Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Laws of
Chanukah 139:1-4
1) “…One should give an abundance of charity
on Chanukah because these days are propitious for rectifying blemishes on one’s
soul through charity, especially if one gives to poor people who learn Torah.”
Through giving charity, it is
possible for a person to break his unhealthy desire for money. This
avariciousness, which has the power when unchecked to overwhelm a person
completely, is actually symbolized by the ancient Greeks. We can see this
alluded to in the verse, “Tavati b’yavein metzulah”—“I have sunk into a
deep mire.”[1] The word
yavein (the mire of the lust for money) can also be read Yavan (Greece).[2] Although
this world is full of many beautiful things, as soon as a person places a coin
or his hand in front of his eye, he isn’t able to see anything at all.
Similarly, if a person’s entire existence is focused on pursuing money or
ego-driven pleasure, he cannot see the light of spirituality and holiness.[3]
In addition, giving charity draws down
the light of Providence upon the giver, and it happens middah k’neged middah—measure
for measure. The giver demonstrates his trust in Hashem to provide for his
needs despite the fact that he is sharing some of his material wealth. This
reliance on Providence draws the light of Providence down upon the giver. This
is one way to understand the significance of the light of the menorah—it
represents the light of Providence. Especially when things are dark and we
cannot fathom the ways of Hashem, the illumination of Providence lights up the
darkness. The miracle of the menorah fills us with the vision that especially
when things are difficult, during the depth of a spiritual winter, Hashem is
always right here with each and every one of us.[4]
2) “We do not fast on Chanukah…”
The Mekor Chaim, zt”l, explains that
the main purpose in fasting is to overcome one’s base physical nature, since
this is the source of all evil. On Chanukah, however, the negative within us is
subdued when we are open to receive the spiritual illumination that descends.
Since the negativity inside of us has already been mitigated, there is no point
in fasting. If, on the other hand, a person is not open to the illumination of
Chanukah, then fasting is a waste of time in any case. As Rebbe Nachman, zt”l,
explains, such fasting could be compared to carefully scrubbing a torn sack.
Although it may get clean, the holes will remain and prevent its proper use.[5] If
one wishes to achieve holiness during Chanukah, he will accomplish far more by focusing
on the supernal influx that flows down during those precious days. Reb Nosson,
zt”l, writes that the days of Chanukah (and Purim) were established to
strengthen those who are so spiritually ill that they lack the energy to
accomplish anything at all. Similarly, during the long winter of our exile we
sometimes feel that we are making no progress spiritually. Through the light of
Chanukah, Hashem shines into each of us individually to help us understand that
we should not give up trying because everything we do is precious in the eyes
of the Creator. This is one reason why the custom among Ashkenazim is for
everyone to light their own menorahs—because the light shines into us all. At
the root of the concept, this certainly includes women and girls. The Chasam
Sofer zt”l, explains why it is that we do not find that in our time women and
girls light for themselves. When the sages originally made the enactment to
light, it included women. Since the original mitzvah was to light outside,
however, no woman tried to do this mitzvah l’mehadrin; it was not
considered befitting honor of a woman to go out in the early evening. Even in
our time when most people light indoors, the custom has remained the same.[6]
The Maharshal and the Elya Rabba explain the reason differently.
Since most get married and the original enactment was for a man and his wife to
light one candle, there is no reason for a girl under the age of bas mitzvah to
light, since eventually she will not need to light. It was never customary for girls
to light for themselves between the age of bas mitzvah and marriage, since they
tended to marry young in any case. Even though in our times many women marry
later than they used to, the custom hasn’t changed.[7]
3) “Although it is permitted to
perform work on Chanukah, the custom is that women do no work while the candles
are lit (that is, the minimum obligation of time—half an hour)… The reason why
women in particular are strict about this is because of the decrees of the
Greeks specifically about women… Also, the miracle of redemption happened
through a woman…”
The Mekor Chaim, zt”l, explains why
the Greeks enacted decrees specifically against women, and why the miracle of
redemption happened specifically through a woman.
We find in the Zohar Hakadosh that
the kingship of Antiochus represents the concept of orlah, the foreskin,
which is cut away during circumcision. The orlah acts as a filter that
prevents a man from grasping holiness. For this reason, a Jewish man who
maintains his foreskin and does not submit to circumcision is liable to the
Divine punishment of kares. His orlah keeps him powerfully tied
to worldly pleasure that lacks a connection to the Source.[8]
This is why the Greeks forbade
circumcision, the observance of Shabbos, and the declaration of the new month.
These three mitzvos are diametrically opposed to the concept of orlah.
Shabbos is the opposite of orlah because on Shabbos we delight in
worldly pleasures for the sake of heaven. The truth is that there is no mitzvah
to overeat on Shabbos, as the Shelah Hakadosh writes. However, the
Arizal explains that even if a person overindulges on Shabbos, the food is
still elevated to the Source. Rosh Chodesh is also the opposite of orlah
since it is a time of arousal to the spiritual renewal found in sincere
repentance. This is the opposite of the orlah’s power to blind a person
from the holiness that is to be discovered within the physical world. And
circumcision itself is, of course, the complete eradication of the orlah.
The Jewish woman represents the Shechinah,
the Divine presence, which is the opposite of the orlah and its
deadening effect on one’s spiritual existence. This is why it is only through
marriage that a man can come to true completion. The orlah is a blemish
that distances one from completion. This is why the Greeks made decrees to
destroy the sanctity of Jewish marriage (the removal of the possibility of
privacy), and this is also why the miracle was specifically through a woman.
