Chapter 1
מאי חנוכה דתנו רבנן בכ״ה בכסלו יומי דחנוכה
תמניא אינון כו׳ שכשנכנסו יונים להיכל טמאו
כל השמנים שבהיכל וכשגברה מלכות בית
חשמונאי ונצחום בדקו ולא מצאו אלא פך אחד של
שמן שהי׳ מונח בחותמו של כהן גדול ולא הי׳ בו
אלא להדליק יום אחד נעשה בו נס והדליקו ממנו
שמונה ימים לשנה אחרת קבעום ועשאום
ימים טובים בהלל והודאה
“What is Chanukah? The Rabbis taught: ‘The 25th of Kislev begins the eight days of Chanukah. When the Greeks entered the Holy Temple, they defiled all the oil. When the rulers of the House of Chashmonean succeeded in gaining the upper hand and vanquished them, the Holy Temple was searched and but one flask of oil was found with the seal of the high priest still intact. There was only enough oil to last but one day. A miracle occurred and it lasted for eight days. The following year these days were established as festive days [commemorated by the recitation] of Hallel and [paens of] thanksgiving.’ ”1
Rashi explains the Gemara’ s question, “What is Chanukah?” The Gemara desires to know, says Rashi, what miraculous event was responsible for the holiday. The Rabbis teach that the 25th day of Kislev is the beginning of the eight day Chanukah festival, [for the reason just mentioned and which will now be elaborated upon].
All ritual items used in the Holy Temple had to first be carefully inspected to ensure that they were without blemish. The [animals and birds used for] sacrificial offerings had to be healthy beyond a shadow of doubt. The wood used on the altar had to be completely free of worms or rot. The various types of flour for offerings had to be meticulously sifted. The wines used in conjunction with the various offerings had to be free of sediment, and the oil for the menorah needed to be of the highest and most select quality.
Concerning the oil, the Torah says2 that it must be zach and kosis. The Gemara3 explains that zach means clean and that kosis means pressed. There are nine grades of oil that can be extracted from olives, but for the menorah only the three finest grades were used.4 The oil was therefore one of the costliest items in the Holy Temple.
As is known, all these items flour, wine, oil and vessels were to be kept from coming in contact with a ritually impure object or person [for should they come into contact with impurity they would be rendered unfit for service in the Holy Temple.] Therefore the oil selected for the menorah was placed in flasks, and the seal of the high priest was affixed to each. The flasks were then stored in a special place.
When the Greeks conquered Yerushalayim (may it be rebuilt speedily in our days, Amen,) and seized the Holy Temple, they defiled all the oil they found there. When the Chashmoneans, with G‑d’s help, vanquished the Greeks, they found that of all the flasks prepared for use in the menorah, only one still retained the high priest’s seal. As Tosafos explains, this one flask was buried in the ground proof - that it had not been handled by the Greeks.
In this one remaining flask there was only enough oil for one day, but G‑d caused it to burn in the menorah for eight days long enough to produce new oil. Because of this great miracle, the eight days beginning the 25th of Kislev were established as festive days to be marked by the recitation of Hallel and paens of praise to G‑d.
The battle with the Greeks was [more] spiritual [than physical]. It was unlike wars fought for material ends such as land, slaves or plunder. The Greeks were highly cultured, and regarded the Torah as a remarkable body of writing. They also held the Jews in high esteem for possessing the intellectual capacity to comprehend such a profound work. The Greeks even admired many of the mitzvos which the Jews observed. Nonetheless, they were tremendous heretics, denying the existence of G‑d and the sanctity of Torah and mitzvos.
The Midrash states:5 “A dead body [rationally] does not defile, neither does water [logically] purify. However, G‑d says: ‘I have so decreed and I have so established; you are not permitted to transgress My decrees.’ ”
There is no logical reason why a mikveh purifies; it is a Divine decree, and so Jews may not act otherwise. For the Torah is not only profoundly intelligent [to man], but represents G‑d’s intellect and will, which transcend human comprehension.
In summary: All the objects needed for the Holy Temple flour, wine, oil, wood and vessels had to be kept from coming into contact with ritual impurity. Only the best three grades of olive oil could be used in the menorah; it was therefore one of the most expensive items in the Holy Temple. The Greeks conducted a spiritual battle; when they seized the Holy Temple they deliberately defiled the oil. Because of the miracle that G‑d made with the one remaining flask, the eight days of Chanukah were established as a festival.
Chapter 2
The verse states:6 “These are the eidus, chukim and mishpatim….” All positive commands (those mitzvos which we are obligated to do) and negative commands (those matters which we must refrain from doing) are divided into the three general categories7 of eidus, testimonies, chukim, decrees, and mishpatim, laws.
Eidus are those commandments which serve as a testimony [or a remembrance of significant events] such as Shabbos, Pesach, Sukkos and the like.
