The Eternal Light: Chanuka, Mesiras Nefesh, and the Symbol of Survival
It has been over a year since October 7th, and unfortunately, tragedies continue to unfold. The war persists in claiming the lives of our brethren, and threats against Klal Yisrael remain widespread across the world. Yet, even after more than a year of such challenging times, Klal Yisrael appears not only to endure but to thrive. What is it about Klal Yisrael that enables us to flourish, even now, in the year 5785?Many of us are familiar with the famous Midrash quoted by the Ramban in Parshas Behaloscha.
שֶׁכְּשָׁרָאָה אַהֲרֹן חֲנֻכַּת הַנְּשִׂיאִים חָלְשָׁה אָז דַּעְתּוֹ, שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה עִמָּהֶם בַּחֲנֻכָּה לֹא הוּא וְלֹא שִׁבְטוֹ, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּבָּ"ה חַיֶּיךָ שֶׁלְּךָ גְדוֹלָה מִשֶּׁלָּהֶם, הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁבֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּם הֵן נוֹהֲגִין. אֲבָל הַנֵּרוֹת, לְעוֹלָם
It was the most anticipated event of the century: the dedication of the Mishkan. Everyone except Aharon had the opportunity to participate in the dedication. Understandably, Aharon was disappointed. Hashem provided the chizzuk he needed, telling him that his part of the Mishkan—the Menorah—would be the only part of the Mishkan to exist for all generations, even after the Churban. The Ramban clarifies that this Midrash refers to the Menorah of the Chashmonaim, the very Menorah that, iyH, we will be lighting later this month.
Why the Menorah? What makes the Menorah so significant that it was chosen to be the only kli of the Beis HaMikdash to follow us into galus? Why has the Menorah become Klal Yisrael’s symbol of survival?
There is a beautiful Bach in Hilchos Chanuka that compares the mitzva of Seudas Purim to the Mitzva, or lack thereof, of seudah on Chanuka. On Chanuka, there is no bonafide mitzva of seuda. The eight days of Chanuka are days of Hallel and hoda’ah. While one is encouraged to make a seuda with singing and divrei torah, there is no formal mitzva to do so. Why, then, does Purim have this formal mitzvah, while Chanuka does not?
The Bach points out that the miracles of Purim and Chanuka are fundamentally different. The miracle of Purim was triggered by our teshuva over the sin of participating in the “seudas Achashveirosh.” Klal Yisroel sinned by inappropriately partaking in Achashveiroshe’s seuda but our davening and fasting completed teshuva process and merited our yeshua. On Chanuka, however, our teshuva was different, as our sin was the overall weakening of our avodas Hashem. So, how did we do Teshuva for this?
"וכשחזרו בתשובה למסור נפשם על העבודה הושיעם ה'"
The Bach explains that it was our mesiras nefesh for Hashem that merited our yeshua. The war against the Greeks was not a war for physical survival but for spiritual survival. The Beis HaMikdash had been defiled, and we could have chosen to give up and embrace Greek culture. Yet, instead of surrendering, we were moser nefesh for our relationship with Hashem. We fought to light the Menorah, and we fought to restore the Beis HaMikdash.
It was the mesiras nefesh during the time of Chanuka that made the Menorah our enduring symbol of survival during this long and bitter exile. The reason for this is because Hashem wants us to fight for Him. Sometimes, we have to fight to show those we love how much we care. The more we show Hashem that we are willing to sacrifice to serve Him, the more we will survive—and even thrive—as a Nation, no matter how difficult the times may be.
Comments