Selected Passages from the Sources on the Topic: Hanukkah
Hanukkah
- Hanukkah is the work of correction of creation, which is to obtain the vessels of bestowal, with which we can then achieve the purpose of creation. We can call this “spirituality” because we do not want to do anything for ourselves, but only for the Creator, as our sages said, “An offering, meaning a burnt offering, is all for the Creator, completely spiritual.”
The miracle of Hanukkah was about spirituality, as we say (in the blessing “On the Miracles”), “When the wicked kingdom of Greece stood over Your people Israel to make them forget Your law and move them from the laws of Your will, You, with your many mercies, stood up for them at the time of their plight.”
According to what we explained, “spirituality” means using vessels of bestowal. The domination of the Greeks is expressed in forbidding anything that has to do with vessels of bestowal because there was control over the work of Torah and Mitzvot there, as well.
This was on the outside. It is far more so in the thought—they would govern the thought so they would be unable to aim anything for the Creator. Rather, they wanted the people of Israel to be immersed in self-love, by which they will be separated from the Creator. All the thoughts of the SitraAchra [Other Side] are only about removing them from the Creator, and remoteness and separation come only by disparity of form, known as “self-love.”
Baal HaSulam said about what our sages asked (Shabbat, 21b), “What is Hanukkah?” He explained that the answer is Hanu [parked] Koh [here/thus far], meaning that they parked here. This means that Chaf-Hey [Koh/25th] of Kislev [the date when Hanukkah begins] was not the end of the war, but only a pause. It is like an army that wants to start a new, major assault, so it lets the soldiers rest and regain their strength so they can continue the war. He said that there are fools who think that they received the order not to go forward into enemy territory but to rest because they have finished the war and there is no need to defeat the enemy anymore.
It turns out that Hanukkah is still not the completion of the goal, but only the correction of creation. It completes the vessels of bestowal, meaning acts of bestowal, and this is why it is forbidden to use the light of Hanukkah, since using is an act of reception, and the miracle was only on acts of giving—that they can do them and aim to bestow, which is called Lishma.
The miracle was that they emerged from the domination of the Greeks and could go with faith above reason. But the Klipa [shell/peel] of the Greeks was governing Israel so as not to do anything unless he knows why and what purpose this work will bring him, and especially to aim everything above reason.
According to what we explained, it follows that although a Hanukkah candles implies a spiritual miracle, which is that the people of Israel were liberated from the dominion of the Greeks, it was only half a thing. That is, only the vessels of bestowal were corrected by the miracle of Hanukkah, and this is regarded as correction of creation, but still not the purpose of creation.
Rabash - 1. Art. 9 (1986) Concerning the Hanukkah Candle - The matter with Hanukah. This is the meaning of Hanu (parked), where the parking was not because of wholeness, meaning an illuminating mirror. Rather, the parking was Ko (here/thus far), meaning incomplete, which is a mirror that does not illuminate. In other words, the war of the inclination is still not over, but we have to come to the real completeness. This is the meaning of Hanu-Ko, parking as in Ko, meaning receiving the upper bestowal so they would have more strength to go forward in the war of the inclination.
What extends from this is that when one walks on the path of the Creator, he is given many awakenings from above—in the middle of the prayer or while studying Torah, or while performing a Mitzva (commandment). This awakening enters the heart and he begins to feel that flavor and grace of holiness.
However, one should know that he was given this abundance only so as to gain new strength and be able to grow stronger in the work, that he will engage in the battle of the war of the inclination. Then, each time he is given a temporary rest, meaning upper abundance, for when the awakening from above comes to a person, it seems to him that there is no longer any war, for at that time he begins to feel the beauty and glory of holiness, and the lowliness of corporeal matters, until he resolves to work only for the Creator.
But since a person did not really finish his work, the awakening that he was given is taken away from him, and he soon falls into his previous state, where he feels grace and beauty only in corporeal things, and regards matters of sanctity as redundant. At that time he engages in Torah and Mitzvotonly out of compulsion and coercion, and not because of the desire and joy as when he had the awakening.
That awakening is the Hanukah candle. Therefore, if he is smart, he should always exert until he is helped from above to be rewarded with real wholeness..
Rabash - 2. Letter 26
Greeks Have Surrounded Me - “The Greeks have gathered against me, in the days of the Hashmonites”. Greeks are the klipa (shell) against sanctity. Sanctity is faith above reason while the Greeks walk precisely within reason and come exactly during the time of the Hashmonites, meaning exactly when one wants to walk in the path of Kedusha (sanctity). However, prior to this there is no place for the Greeks since “the Creator made them one against the other”, which is a matter of “everyone greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than his”..
