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Lehavas David · Chanukah – First Night · Maamar ח From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz of Bialaרבי דוד מתתיהו רבינוביץ מביאלאProfile ›

The Chukim of Your Will: Chanukah's Answer to Greece

We say that the Greeks rose “to make them forget Your Torah and to make them stray from the chukim of Your will.” If they meant to uproot the whole Torah, why single out the chukim? And why do we light on the first night, when no miracle happened that day?

Name a tzaddik: tap for who he wasTitle a sefer

Bereishis 1:2
וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם
And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.
1The Midrash says: “‘And darkness was upon the face of the deep’: this is the kingdom of Greece, which darkened the eyes of Israel with its decrees. It would say to them, ‘Write on the horn of the ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel.’”1
וְחוֹשֶׁךְ עַל פְּנֵי תְהוֹם, זוֹ מַלְכוּת יָוָן שֶׁהֶחֱשִׁיכָה אֶת עֵינֵיהֶם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּגְזֵירוֹתֵיהֶם, שֶׁהָיְתָה אוֹמֶרֶת לָהֶם כִּתְבוּ לָכֶם עַל קֶרֶן הַשּׁוֹר שֶׁאֵין לָכֶם חֵלֶק בֶּאֱלוֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (בראשית רבה ב, ד).
  1. Bereishis Rabbah 2:4 (the sefer has 2:5); Bereishis 1:2. ↩
In shortThe Midrash calls Greece “darkness”: it ordered Israel to write on an ox's horn that it had no portion in the God of Israel.
2What does “darkness” mean here, that Chazal chose it to describe how terrible the evil of the Greek kingdom was? We must also ask why the Greeks told Israel to write this on the horn of an ox, of all places. And notice the wording “you have no portion”: what was that portion which they came to say Israel did not have?
יֵשׁ לְהָבִין הַדָּבָר, מַהוּ מַשְׁמָעוּת עִנְיַן ׳חוֹשֶׁךְ׳, אֲשֶׁר בָּזֶה רָאוּ חז״ל לְהַגְדִּיר אֶת עוֹצֶם הָרָעָה שֶׁל מַלְכוּת יָוָן. עוֹד צָרִיךְ בֵּיאוּר, מָה טַעַם אָמְרוּ לָהֶם לִכְתּוֹב כֵּן עַל קֶרֶן הַשּׁוֹר דַּיְיקָא. עוֹד יְדוּקְדַּק הַלָּשׁוֹן ׳אֵין לָכֶם חֵלֶק׳, מַהוּ אוֹתוֹ הַחֵלֶק, שֶׁעָלָיו בָּאוּ לוֹמַר שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם אוֹתוֹ.
In shortWhy is Greece called “darkness,” why the horn of an ox, and what “portion” did the Greeks deny Israel?
3There is also the well-known question of the : why do we light for eight days, when on the first day there was no miracle?2
עוֹד יָדוּעַ קוּשְׁיַית הַבֵּית יוֹסֵף, לָמָּה מַדְלִיקִין שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים, הֲרֵי בְּיוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן לֹא הָיָה הַנֵּס.
  1. Beis Yosef, Orach Chaim 670. The cruse held enough oil for one day, so only the seven days after it were miraculous. ↩
In shortIf the oil was enough for the first day, why do we light for eight days rather than seven?
4Before we explain, let us look at what we say in the Al HaNissim prayer: the Greeks rose up “to make them forget Your Torah and to make them stray from the chukim of Your will.” This is hard to understand. First we say that they rose against Israel “to make them forget Your Torah,” which implies the whole Torah. Then we say “to make them stray from the chukim of Your will,” which implies that the Greeks turned Israel away only from the chukim, the decrees that have no reason, and not from the whole Torah.
וּנְבָאֵר בְּהֶקְדֵּם עוֹד, מַה שֶּׁאָנוּ אוֹמְרִים בִּתְפִילַּת עַל הַנִּיסִּים ׳לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּוֹרָתֶךָ וּלְהַעֲבִירָם מֵחוּקֵּי רְצוֹנֶךָ׳. וְאֵינוֹ מוּבָן, דִּתְחִילָּה אוֹמְרִים שֶׁעָמְדוּ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל ׳לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּוֹרָתֶךָ׳ דְּמַשְׁמַע כָּל הַתּוֹרָה, וְשׁוּב אוֹמְרִים אָנוּ ׳לְהַעֲבִירָם מֵחוּקֵּי רְצוֹנֶךָ׳, דְּמַשְׁמַע דְּהֶעֱבִירוּם רַק מֵהַחוּקִּים, וְלֹא מִכָּל הַתּוֹרָה.