Yehudis subdued those who represent the klippah of orlah just as
marriage to a G-d-fearing woman subdues this force of negativity within a man.
Jewish marriage is how one comes to overcome the seemingly grossly material
reality that we live in by discovering the true spiritual identity of all that
is material. Reb Nosson explains further that as long as a Jewish man is
connected spiritually through marriage to a Jewish woman, it is clear that he
will not fall completely![9]
All oils may be used for the
Chanukah lights. However, olive oil is the preferred way to do this mitzvah
since that is the oil with which the miracle occurred in the Beis Hamikdash.”
What is the significance of the
miracle occurring through olive oil? Reb Nosson of Breslov writes in his
Likutei Halachos that just as oil is the “splendor” of the olive—the highest
expression of its innate qualities—so too are the Jewish people the splendor of
creation. Hashem takes pleasure in the Jewish people above all His works. The
Greeks felt that they were the chosen people. For this reason, they wanted to
obscure our special status as the Am Hanivchar by polluting us
spiritually. Through the intervention of the righteous Matisyahu and his
followers who are similar to the flask of oil which remained protected from
being polluted by the evil influences of the Greeks, the splendor which Hashem
takes from every Jew was revealed and the Greeks were defeated. This is one way
to understand why the miracle occurred specifically with the oil. The “small
flask” of those who are faithful to Torah and mitzvos will miraculously
endure forever as the chosen people.
Although Hashem takes pride, so
to speak, in the Jewish people no matter what, generally this pride only lasts
as long as we are at least connected to those who remain unpolluted with false
beliefs. Such a connection prevents us from falling away from Torah-true
beliefs entirely. One who is exposed to false beliefs and won over to them,
however, forfeits his status as a part of the chosen people. The reason for
this that Hashem takes pride in each and every Jew only as long as he or she
feels exalted by being Jewish. This is not some sort of ethnic or cultural
pride. One must be proud to be a member of the chosen nation, gifted by G-d
with a unique mission, responsibility, and the means to accomplish it. One who
doesn't feel this pride is very disconnected from the essence of the Jewish
people. As we say in the blessings of the Torah: “He who has chosen us from
among all the nations...” Let us take pride in our Jewish identity so that
Hashem will take pride in us!
Spirit of the Law: Chanukah #5
(Kitzur
Shulchan Aruch, Hilchos Chanukah 139:5)
“If one
lights in an earthen vessel, it becomes ‘old’ [after a single use]. Since it is
blackened and disgusting, it may not be used for another night. Therefore, one
must have a menorah of metal [since less porous substances like glass or metal
can be cleaned if they get full of soot and oil].”
The Shulchan
Aruch explains that one has two options if an earthen vessel is the only
one available. One can either use a new one each day of Chanukah, or put the
blackened vessel into the oven and reconstitute it into a new vessel through
the agency of high heat which will burn away the accumulated filth.
The Mekor Chaim,
zt”l, defines a vessel as an object that is designed to hold something else.
Our limbs are the vessels that hold the nefesh, our souls. An earthen vessel
represents a limb that is imperfect. Pottery cannot be koshered and it porosity
makes it absorb more of what cooks in it than other vessels. This represents
the part of a person that still requires a lot of refinement. This might be the
tongue of the slanderer, the heart of the cruel person, or the hand of the one
who strikes his friend. This can also refer to a particular organ that serves
as the “abode” of a negative character trait.
For example,
anger is said to be “seated” in the liver and depression in the spleen. The
present halachah regarding the use of an earthen vessel parallels the situation
of a person who tries to correct a fault by paying attention to how damaging
the trait is and praying for help to uproot it. We “illuminate” the limb by
working on the particular problem which is aroused by that limb or which that
limb enables. However, this only works for a while—which parallels the fact
that the earthen vessel can only be used once. After a while, this form of
spiritual work tends to get stale. It is somewhat discouraging to work on a
particular area for a time and to still feel as though one is getting—which
parallels the blackened and repulsive state of the earthen vessel after having
been lit for a night.
In such a case,
one has two choices. The first is to work on a different area that requires
attention. Since my realization of the damage this other trait does is fresh
for me I don’t feel discouraged working on this new trait for a new period of
time. Such “switching” is represented by the use of a fresh vessel for the next
night’s lighting. The other choice is to place the new trait “in the oven.”
That means “firing oneself up” about how important it is to change and
receiving a new injection of energy by realizing every effort made to change a
bad trait is very precious to Hashem. In this way, one “reconstitutes” the vessel
and renews it, so that it is possible to continue the spiritual work without feeling
“blackened” and disgusted with oneself.
The Vilna Gaon,
zt”l, said about the hardest traits to overcome: “One who is stubborn will
succeed!”
[1] Tehillim
69:3
[2] Likutei
Halachos, Hilchos Aveidah U’metziah 3:8
[3] Likutei
Moharan I:133
[4] Likutei
Halachos, Hilchos Shluchim 3
[5] Likutei Moharan I:17
[6] Chiddushei
Shabbos 21b
[7] Maharshal
85; Elya Rabba 671:2, end of subsection 3.
[8] Mekor
Chaim 670:1
[9] Likutei
Halachos, Hilchos Bechor Beheimah Tehorah 4:26
No comments:
Post a Comment