Rabash - 3. Art. 77, The Greeks Have Surrounded Me - The governance of the Greeks, which is the opposite of the way of Judaism. The matter of the Greeks is that we must go only within reason in both mind and heart. Naturally, when Israel wanted to go above reason and not consider what the outer mind necessitates, they could not.
This is called the war against the Greeks. This is when the real work begins, namely that the people of Israel wanted to mount the track that leads to Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator. This path is called “faith above reason.” The Greeks wanted to control the body so it will not relinquish anything unless the reason agrees to it.
Rabash - 1. Art. 7 (1987) The Miracle of Hanukkah - We say (in the song “Rock of my salvation”) “the Greeks have surrounded me, then, in the days of the Hashmonites, and broke the walls of my towers”. Here “Greeks” are called people that walk within reason, meaning that it impossible for them to do anything against reason, this is the control of the Greek, and this control governed the nation of Israel.
The control… to walk precisely within reason, leads to breaching the wall that protects the tower. And “tower” means that a person has a certain degree of the greatness of the Creator, and this wall is called “faith above reason”, since precisely by faith above reason one is able to reach the feeling of the greatness of the Creator as well as depict to himself the greatness of the Creator.
When one has feelings of the greatness of the Creator he is likened to “a candle before the torch”, and one annuls to Him. However the Greeks, namely the control within reason, who prevent one to walk above reason, and this is called that they “breached the wall of my tower”, which is the wall, and within this wall one can build towers, meaning to reach the greatness of the Creator, which is called “a tower”. It follows that precisely by faith above reason one merits Daatof Kedusha.
Rabash - 2. Art. 12 (1991) These Candles Are Holy - We should interpret what we say in the song, “Mighty Rock of My Salvation”: “Greeks have gathered around me … and have broken the walls of my towers and defiled all the oils.” Homat(walls of) has the letters of Hotam (seal) and Tehum (area/zone). “My towers” is the tower full of good abundance (Midrash Rabah, Chapter 8). The “wall” concerns keeping foreigners from entering the city and robbing its good.
It is likewise here—in order to avoid entrance of foreign thoughts and uninvited desires, we must make a wall by which we keep from the outer ones. This wall is called “faith,” for only by faith can one be saved from all the above. This is called “zone,” for thus far the outer ones can approach, but when they see that the person did not go outside the wall they return to their place.
This is so because faith is specifically above reason, and the domination of the SitraAchra is specifically within the reason of the outer mind. Thus, it has no connection or contact with the person.
The Klipa of Greece was for the people of Israel to enjoy specifically through the external intellect, which is the damned philosophy. This contradicts faith, which is called a “wall.” To the extent that they succeeded in admitting philosophy into Israel, to that extent it is regarded that they have breached the wall.
This is the meaning of “broken the walls of my towers,” namely the wall around the tower full of good abundance, by which we are rewarded with open providence, that the Creator leads the world benevolently.
Through the abovementioned breach they have “defiled all the oils,” meaning that they were denied all the vitality and clarity they were granted through faith, for Tuma’a (impurity) comes from Timtum(dumbness) and Situm (blocking). Finally, a miracle happened and the Creator helped them, and they were rewarded with the revealed light once more, called “light of the face.”
Rabash - 2. Letter 43 - It is written in the Gemara, “When the Greeks entered the Hall, they defiled all the oil in the Hall”. From this we learn that “the Greeks entered the Hall”, was already a problem, and there was a double problem, “the entrance of the Greek to the Hall” and “defiled all the oil in the Hall”, since their entrance into the hall defiled the Temple. As it is written in the Zohar and in the Hasulam, that the matter of a person’s death is because of the entrance of unclean spirits into him and the soul cannot bear it, therefore it departs. Example of this was when the Greeks enter the Hall, which caused the departure of Kedusha. According to the Rambam’s opinion in the Book of Wars, it is written about it “thieves entered and defiled it”, this speaks of the Temple itself, that the entire building was defiled. Then the second trouble, that they defiled all the oil. And it seems that both these troubles are parallel to the heart and the mind, thus by these two they blemished the hearts and minds of Israel.
Explanation: The Temple is called Israel’s heart because the Temple unifies all of Israel as the heart unifies one’s organs, and Israel has only one heart, toward their father in heaven. And as Israel’s heart below unites with their Father in heaven it likewise awakens above, and fulfills “My eyes and my heart shall be there all the days”. From this we learn that the Temple is the heart of Israel and when the Greeks entered the Hall the matter of the Assembly of Israel departed, and this is the blemish in the heart above and below, so that their heart was blocked from yearning for their Father in heaven. With the entrance of the impure ones into the Hall, they brought into the hearts of Israel below craving for external love, and as if this was not enough trouble, they also blemished the minds and hearts of Israel, “defiling the oil in the Hall”. And “oil” is a reference to Chochma and “Tuma’a” is from the word “Timtum”, because they confused the mind of Israel from illuminating the wisdom of Torah and the divine light in their mind, bringing to them external wisdoms, and thus their mind and understanding were blemished.