In shortAl HaNissim speaks of making Israel forget the whole Torah, yet also of turning it away only from the chukim.
5We can explain this as follows. As we know, the Torah has two kinds of mitzvos: rational mitzvos, which the mind can understand, and chukim. Yet a person must reach the level where even when he does one of the rational mitzvos, he does it only for the honor of Hashem's Name, bending all the thoughts of his heart and mind to Him. He should not do it because of any reasons or understanding of his own, but as though it were a chok.
וְיֵשׁ לְבָאֵר הָעִנְיָן כָּךְ. דְּהִנֵּה יָדוּעַ דִּבְמִצְוֹות הַתּוֹרָה יֵשׁ שְׁנֵי מִינֵי מִצְוֹות, מִצְוֹות שִׂכְלִיּוֹת וּמִצְוֹות חוּקִּיִּים. אָכֵן צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם לְהַגִּיעַ לְמַדְרֵגָה כָּזוֹ, שֶׁאֲפִילּוּ בְּעֵת שֶׁעוֹשֶׂה מִצְוָוה מִן הַמִּצְוֹות הַשִּׂכְלִיּוֹת, יְקַיֵּים זֹאת אַךְ וְרַק לְמַעַן כְּבוֹד שְׁמוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, וּלְשַׁעְבֵּד אֵלָיו כָּל מַחֲשָׁבוֹת לִבּוֹ וּמוֹחוֹ, וְלֹא יַעֲשֶׂה כֵּן מֵחֲמַת שׁוּם טְעָמִים וְהַבָּנוֹת שִׂכְלִיּוֹת, כְּאִילּוּ הֵם מִצְוֹות שֶׁהֵם בִּבְחִינַת חוּקִּים.
In shortEven a rational mitzvah should be kept only for Hashem's honor, as though it were a chok.
6The holy sefarim explain why.3 If a person does the mitzvos only out of his own understanding, then he finds them right to do only because he understands their reasons. This proves that he is serving not the Creator but himself. Rather, we must keep the mitzvos simply and wholeheartedly, because Hashem commanded us, and not because our minds agree. What is more, a person who keeps the mitzvos because of his own reasoning may, Heaven forbid, stray from the King's highway. We find this with Shlomo HaMelech.4 The verse says, “He shall not take many wives for himself,”5 and Shlomo said, “I will take many, and I will not turn aside.” Yet it is written, “And it was at the time of Shlomo's old age …”6 So it is good and right to keep the mitzvos only because the Creator commanded them, and then one will not err or transgress them.
וְהוּא מֵחֲמַת דְּאִיתָא בַּסְּפָרִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים (עיין בדרך פקודיך מצוה יא, ח. ובמעיין גנים ה, ז), שֶׁבְּאִם עוֹשֶׂה הָאָדָם הַמִּצְוֹות רַק מִתּוֹךְ הַבָּנוֹת שִׂכְלִיּוֹת, נִמְצָא שֶׁרַק מֵחֲמַת שֶׁמֵּבִין אֶת טַעֲמֵי הַמִּצְוֹות מוֹצֵא לְנָכוֹן שֶׁכֵּן צָרִיךְ לֵיעָשׂוֹת, וְאִם כֵּן מוּכָח בָּזֶה שֶׁהוּא אֵינֶנּוּ עוֹבֵד אֶת הַבּוֹרֵא, אֶלָּא אֶת עַצְמוֹ. רַק יֵשׁ לָנוּ לְקַיֵּים הַמִּצְוֹות בְּפַשְׁטוּת וּבִתְמִימוּת, מֵחֲמַת שֶׁכֵּן צִוָּה לָנוּ הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ וְלֹא מִצַּד הַשֵּׂכֶל. וְעוֹד, שֶׁהָאָדָם הַמְּקַיֵּים הַמִּצְוֹות מִצַּד הַשֵּׂכֶל, יוּכַל ח״ו לִסְטוּת מִדֶּרֶךְ הַמֶּלֶךְ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁמָּצִינוּ בִּשְׁלֹמֹה הַמֶּלֶךְ ע״ה (סנהדרין כא, ב) דְּאַף שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב ״לֹא יַרְבֶּה לּוֹ נָשִׁים״ (דברים יז, יז), אָמַר שְׁלֹמֹה אֲנִי אַרְבֶּה וְלֹא אָסוּר, וּכְתִיב (מלכים א יא, ד) ״וַיְהִי לְעֵת זִקְנַת שְׁלֹמֹה״ וְגוֹ׳. לָכֵן טוֹב וְנָכוֹן לְקַיֵּים הַמִּצְוֹות אַךְ וְרַק מֵחֲמַת צִיוּוּי הַבּוֹרֵא יִתְבָּרֵךְ שְׁמוֹ, וְאָז לֹא יִטְעֶה וְלֹא יַעֲבוֹר עַל הַמִּצְוֹות.
