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I was asked to deliver a Chaburah last week to a group of students as a part of Shabbat preparation. It was the night before my exit exam, but hey, who gives up the chance to learn Torah with friends? So I agreed.
I delivered a Chaburhah heavily based on the teachings of a rabbi I had in Seminary. Something about his way of thinking is extremely unique and worth sharing.
Right after class I delved into the intricacies of preparing a source sheet and gathering my thoughts together.
Two hours later I was sitting in the Beit Midrash delivering my second and last Chaburah at Stern.
The Chaburah was beautiful. This time is one of transition for me. I am highly vulnerable, juggling graduating from college finding an apartment, a new circle of friends, starting to work full time, graduate school. The uncertainty of it all puts me in a scary position.
Anyhow, below is a basic rundown of the Chaburah I gave. I hope you enjoy it.
The Sheiltot below describes the ideal position for candle lighting of the Menorah.
- שאילתות דרב אחאי פרשת וישלח שאילתא כו
והלכתא משמאל כדי שיהא מזוזה מימין ונר חנוכה משמאל ובעל הבית מצוייץ בטליתו ביניהם. Ideally the doorpost shall be on the right side, the Chanukah candle on the left side, and the house owner shall be enwrapped in his Tallit in the between them. The mentioning of the house owner wearing a Tallit seems unfitting. Let us try to determine the significance of the religious garb in within the context of Chanukah.
There is no explicit reference in the Tanach to the story of Chanukah. However, there is a reference within Zechariah to the battle of Greeks with the Jews which is read in Synagogues worldwide as the Haftorah on the Shabbat of Chanukah. The Passuk states as follows:
זכריה פרק ט
(יג) כִּי דָרַכְתִּי לִי יְהוּדָה קֶשֶׁת מִלֵּאתִי אֶפְרַיִם וְעוֹרַרְתִּי בָנַיִךְ צִיּוֹן עַל בָּנַיִךְ יָוָן וְשַׂמְתִּיךְ כְּחֶרֶב גִּבּוֹר:
.. And I will awaken you, Sons of Zion over the sons of Greece…
According to the Psikta Rabbati stated below, this verse in Zechariah refers to the victory the Hasmoneans over the Greeks in the battle of Chanukah.
- • פסיקתא רבתי (איש שלום) פיסקא ב - מזמור שיר חנוכת
- ולמה מדליק נרות בחנוכה אלא בשעה שנצחו בניו של חשמונאי הכהן הגדול למלכות יון שנאמר ועוררת בניך ציון על בניך יון (זכריה ט' י"ג) נכנסו לבית המקדש מצאו שם שמונה שפודין של ברזל וקבעו אותם והדליקו בתוכם נרות
Usually, Jews are referred to as Sons of Israel 'Bnei Israel' or Jews 'Yehudim'. Yet in the present verse the description of the Jew is none other than Sons of Zion. Why are Jews suddenly called Zionists when it comes to the battle with Greeks?
In essence the problems in question are: first, what is the significance of the Talit in relation to lighting the candle of Chanukah? Secondly, What is the true meaning behind the physical battle between the sons of Greece and the sons of Zion. What does the war represent?
Let us take the battle back to its origins.
First, let us examine the story of the Creation. On the first day, G-d created light and there was light.
בראשית פרק א
(ג) וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי אוֹר:
This all seems lovely and dandy except for the fact that the light we are familiar with today is the light that emanates from the sun. However, the sun was created only on the fourth day of creation! So how could there have been light prior to the fourth day?
The Midrash resolves this apparent contradiction by stating that in fact there were two different sources of light, the light of the first day and the light of the fourth day. The light of the first day was a special light that was given to Adam until after Shabbat. He used it to see the world from one end of the world to the other. Clearly, this light had the power of insight, of illumination, of clarity. When G-d saw that man will misuse the light he hid it for the Tzadikkim in the future.