Chukim are those commands which have no rational explanation. In commenting on the verse:8 “This [the laws of the Red Heifer] is the chukah of the Torah…” Rashi notes the following: “Because Satan and the Nations ask Jews, ‘What kind of mitzvah is the Red Heifer, and what rationale is there for it?’ the Torah writes ‘chukah’; it is a Divine decree ordained by G‑d, and no one is permitted to question it.”
Even King Solomon, the wisest of men, could not fathom the reasoning behind the command of the Red Heifer, as it is written:9 “I said: ‘I will gain wisdom,’ but it is far from me.” King Solomon hoped to understand the command of the Red Heifer, but found that it transcended [even] his intellect.
The offering of the Red Heifer differed from all other sacrifices. The Red Heifer was burned together with wood from a cedar (one of the largest trees) as well as with wood from an eizov (one of the smallest trees) and a piece of dyed red wool. The ashes of this mixture, when combined with water, purified the ritually impure. Yet the person who prepared the mixture became impure!10 This then is the meaning of chukim they are Divinely ordained decrees [that defy human logic].
Mishpatim are those commands which would be dictated even by human intellect. Examples are: honoring one’s parents, giving charity, the prohibition against stealing and the like. Logically, it is easier to perform eidus and mishpatim the reasons for which are more or less known than it is to perform chukim. Nonetheless, man’s honest logic dictates that chukim be performed with a degree of pleasure similar to that of eidus and mishpatim.
Truly, however, eidus and mishpatim should be performed with the same acceptance of the Divine Yoke as is required by chukim, for the main reason that mitzvos are performed is because G‑d so commanded, and not because of their logical imperative.
Herein lay the cause of the Greek’s spiritual war against the Jews; they wanted to convince the Jewish people that the Torah is no more than wise teachings, thereby stripping us of our notions of the sanctity of mitzvos in general and of chukim in particular. This is alluded to in [the special Chanukah prayer, which makes] the statement:11 “…to make them forget Your Torah and violate the decree of Your will,” i.e. to make Jews forget that the Torah is Divine wisdom, and to ensure that we violate those commands which are chukim.
The goal of the Greeks was to tear the Jewish people away from our belief in, and self-sacrificing devotion to, the blessed G‑d. This is as our Sages state:12 “The Greeks declared [to the Jewish people]: ‘Inscribe on the horn of an ox that you have no part in the G‑d of Israel.’ ” For this reason, when they temporarily succeeded in battle and invaded the Holy Temple, they defiled the oil of the menorah, for their intention was to extinguish the Divine light of the Jews.
But Matisyahu and his children, together with a segment of the Jews devoted to Torah and mitzvos, vanquished the Greeks with their heartfelt cry of “Shema Yisroel” [“Hear, O Israel”] and with their truly self-sacrificial belief that “the L-rd our G‑d, the L-rd is One.”13 Having vanquished the heretical Greeks, the Jews desired to once again kindle the Divine light among the Jewish people. G‑d therefore granted us a twofold present: that a kosher flask of oil was found, and that it burned for eight nights.
The spiritual battle against the Greeks and their ilk is refought in every generation, for there are always non-Jewish as well as Jewish heretics who seek to tear us away from G‑dliness. There are “freethinkers” of various types; some are complete heretics, others are half-way heretics, while some are one-third or one-quarter heretics. Then there are the so-called “modern” sycophants, who acknowledge the concept of family purity but disagree with the necessity of a kosher mikvah, who agree that providing children with a Jewish education is important, but do not agree with the prohibition against mingling of the sexes, etc.
There is also a form of Greek-like heresy that emanates from one’s environment. Even our greatest enemy, Bilam, praised the Jewish people with such phrases as “A people that dwells apart…”14 and “How goodly are your tents, Yaakov….”15 But these blind and worldly hangers-on desire that Jews and non-Jews commingle. This would extinguish (Heaven forbid) the G‑dly illumination possessed by Jews.
This then is the meaning of the Chanukah lights that with the self-sacrifice implied in the declaration the “the L-rd our G‑d, the L-rd is One,” we can even now find the “flask” of proper Jewish education, so as to illuminate Jewish homes with the G‑dly menorah of Torah and mitzvos.
In summary: Mitzvos are divided into eidus, chukim and mishpatim. Eidus and mishpatim are comprehended rationally, but chukim are G‑d’s Divine decrees. The spiritual battle which the Greeks waged against the Jews was intended to extinguish the G‑dly holiness found within us. A small band of Torah- and mitzvah-observant Jews, girded with the self-sacrifice implied by the declaration that “the L-rd our G‑d, the L-rd is One,” vanquished the Greek heretics and rekindled the sacred light. The spiritual war against heresy is fought again in every generation, but proper Jewish education - the sacred “flask of oil” - will illuminate the menorah of Torah and mitzvos in Jewish homes.