  1. See Derech Pikudecha, mitzvah 11:8; Maayan Ganim 5:7. ↩
  2. Sanhedrin 21b. The Torah gives the reason, “so that his heart not turn aside,” and Shlomo reasoned that the prohibition would not apply to him. ↩
  3. Devarim 17:17. ↩
  4. Melachim I 11:4. The verse continues: “… that his wives turned his heart after other gods.” ↩
In shortKeeping mitzvos for our own reasons is serving ourselves and can lead astray, as Shlomo's reasoning about many wives did.
7This power to serve the Creator simply because Hashem commanded it, as a chok, belongs only to Klal Yisrael and not to the nations of the world. Even when the nations keep their seven mitzvos, the laws given to all the descendants of Noach, they keep them only because their minds understand them. So Chazal tell of Dama ben Nesinah, a gentile, that as a reward for honoring his father, the Holy One, blessed be He, caused a red heifer to be born in his herd the following year.7 The holy sefarim explain why his reward was a red heifer, of all things:8 to show the difference between the nations and Klal Yisrael. The nations keep only a rational mitzvah such as honoring one's father, but Israel gives its life and its money even for a mitzvah like the red heifer, which has no reason.
וְהִנֵּה הַכֹּחַ הַזֶּה לַעֲבוֹד הַבּוֹרֵא מִשּׁוּם שֶׁכָּךְ הוּא צִיוּוּי הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, כִּבְחִינַת חֹק, זֶה שַׁיָּיךְ רַק אֵצֶל כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲבָל לֹא אֵצֶל אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֵם גַּם כְּשֶׁמְּקַיְּימִים אֶת הַשֶּׁבַע מִצְוֹות שֶׁלָּהֶם, מְקַיְּימִים אוֹתָם רַק מֵחֲמַת הֲבָנָה שִׂכְלִית. כְּמוֹ שֶׁמָּצִינוּ בחז״ל שֶׁאָמְרוּ (קידושין לא, א) שֶׁבִּשְׂכַר הַכִּיבּוּד אָב שֶׁל דָּמָא בֶּן נְתִינָה, נָתַן לוֹ הקב״ה שְׂכָרוֹ וּלְשָׁנָה אַחֶרֶת נוֹלְדָה לוֹ פָּרָה אֲדוּמָּה בְּעֶדְרוֹ. וּפֵירְשׁוּ בַּסְּפָרִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים (מהר״ל תפארת ישראל פרק מא, אוהל תורה [קוצק] חוקת) מַדּוּעַ הָיָה שְׂכָרוֹ דַּוְקָא פָּרָה אֲדוּמָּה, אוּלָם הָיָה זֶה בִּכְדֵי לְהַרְאוֹת בָּזֶה הַהֶבְדֵּל שֶׁיֵּשׁ בֵּין הָאוּמּוֹת לִכְלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁהָאוּמּוֹת מְקַיְּימִים רַק מִצְוָוה שִׂכְלִית כְּמִצְוַות כִּיבּוּד אָב, אֲבָל יִשְׂרָאֵל מוֹסְרִים נַפְשָׁם וּמָמוֹנָם אֲפִילּוּ עַל מִצְוָוה כְּפָרָה אֲדוּמָּה שֶׁאֵין לָהּ טַעַם.