מדרש תנחומא (ורשא) פרשת שמיני סימן ט
ויאמר אלהים יהי אור ויהי אור (בראשית א) הרי שמחה, אמר להם אף היא אינה של שמחה לפי שלא זכה העולם להשתמש באותו האור שכך א"ר יהודה בר סימון אור שברא הקב"ה ביום הראשון היה אדם צופה ומביט מסוף העולם ועד סופו, כיון שראה הקב"ה מעשה דור אנוש ודור המבול עמד וגנזו מהם זש"ה וימנע מרשעים אורם (איוב לא) והיכן גנזו בג"ע לצדיקים שנאמר (תהלים צז) אור זרוע לצדיק ולישרי לב שמחה
The light of the fourth day is the light that gives sight, the light that can show what something is, but that can never show why something is. It can shine upon the surface, but never beneath the surface. That is the light we live with today.
Let us take the development a step further from creation. After creation we see man sinning and the world being destroyed in the flood. Noah survives the flood with his family. After the catastrophe, Noah settles on the land plants a vineyard, gets drunk and lies in his tent in a state of disgrace.
בראשית פרק ט
(כ) וַיָּחֶל נֹחַ אִישׁ הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּטַּע כָּרֶם:
(כא) וַיֵּשְׁתְּ מִן הַיַּיִן וַיִּשְׁכָּר וַיִּתְגַּל בְּתוֹךְ אָהֳלֹה:
(כב) וַיַּרְא חָם אֲבִי כְנַעַן אֵת עֶרְוַת אָבִיו וַיַּגֵּד לִשְׁנֵי אֶחָיו בַּחוּץ:
(כג) וַיִּקַּח שֵׁם וָיֶפֶת אֶת הַשִּׂמְלָה וַיָּשִׂימוּ עַל שְׁכֶם שְׁנֵיהֶם וַיֵּלְכוּ אֲחֹרַנִּית וַיְכַסּוּ אֵת עֶרְוַת אֲבִיהֶם וּפְנֵיהֶם אֲחֹרַנִּית וְעֶרְוַת אֲבִיהֶם לֹא רָאוּ:
(כד) וַיִּיקֶץ נֹחַ מִיֵּינוֹ וַיֵּדַע אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לוֹ בְּנוֹ הַקָּטָן:
(כה) וַיֹּאמֶר אָרוּר כְּנָעַן עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים יִהְיֶה לְאֶחָיו:
(כו) וַיֹּאמֶר בָּרוּךְ יְקֹוָק אֱלֹהֵי שֵׁם וִיהִי כְנַעַן עֶבֶד לָמוֹ:
(כז) יַפְתְּ אֱלֹהִים לְיֶפֶת וְיִשְׁכֹּן בְּאָהֳלֵי שֵׁם וִיהִי כְנַעַן עֶבֶד לָמוֹ:
His sons see him. Shem and Yefet are shamed by their fathers appearance and cover him up.
As a result both sons are given blessings. There is a grammatical difficulty in the passuk which relates to Shem and Ever covering their father. Because although Shem and Ever were both covering their father, the verb is used in the singular instead of the plural.
Rashi deducts from this grammatical nuance according to the sages that Shem was more involved in the Mitzva of covering his father than Yefet. There was something intrinsically different in the intentions of Shem that made an action that was seemingly the same completely different.
רש"י בראשית פרק ט
(כג) ויקח שם ויפת - אין כתיב כאן ויקחו אלא ויקח, לימד על שם שנתאמץ במצוה יותר מיפת, לכך זכו בניו לטלית של ציצית, ויפת זכה לקבורה לבניו, שנאמר
(יחזקאל לט יא) אתן לגוג מקום שם קבר.
As a result, Rashi says that the descendants of Shem, the Jews, would merit the observance of the Mitzva of Tzizit, the fringet, while the descendants of Yefet would merit burial. The logic in Rashi is quite perplexing: how does being more involved in a Mitzva result in the merit of Tzizit and being less involved in a Mitzvah result in the merit of burial?
Shem was the ancestor of the Jewish nation while Yefet was the ancestor of the Greek nation.
