What Greece Wished to Extinguish

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

The Torah tells us that before creation, “The earth was astonishingly empty, and there was darkness on the face of the deep (Bereishis 1:2).” The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 2:4) tells us that “darkness on the face of the deep” hints to Greece, as the Greeks darkened the world with their decrees. Namely, the Greeks instructed the Jews, “Write on a bull’s horn that you have no part in the God of Yisrael.”

This is puzzling. Firstly, many gentiles have made decrees against us during all of our exiles. Why are the decrees of the Greeks specifically depicted as “darkening” the world? Indeed, how did their decrees darken the world more than those of Egypt, Persia or Rome? Secondly, we must understand what the Greeks gained by forcing Jews to write such a declaration, and why on a bull’s horn.

Rav Gedalia Schorr explains that the Greeks also believed that Hashem created the world. However, they believed that once He created the world, He left it to operate on its own, and He is not involved in its ongoing affairs. Their denial applied to Hashem’s hashgacha pratis, His personal involvement in everything that happens in the universe.

The Greeks claimed that no one gets special treatment from Hashem, and therefore, everyone is equal. In contrast, the Jewish nation claimed that they had a special relationship with Hashem, and that their Beis Hamikdash was a light to the nations. Naturally, this infuriated the Greeks. Thus, they sought to darken the light that we claimed to bring to the world, and they wanted us to openly deny that we have a special relationship with the Creator.

As for why they wanted us to write this declaration on the horn of a bull, Rav Schorr explains that the bull recalls the Sin of the Golden Calf, in which the nation sought an intermediary between Hashem and themselves. The text of the declaration also builds on this idea. The Greeks were pointing out that the nation sought an intermediary immediately after Matan Torah, and this proves that they have no real connection to Him.

The Greeks sought to prevent expression of any special connection between us and Hashem. Thus, they issued decrees against three mitzvos—Bris Mila, Rosh Chodesh and Shabbos. The mitzvah of bris mila is an expression of the holiness of the Jewish body. This was anathema to the Greeks. How dare the Jews consider themselves holier? The thought that the beginning of a month was determined by Jewish Sages also enraged the Greeks. It was as if Hashem gave us the power to determine the workings of the heavens. Lastly, the Greeks could not tolerate the idea of the Jew’s special connection to the holiness of Shabbos, which a gentile is not permitted to experience (see Sanhedrin 58b).

Obviously, the Torah was another prime example of the nation’s unique place in the world. Therefore, the Greeks had the Torah translated into seventy languages, as if to express that the Torah did not belong to the Jews any more than it belonged to any nation – so they made it available to all. However, when it came to the Oral Torah, Torah Shebe’al Peh, the Greeks were unable to bring it into the public domain. After all, this part of Torah existed only in oral form between rebbe and student. So, they tried to make us forget the Torah.

The Greeks’ objection to Torah study appears prominently in the Al HaNissim prayer, as it was one of their main campaigns against us. Thus, the Chasam Sofer writes that the victory of the Maccabees should be celebrated by strengthening our study of Torah Sheb’al Peh. Indeed, the days of Chanuka possess a special power to help us succeed in our learning.

The Greeks were intent on rendering the oil of the Beis Hamikdash impure. Why? Rav Yerucham Olshin explains this based on the Gemara (see Shabbos 22b), which asks, “Does Hashem need us to illuminate the world (with the light of the Menorah)?… Rather, [the light of the Menorah] symbolized the connection of the Shechina to His nation.” The Greeks wanted to abolish this symbol.

The Menorah also expresses Hashem’s love for us. The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabba 15:8) uses an analogy to explain: A king informed his friend that he would visit him on a certain day. This friend prepared an elaborate meal. When the king arrived with his massive entourage, though, he hid what he had prepared in shame.

“Why did you not prepare for my visit?” asked the king.

“When I saw all of your glory, I thought to myself, what can I possibly do? All that I prepared was nothing in comparison,” replied the friend.

“On the contrary,” replied the king. “You are my beloved, and what you prepared for me is more important to me than all the honor I receive from them.”

Similarly, the Midrash continues, Hashem prefers our light from the Menorah in the Beis Hamikdash over all of the giant luminaries that appear in the heavens. Thus, the Menorah was an expression of Hashem’s love for His people. The Greeks could not tolerate this, and they tried to defile the oil used for it.

The Rambam (Hilchos Chanuka 4:12) states that the lighting of the Chanuka candles is “a very beloved mitzvah.” For the Rambam, this is unusual wording. He does not generally rate mitzvos as being more “beloved” than others! However, lighting the Chanuka candles is a mitzvah that expresses love. They recall the love that Hashem expressed for us by letting us return to the Beis Hamikdash to light the Menorah (which itself is a sign of his love, per the Midrash above). They also recall the great miracles that He did so that we would be able to light the Menorah once more: the supernatural victory of the Maccabees against the Greek army, the discovery of a hidden flask of pure oil, and how that one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days.

We too should use the mitzvah of lighting Chanuka candles as an expression of our great love for Hashem. We should try to light only at the exact time, in the best location, with the best oil, and a sufficient amount of oil. Naturally, we should light it mehadrin min hamehadrin—adding an additional candle each day. We should also have great kavana (concentration) when lighting Chanuka candles. Think about the great miracles Hashem did for us, and infuse the mitzvah with great joy and gratitude.

The Alter of Kelm would say that when we light the menorah, it should imbue us with love for Hashem and a desire to return His love. It should cause us to resolve to serve Hashem with more joy and enthusiasm for the entire year.

I recall one of my rebbeim exhorting us, “Chanuka is time of growth! How can one pick up and leave the Beis Midrash to light candles without coming back? Is Chanuka a time to learn less? One should be learning more! It is not possible for a Jew with brains to waste these eight days going to Chanuka parties and eating latkes. Instead, we should be thinking about how to upgrade our service of Hashem in all areas.”

May we be zocheh that Chanuka propel us to greater heights!