  1. Kiddushin 31a. Dama ben Nesinah of Ashkelon would not wake his sleeping father even for a great profit. ↩
  2. Maharal, Tiferes Yisrael, ch. 41; Ohel Torah (the teachings of R' Menachem Mendel of Kotzk), Chukas. ↩
In shortOnly Israel serves Hashem as a chok; Dama ben Nesinah's reward was a red heifer, the chok for which Israel gives anything.
8With this we can explain the verse “This is the chok of the Torah which Hashem commanded, saying.”9 The well-known difficulty is: why “the chok of the Torah”? The verse should have said “the chok of the red heifer.” According to what we have said, we may say that the verse comes to teach Bnei Yisrael how to keep all the mitzvos of the Torah. When they keep the Torah, the mitzvos must be in their eyes like a chok. They should keep it without any reasoning of their own, only because it is what “Hashem commanded, saying.” That is why it says “the chok of the Torah.”
וּבָזֶה יֵשׁ לְפָרֵשׁ הַכָּתוּב (במדבר יט, ב) ״זֹאת חוּקַּת הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה׳ לֵאמוֹר״, וְהַדִּקְדּוּק יָדוּעַ מַהוּ חוּקַּת ׳הַתּוֹרָה׳, וְהָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר חוּקַּת ׳הַפָּרָה׳. אַךְ לְהָאָמוּר יֵשׁ לוֹמַר, שֶׁהַכַּוָּונָה בָּזֶה לְהוֹרוֹת לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵיאַךְ לְקַיֵּים כָּל מִצְוֹות הַתּוֹרָה, וְהוּא שֶׁבִּשְׁעַת קִיּוּם הַתּוֹרָה צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת הַמִּצְוֹות בְּעֵינֵיהֶם כְּמוֹ חֹק, לְקַיֵּים הַתּוֹרָה בְּלִי שׁוּם הֲבָנָה שִׂכְלִית, רַק מֵחֲמַת ׳אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה׳ לֵאמֹר׳, וְלָזֶה אָמַר ׳חוּקַּת הַתּוֹרָה׳.
  1. Bamidbar 19:2. ↩
In short“The chok of the Torah” teaches that the whole Torah, not only the red heifer, is to be kept as a chok.
9This also explains a Midrash on the verse “If you will walk in My statutes, bechukosai”:10 “This is what is written, ‘I considered my ways, and I turned my feet back to Your testimonies.’ Dovid said: Master of the world, every single day I would plan and say, ‘I am going to such-and-such a place, to such-and-such a dwelling,’ and my feet would bring me to the synagogues and the study halls.”11 This means the following. “Such-and-such a place and such-and-such a dwelling” hint at what a person wants for himself. When Dovid HaMelech was doing the mitzvos and his own reasoning and personal interests stirred in him, then “my feet would lead me to the synagogues.”12 He cast aside all his own reasoning and made himself do the mitzvah only because the Creator commanded it. This is how the Midrash connects to “If you will walk in My statutes”: one must keep the mitzvos as a chok, and not because of their reason.