This is the meaning of the song “MaozTzur” (Mighty Rock) “then the Greeks gathered upon me, in the days of the Hashmonites”, namely that the SitraAchra is always the branches of separation. And Israel’s sin was that their work was not with enthusiasm and craving of heart and with all their might, thus they took from Israel all the power of their unity and assembly. This is the meaning of “they breached the wall of my tower. “Homat” (wall) is the letters of Hotam” (seal), which is the wall and seal of the heart, and the matter of Keneset Israel departed. Furthermore they “defiled all the oil”, namely “causing them to forget Your Torah”, which is a flaw in the mind, and “causing them to transgress Your Laws” which is a flaw in the heart. But when the Hashmonites overcame them and conquered them it was reversed, since when the Light appeared it repelled the darkness. This is why we say “You have magnified Your Name and made it Holy” in this world, and the matter of Keneset Israel and the Temple returned, which is the heart of Israel in purity, and then “Your sons have returned to Your House and cleared Your Hall and sanctified Your Temple, and lit candles in Your Holy courts.” And the blemish in their heart was removed, moreover “they lit candles in the courts of Your Holiness” and the divine Light reappeared and the Wisdom of Torah returned to Israel.
Shem MiShmuel. ParashatMiketz - Hanukkah - Second NIght - And what we say in the Hanukkah song the Greek “gathered round about me”, and breached the wall of my tower, meaning that they attained the force of “gathering” and because of it they were able to breach the wall of my tower, since the wall united the inhabitants of the city, and this is the advantage of walled cities. It is referenced in Rashi, Megilah (2:72) that because of sin unity was voided and precisely this is what caused the unity in general to be cancelled, which caused hatred without cause, so that the wall of Israel was weakened and the Greeks removed this advantage. This is why they had power to breach the wall of Israel. However when the Hashmonites prevailed and defeated them, it was fulfilled in the Greek “all evildoers shall perish”, while Israel did exploits, and reunited individually and collectively, feeling as one big soul.
Shem Mishmuel. ParashatMiketz - Hanukkah - The Seventh Night
The Miracle of Hanukkah - What is a miracle at all? It is known that something natural is not regarded as a miracle, but what is above nature, this is considered a miracle. Natural means something that man can do alone. This is called natural. But what man cannot do is already regarded as above nature.
What is a miracle at all? It is known that something natural is not regarded as a miracle, but what is above nature, this is considered a miracle. Natural means something that man can do alone. This is called natural. But what man cannot do is already regarded as above nature.
Rabash - 2. Letter 68 - “A miracle” implies something that a person cannot obtain. That is, it is impossible for one to obtain it unless through a miracle from above. Only in this way is it called “a miracle.”
For this reason, when a person comes to a state where he already has recognition of evil, that it is impossible for him to come out of the domination of the nations of the world in him, that Israel in him is in exile under them, and he sees no way that he can come out of their power, when the Creator helps them and brings them out from the nations of the world and turns it around so that the people of Israel governs them, this is called “a miracle.”
Rabash - 2. Art. 11 (1990) What Placing the Hanukah Candle on the Left Means in the Work - when a person wants to approach Kedusha, meaning to do everything for the sake of heaven. This is regarded as the quality of “Hasmoneans,” whose role was to bring out the Kedusha from the governance of the Klipot, which are called “Greeks.”
Precisely when a person wants to draw near the Kedusha, which is done through faith above reason, the “views of the Greeks” appear in a person. This is a Klipa [singular of Klipot] against faith. At that time we see that before he began the work of bestowal, all the Greeks were not revealed in the person, and he thought that he had sufficient faith in the Creator and had the strength to observe Torah and Mitzvot, and all that he needed was to do more Torah and Mitzvot.
But when one wants to be a Hasmonean, meaning that only Kedusha will govern the world, the “Greeks,” which is the Klipa opposite faith, appears more vigorously every time and wants specifically to break “the walls of my towers.” Faith is the “wall,” and all the greatness depends on the measure of faith that a person has in the Creator, as it is written in The Zohar about the verse “Her husband is known at the gates,” that each one according to what he assumes in his heart. That is, each person has a different measure of faith in the Creator, as it is written in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot” (Item 14).