What Yefet represented was beauty. In fact, Yefets name in Hebrew has the same letters as the word Yofi, beauty.
The name Shem in translation means name. A name is what reflects the inner core of the person it belongs to.
Let us take the relationship between the Jews and the Greeks a step further.
During the times of Alexander the Great, the father of the Greek Empire, the most powerful man in the world at that time, there was a Jewish presence in the land of Israel under the leadership of Shimon Hatzaddik who was also the High Priest. In Masechet Yuma there is a story which relates the following. There was a Kuti sect in Israel which attempted to have the mainstream Jews uprooted and destroyed. The Kutim sent a delegation to Alexander the Great informing him that the Jews were not loyal subjects and that they used the Temple to pray for his downfall. Alexander the Great decided to see for himself. Therefore, he set out for Israel with a delegation.
רבינו בחיי שמות פרק לא
(יומא סט א) מעשה בימי אלכסנדרוס מוקדון שנתעטף שמעון הצדיק כהן גדול בבגדי כהונה ויצא לקראתו, וכיון שראהו המלך ירד מעל מרכבתו והשתחוה לו, אמרו לו עבדיו: מלך כמותך ישתחוה ליהודי זה, אמר להם: דמות דיוקנו מנצח לפני בעת מלחמתי
Shimon Hatzadik heard of the news, and he clothed himself in the garments of the high priest, which were usually only used in the Temple and set out to meet Alexander the Great. After days of traveling, Alexander finally met up with Shimon Hatzadik and something unique in history happened at that point. Alexander dismounted his horse and prostrated himself in front of Shimon Hatzaddik.
The servants of Alexander were flabbergasted. A king as great as yourself shall bow to a Jew like that? They asked with derision. Alexander explained. Every time before I set out to war, if I see an image of this man in front of me the night before, then I win the battle. Alexander shows his submission and inferiority to Shimon Hatzadik.
What is the Mitzva of Tzizit?
רשב"ם שמות פרק כח
כליל תכלת - כולו תכלת. ונראה בעיני לפי שהוא נראה תחת האפוד והחשן שבאין לזכרון וגם התכלת שדומה לרקיע הרי הוא לזכרון, כמו שאמרו רבותינו אצל תכלת שבציצית, שהתכלת דומה לים וים דומה לרקיע ורקיע דומה לכסא הכבוד, לפיכך הוא תכלת כולו ולא ארגמן ולא תולעת שני:
What is the ideology behind it? Rashbam explains that the reason for Tzizit is that there is more to it than meets the eye. You see the Tzizit, which remind you of the sea, which reminds you of the sky, which reminds you of the Heavenly throne of the Lord. Most people go to the beach to see anything but G-d, but Jews, Jews are meant to look at a physical object and instead of seeing merely what it is, they are required to see what it represents.
Yefet, on the other hand, represents solely external beauty. Beauty without a purpose, without a further mission, without a deeper meaning. Selling beauty simply because it is beautiful. Greece is the empire known for its awesome architecture, beautiful art, olympics, the sheer value of beauty.
משלי פרק לא
(ל) שֶׁקֶר הַחֵן וְהֶבֶל הַיֹּפִי אִשָּׁה יִרְאַת יְקֹוָק הִיא תִתְהַלָּל:
Judaism does not value beauty alone, beauty alone is Falsehood, vanity.
Judaism does value beauty, however, when it serves a purpose, when it is a wrapping for a beautiful thing. Rachel the Matriarch and Yosef the Tzadik were beautiful, for their bodies contained beautiful souls.
בראשית פרק כט
(יז) וְעֵינֵי לֵאָה רַכּוֹת וְרָחֵל הָיְתָה יְפַת תֹּאַר וִיפַת מַרְאֶה:
בראשית פרק לט
(ו) וַיַּעֲזֹב כָּל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ בְּיַד יוֹסֵף וְלֹא יָדַע אִתּוֹ מְאוּמָה כִּי אִם הַלֶּחֶם אֲשֶׁר הוּא אוֹכֵל וַיְהִי יוֹסֵף יְפֵה תֹאַר וִיפֵה מַרְאֶה:
Their beauty was reflective of an inner, deeper beauty. There is even a blessing that should be recited when one sees a beautiful person, or any beautiful creation for that matter.