וּבָזֶה יְבוֹאַר גַּם מַה דְּאִיתָא בַּמִּדְרָשׁ (ויקרא רבה לה, א) ״אִם בְּחוּקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ״ (ויקרא כו, ג) הָדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב (תהלים קיט, נט) ״חִשַּׁבְתִּי דְרָכָי וָאָשִׁיבָה רַגְלַי אֶל עֵדוֹתֶיךָ״, אָמַר דָּוִד רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם בְּכָל יוֹם וָיוֹם הָיִיתִי מְחַשֵּׁב וְאוֹמֵר לְמָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי וּלְבֵית דִּירָה פְּלוֹנִית אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ, וְהָיוּ רַגְלַי מְבִיאוֹת אוֹתִי לְבָתֵּי כְּנֵסִיּוֹת וּלְבָתֵּי מִדְרָשׁוֹת. וְהַיְינוּ, שֶׁדָּוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ ע״ה כַּאֲשֶׁר בְּעֵת קִיּוּם הַמִּצְוֹות נִתְעוֹרֵר אֶצְלוֹ הַבָּנוֹת שִׂכְלִיּוֹת וּנְגִיעוֹת עַצְמוֹ, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת ׳מָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי וּבֵית דִּירָה פְּלוֹנִית׳ הַמְּרַמֵּז עַל רְצוֹנוֹת הָאָדָם לְעַצְמוֹ, אֲזַי ׳הָיוּ רַגְלַי מוֹלִיכוֹת אוֹתִי לְבָתֵּי כְּנֵסִיּוֹת׳, הַיְינוּ שֶׁהִשְׁלִיךְ מִנֶּגֶד אֶת כָּל הַשִּׂכְלִיּוֹת, וְכָפָה עַצְמוֹ לְקַיֵּים הַמִּצְוָוה אַךְ וְרַק מֵחֲמַת צִיוּוּי הַבּוֹרֵא. וְזֶהוּ שַׁיָּיכוּת מַאֲמַר הַמִּדְרָשׁ לְפָסוּק ״אִם בְּחוּקֹּתַי״ וְגוֹ׳, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לְקַיֵּים הַמִּצְוֹות בִּבְחִינַת חֹק, לֹא מֵחֲמַת הַטַּעַם.
  1. Vayikra 26:3. ↩
  2. Vayikra Rabbah 35:1; Tehillim 119:59. ↩
  3. The sefer quotes it here as “lead me”; above, “bring me.” ↩
In shortWhen his own plans stirred, Dovid's feet took him to the study hall; he kept the mitzvos as a chok, “walking in My statutes.”
10The Greeks wanted to root in the Jewish people the way of the nations: keeping only the rational mitzvos and not the chukim. That is why they issued decrees against these three things in particular: Shabbos, Chodesh, the sanctifying of the new month, and circumcision.13 All three are a kind of chok. With circumcision, even after all the inquiries and reasons given for it, the mitzvah remains a chok without a reason. The mitzvah of the new month, counting our months by the moon, is also a kind of chok. And so is Shabbos. Its essence does have a reason, to root in us the recognition of the Creator, for through Shabbos we testify “that in six days Hashem made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He ceased and rested.”14 Yet the thirty-nine melachos, the categories of work forbidden on Shabbos, and the other prohibitions are a kind of chok. Some of them involve no effort at all, and we do not understand why they were forbidden.
וְהִנֵּה הַיְוָונִים רָצוּ לְהַשְׁרִישׁ בְּעַם יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁגַּם הֵם יֵלְכוּ בְּדֶרֶךְ הָאוּמּוֹת לְקַיֵּים רַק מִצְוֹות שִׂכְלִיּוֹת וְלֹא אֶת הַחוּקִּים, וְעַל כֵּן גָּזְרוּ הַיְוָונִים דַּוְקָא עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים אֵלּוּ שַׁבָּת חוֹדֶשׁ וּמִילָה (מגילת אנטיוכוס), כֵּיוָן שֶׁשְּׁלָשְׁתָּם הֵם בְּחִינַת חוֹק. כִּי מִילָה אַחֲרֵי כָּל הַחֲקִירוֹת וְהַטְּעָמִים שֶׁנָּתְנוּ בָּזֶה, עֲדַיִין נִשְׁאֲרָה הַמִּצְוָוה בִּבְחִינַת חֹק בְּלֹא טַעַם. וְכֵן גַּם מִצְוַות חוֹדֶשׁ, מַה שֶׁאָנוּ מוֹנִים לַלְּבָנָה הוּא גַּם כֵּן בְּחִינַת חֹק. וְכֵן עִנְיַן שַׁבָּת הוּא בְּחִינַת חֹק, שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁעִיקַּר עִנְיַן שַׁבָּת יֵשׁ לוֹ טַעַם, וְהוּא לְהַשְׁרִישׁ בָּנוּ הַכָּרַת הַבּוֹרֵא, שֶׁעַל יְדֵי שַׁבָּת מְעִידִים אָנוּ ״כִּי שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשָׂה ה׳ אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ״ (שמות לא, יז), מִכָּל מָקוֹם הל״ט מְלָאכוֹת עַצְמָם וּשְׁאָר הָאִיסּוּרִים הֵם בְּחִינַת חֹק, שֶׁיֵּשׁ מֵהֶם דְּבָרִים שֶׁאֵין בָּהֶם טוֹרַח כְּלָל וְאֵינוֹ מוּבָן לָמָּה נֶאֶסְרוּ.
