizes an altogether different miracle - not even mentioned in the "Al HaNissim" Prayer: "What is Hanukkah? As our Sages taught, … when the Greek-Syrians entered the Temple, they defiled all of the oils. And when the Kingdom of the Hasommean House became great and conquered them, they investigated and found only one cruse of oil which was left with the seal of the High Priest; there was only enough oil (in the cruse) to kindle (the menorah) for one day. A miracle occurred, and they kindled the lights from that cruse for eight days" (B.T. Shabbat 21b). Apparently the Sages of this document understood the miracle to have been the supernatural feat of a cruse of oil sufficient for one day lasting for eight days - the amount of time necessary to produce more pure oil, according to Maimonides. Which was the real miracle of Hanukkah? And if both, why did the Almighty have to do the second miracle at all? The military victory was sufficient to restore Israeli sovereignty, and the Hasmoneans could have waited eight days to secure new oil and then begin to light the menorah! Moreover, it was technically permissible to use "defiled" oil if no other opportunity presented itself, since Gentiles are not empowered to make our sacred objects prohibited from use (Rabbenu Zerahai HaLevi, the Baal HaMaOr - B.T Avodah Zarah 52b, Rit 24a).

In order to understand the significance of both miracles, let us re-visit a fundamental dispute concerning the proper manner of kindling the hanukkiah: Bet Shammai maintains that we are to begin with eight lights on the first evening and go down to one on the last evening, while Bet Hillel argues that we begin with one and go up to eight. Rav Yosef Zevin zt"l, Sage of Jerusalem, suggests that the basis of the disagreement is what we are kindling, ur, fire, or ohr, light: according to Bet Shammai the main struggle - and miraculous victory - was against an implacable enemy who wished to destroy us, and we had to counter fire with fire ("You shall destroy with fire the evil within you")" it is the way of fire to begin with a great blaze and then diminish as it devours whatever is in its midst (hence, eight to one). According to Bet Hillel, the main struggle - and miraculous victory - was against the false ideology of Hellenism, and pagan ideas can only be successfully countered by the light of Torah Knowledge ("for a candle is commandment, and Torah is light")" knowledge is cumulative and develops as text is joined to text, as idea is built upon idea (hence, one to eight).

I would add that perhaps the real difference of opinion between the "giant" academies is not based so much on what we are kindling as it is against whom we are kindling - because the Hasmonean - Maccabees were fighting against two destructive enemies. According to the Aprocryphal Books of Maccabees and the historian Josephus, the battle of Hanukkah was initially waged by the more traditional Kohanim- Priests, joined by the masses of pious Jews, against the hellenistic, assimilated, upper-class ruling priests, who wished to turn Jerusalem into a Greek "polis" (city - state), and the Temple into a pagan culturarium. It began in actuality as a civil war of Jew against Jews - a phenomenon which later generations wished to underplay and even "push under the rug," fearing that such internecine religious warfare might become a model for future generations. The Torah readings during Hanukkah, which recount the tragedy of brotherly hatred among the sons of Israel, only serve to highlight the destructive force of internal Jewish strife! Hence the miracle of the single cruse of oil wrested from all of the other vials which had been defiled by Hellenist priests, emphasizes the religious symbol of the menorah as the sacred object of Festival commemoration and "high-lights" the light of education rather than the fire of destruction. When Jew attempts to influence Jew, he must use Torah rather than terror, ("the candle is commandment and Torah is light"), education rather than coercion, illumination rather than legislation.

Historically speaking, when the upper-crust, assimilated, Hellenist Jews saw they were losing on the battle-field to the same pious Maccabees, they called upon the Greek-Syrians, with all the might of their powerful and numerous army, to come to their aid - promising that a Judea purged of primitive monotheistic rituals would then become a worthy satrap of Greek-Syria in her rivalry against Greek-Egypt. Miraculously, the Maccabees won against the Greek-Syrians as well - and this miracle and victory is commemorated in the "Al HaNissim" prayer. When fighting against a foreign enemy hell-bent on our physical destruction, we must use whatever weapons of force we can garner in order to vanquish the oppressors and re-establish our freedom and sovereignty.

Shabbat Shalom and Hanukkah Sameach.

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