ספר מצוות גדול עשין סימן כז
הרואה בריות טובות ומתוקנות ביותר ואילנות טובות, [ו]אומר בירושלמי (שם) אפילו סוס נאה וחמור נאה, מברך ברוך אתה ה' א - להינו מלך העולם שככה לו בעולמו (ע"פ לשון רמב"ם הי"ג ע"ש).
Jews are often reffered to as Sons of Zion when they are depicted in a beautiful manner. Zion as the beautiful place where heaven meets earth.
תורת המנחה לסוכות - וזאת הברכה / דרשה פד
ביה ה' בציון גדול ורם הוא על כל העמים, כנגד נפתלי דכת' ביה ומלא ברכת ה' ים ודרום ירשה, כי מציון מכלל יופי אלקים הופיע תבוא הברכה לעולם, כי שפע הברכה יורד על הררי ציון כי שם צוה ה' את הברכה חיים עד העולם.
So the battle between Greece and Zion is not merely a physical battle of many against the few, but rather it is a battle of beauty against beauty. The beauty of Greece which is the beauty of falsehood and vanity vs the beauty of the Jews which is the beauty reflective of a deeper beauty, of the essence.
That is the battle of the light of the fourth day, of external light, of sight versus the light of the first day, which was internal, which gave insight.
That was the conflict of Shem and Yefet. Shem and Yafet both saw their father looking undistinguished. Shem saw a soul, which was not clothed properly, he saw the essence and he covered it up. As a reward he received the Mitzva which always brings him back to the essence. Yefet, on the other hand saw only the body in a lowly state, he did not see the soul. When one sees a body without a soul, one buries it. Therefore, Yefet received burial as a reward.
When Alexander the Great encountered Shimon the Tzaddik, he saw that his superficial beauty does not stand a chance in light of the true beauty represented in the clothes of the High Priest, in the Tzizit and in the Talit the owner of the house is supposed to wear when lighting the Chanukah candles.
The submission of Greek culture took place physically a hundred years later in the battle of the Greeks under Antiochus the Epiphanes with the Hasmoneans. That was when the true light was shown. That was when the light was returned to the Menorah. The light of the first day, which had been hidden for the Tzaddikim, was now unraveled.
And this is the light of Chanuka. Lighting the candle year to year we remind ourselves of the potential there is in the beauty of the physical world around us and how everything can be uplifted.
May we merit the day when G-d will shine the New Light upon ZION and we will all bask in its light.
טור אורח חיים הלכות קריאת שמע סימן נט
אור חדש על ציון תאיר ונזכה כלנו במהרה לאורו
That was the gist of the Chaburah I gave. There are many more nuances and details that I left out and would be happy to share upon request.
After delivering my Chabura, I stayed in the Beit Midrash to study for my exit exam which was going to take place the next day. I sat for hours reading chapters of Tanach out loud for I was the only one in the Beit Midrash and by the time I got to the story of Shaul calling out Shmuel from the dead, it was already one AM. I was exhausted and upon reading about Shaul crying out about his loneliness, I burst into tears. I am also lonely, I cried. I completely understand.
At that moment the guard walked in and told me: We are closing the building, you must leave. His words rang in my ears. We are closing, you must leave. This chapter in my life is closing, I must move on as difficult as it is. I have spent three phenomenally important years of my life here, I am filled with anxiety and nervousness about what the future has in store, but the building is closing and I must leave.
If you actually got to the end of this post, I want you to know that I dedicate it to my mother who wanted me to type up my chabura for awhile. And whoever you are I want to hear what you think on the matter. What you have to add, agree with, disagree etc... etc...
If you actually got to the end of this post, I want you to know that I dedicate it to my mother who wanted me to type up my chabura for awhile. And whoever you are I want to hear what you think on the matter. What you have to add, agree with, disagree etc... etc...