  1. Megillas Antiochus. ↩
  2. Shemos 31:17. ↩
In shortTo wean Israel from the chukim, the Greeks banned Shabbos, the new month and circumcision, each of which is a kind of chok.
11With this we can resolve the 's question. True, we cannot understand why the first day was set for lighting. But that itself is the point of the mitzvah: through it we show that we do the Creator's mitzvos without a reason. And this is the heart of Chanukah, doing the opposite of what the Greeks wanted when they tried to uproot from us the keeping of the chukim. When the Chashmona'im, the Hasmoneans, prevailed over the Greeks, they rooted in us the strength to keep the Creator's mitzvos simply and wholeheartedly, even when we have no grasp or understanding of them.
וּבָזֶה יֵשׁ לְיַישֵּׁב קוּשְׁיַית הַבֵּית יוֹסֵף, דְּאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁבְּיוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן אֵין מוּבָן הַטַּעַם לָמָּה נִקְבַּע לְהַדְלָקָה, אָכֵן זֶה גּוּפָא עִנְיַן הַמִּצְוָוה, שֶׁבָּזֶה אָנוּ מַרְאִים שֶׁאָנוּ עוֹשִׂים מִצְוַות הַבּוֹרֵא בְּלִי טַעַם, שֶׁזֶּהוּ עִיקַּר עִנְיַן חֲנוּכָּה, לַעֲשׂוֹת הֵיפֶךְ מַה שֶׁרָצוּ הַיְוָונִים לַעֲקוֹר מֵאִתָּנוּ אֶת קִיּוּם הַחוּקִּים, שֶׁכַּאֲשֶׁר גָּבְרוּ הַחַשְׁמוֹנָאִים עֲלֵיהֶם, הִשְׁרִישׁוּ בָּנוּ, שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין לָנוּ מוּשָּׂג וַהֲבָנָה בַּמִּצְוֹות, אָנוּ מְקַיְּימִים מִצְוֹות הַבּוֹרֵא בִּפְשִׁיטוּת וּתְמִימוּת.
In shortWe light on the first night, which has no miracle to explain it, to show that we keep Hashem's mitzvos without a reason.
12[We can add a further explanation.15 Among the rabbinic mitzvos we do not find any that is a kind of chok. As is well known, the way of the Greeks and the Hellenists, the Jews who took on Greek ways, was to uproot, Heaven forbid, emunas chachamim, faith in the Sages. That is the way of heretics, as the Gemara says: “An apikoros, a heretic, is one who disparages Torah scholars …” These are the people who say, “What use are the Rabbis to us? They have never permitted us the raven, nor forbidden us the dove,”16 and so they deny the benefit of faith in the Sages. So it was especially necessary to strengthen faith in the Sages too. That is why Chazal added a mitzvah of their own that also has no reason: they instituted lighting on the first day as well.]
*[וּבְיֶתֶר בֵּיאוּר יֵשׁ עוֹד לְהוֹסִיף, דְּהִנֵּה בְּמִצְוֹות דְּרַבָּנָן לֹא מָצִינוּ שׁוּם מִצְוָוה שֶׁהִיא בְּחִינַת חֹק, וְהִנֵּה יָדוּעַ שֶׁדַּרְכָּם שֶׁל הַיְוָונִים וְהַמִּתְיַוְּונִים הָיָה לַעֲקוֹר ח״ו אֱמוּנַת חֲכָמִים, שֶׁכָּךְ הוּא דַּרְכָּם שֶׁל אֶפִּיקוֹרְסִים, וְכִדְמָצִינוּ בַּגְּמָרָא בְּסַנְהֶדְרִין (צט, ב) אֶפִּיקוֹרוֹס זֶה הַמְּבַזֶּה תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים וְכוּ׳, דְּאָמְרִי מַאי אַהֲנֵי לָן רַבָּנָן, לָא שָׁרוּ לָן עוֹרְבָא וְלָא אַסְרוּ לָן יוֹנָה, שֶׁבָּאִים לְהַכְחִישׁ הַתּוֹעֶלֶת שֶׁבֶּאֱמוּנַת חֲכָמִים, עַל כֵּן הָיָה מֵהַצּוֹרֶךְ בְּיוֹתֵר לְחַזֵּק גַּם אֱמוּנַת חֲכָמִים, לָכֵן הוֹסִיפוּ וְתִיקְּנוּ מִצְוָוה מִדִּבְרֵיהֶם שֶׁגַּם אֵין בָּהּ טַעַם, וְלָכֵן תִּיקְּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק גַּם בְּיוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן.
  1. The sefer's note: An addition from another place. ↩
  2. Sanhedrin 99b–100a. That is, the Rabbis only repeat what is written in the Torah. ↩
In shortAgainst the Greeks' attack on faith in the Sages, Chazal gave us a rabbinic mitzvah with no reason: lighting on the first night.
13[This is also hinted in what Chazal said about the mitzvah of Chanukah in particular: “And where did He command us? From ‘You shall not turn aside’ and from ‘Ask your father.’”17 Here, where the accursed Greeks came to uproot faith in the Sages, Chazal had to strengthen faith in their words all the more.]
וְזֶה מְרוּמָּז גַּם בְּאָמְרָם ז״ל עַל מִצְוַות חֲנוּכָּה דַּוְקָא (שבת כג, א) וְהֵיכָן צִיוָּונוּ מִ״לֹא תָסוּר״ וּמִ״שְׁאַל אָבִיךָ״, שֶׁכָּאן שֶׁבָּאוּ הַיְוָונִים הָאֲרוּרִים לַעֲקוֹר אֱמוּנַת חֲכָמִים, עַל כֵּן הוּצְרְכוּ חז״ל לְחַזֵּק הָאֱמוּנָה בְּדִבְרֵיהֶם בְּיוֹתֵר].
  1. Shabbos 23a; Devarim 17:11; 32:7. These verses command us to follow the Sages, and on them rests the blessing “Who commanded us to light the Chanukah lamp.” ↩
In shortChanukah's blessing rests on the verses commanding obedience to the Sages, because the Greeks attacked faith in their words.
14This is the meaning of “to make them forget Your Torah and to make them stray from the chukim of Your will.” The Greeks wanted to root in Israel their own way of keeping the Torah's mitzvos only out of reason, which is “to make them stray from the chukim of Your will.” Through this they schemed to do away with the whole Torah: “to make them forget Your Torah.”
וְזֶהוּ ׳לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּוֹרָתֶךָ וּלְהַעֲבִירָם מֵחוּקֵּי רְצוֹנֶךָ׳, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהַיְּוָונִים רָצוּ שֶׁעַל יְדֵי שֶׁיַּשְׁרִישׁוּ דַּרְכָּם לְקַיֵּים מִצְוֹות הַתּוֹרָה רַק מִתּוֹךְ שִׂכְלִיּוֹת שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת ׳לְהַעֲבִירָם מֵחוּקֵּי רְצוֹנֶךָ׳, עַל יְדֵי זֶה זָמְמוּ לְבַטֵּל אֶת כָּל הַתּוֹרָה ׳לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּוֹרָתֶךָ׳.
In shortTurning Israel from the chukim was the Greeks' means; making it forget the whole Torah was their goal.
15a[The Greeks wanted to do away with the whole Torah and its mitzvos in Israel.18 But they knew full well that if they openly decreed that the whole Torah be abolished, Bnei Yisrael would give their lives like burnt offerings and peace offerings rather than abandon it. For Bnei Yisrael have been trained, generation after generation, in mesirus nefesh, the readiness to give one's life, to keep the Torah. This is their inheritance from Avraham Avinu. He was the first to give himself over, casting himself into the fiery furnace,19 and by this he handed down to us the power of mesirus nefesh.]
*[וְהִנֵּה הַיְוָונִים אֲשֶׁר רָצוּ לְבַטֵּל כָּל הַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוֹות מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, יָדְעוּ נֶאֱמָנָה, כִּי בְּאִם יִגְזְרוּ בְּפֵירוּשׁ לְבַטֵּל הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, יִמְסְרוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת נַפְשָׁם כְּמוֹ עוֹלוֹת וּשְׁלָמִים וְלֹא יְבַטְּלוּ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, שֶׁהֲרֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מְלוּמָּדִים הֵם מִדּוֹר דּוֹר בִּמְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ לְקַיֵּים הַתּוֹרָה, וְזֹאת יְרוּשָּׁה הִיא לָהֶם מֵאַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ ע״ה, אֲשֶׁר הוּא הָרִאשׁוֹן שֶׁמָּסַר נַפְשׁוֹ וְהִשְׁלִיךְ עַצְמוֹ לְתוֹךְ כִּבְשַׁן הָאֵשׁ (בראשית רבה לח, יג), וּבָזֶה מָסַר וְהִנְחִיל לָנוּ כֹּחַ מְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ.
  1. The sefer's note: An addition from another place. ↩
  2. Bereishis Rabbah 38:13 (the sefer has 38:19). In Ur Kasdim Avraham let himself be cast into the fiery furnace rather than worship idols, and he was saved. ↩
In shortAn open decree against the whole Torah would only have met mesirus nefesh, Israel’s inheritance from Avraham, so the Greeks could not attack the Torah head-on.
15b[So the Greeks acted with cunning. At first they tried to plant their false opinions in Israel. One must indeed keep the Torah, they argued, but only the mitzvos a person understands with his mind; those whose reason he does not understand need not be kept, Heaven forbid. This is “to make them stray from the chukim of Your will”: at first they tried to turn Israel away only from the mitzvos that are chukim, which have no reason. But Chazal have taught us how the yetzer hara works: “Today it tells him, ‘Do this,’ and tomorrow it tells him, ‘Do that,’ until it tells him, ‘Go worship idols,’ and he goes and worships.”20 So it was with the Greeks. Their scheme, as things went on, was that Bnei Yisrael would come to abandon the whole Torah of their own accord. And this is “to make them forget Your Torah,” the whole Torah. That is what we say in Al HaNissim: the Greeks set out “to make them forget Your Torah,” all of it, by beginning only “to make them stray from the chukim of Your will,” and through that the whole Torah would be abandoned and forgotten.]
לָכֵן נָהֲגוּ הַיְוָונִים בְּעָרְמָה, וּבִתְחִילָּה בִּיקְּשׁוּ לְהַשְׁרִישׁ וּלְהַכְנִיס דֵּעוֹתֵיהֶם הַכּוֹזְבוֹת, וְטָעֲנוּ שֶׁאָמְנָם צְרִיכִים לְקַיֵּים הַתּוֹרָה, אֲבָל יֵשׁ לְקַיֵּים רַק אֶת הַמִּצְוֹות שֶׁאוֹתָם מֵבִין הָאָדָם בְּשִׂכְלוֹ, וּמַה שֶׁאֵין הָאָדָם מֵבִין הַטַּעַם בְּשִׂכְלוֹ אֵין צָרִיךְ לְקַיְּימָם ח״ו. וְזֶהוּ ׳לְהַעֲבִירָם מֵחוּקֵּי רְצוֹנֶךָ׳, הַיְינוּ שֶׁבִּיקְּשׁוּ תְּחִילָּה לְהַעֲבִירָם רַק מֵהַמִּצְוֹות שֶׁהֵם בִּבְחִינַת ׳חוּקִּים׳ שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם טַעַם. אָכֵן כְּבָר אָמְרוּ רז״ל (שבת קה, ב) הַיּוֹם אוֹמֵר לוֹ עֲשֵׂה כָּךְ, וּלְמָחָר אוֹמֵר לוֹ עֲשֵׂה כָּךְ, עַד שֶׁאוֹמֵר לוֹ לֵךְ וַעֲבוֹד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְהוֹלֵךְ וְעוֹבֵד. כְּמוֹ כֵן הָיָה עִם הַיְּוָנִים, שֶׁבְּהֶמְשֵׁךְ בִּקְּשׁוּ לְהָפֵק זְמָמָם שֶׁמִּמֵּילָא יְבַטְּלוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כָּל הַתּוֹרָה, וְזֶהוּ ׳לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּוֹרָתֶךָ׳ אֶת כָּל הַתּוֹרָה, וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאוֹמְרִים בְּעַל הַנִּיסִּים, ׳לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּוֹרָתֶךָ׳ כּוּלָּהּ, עַל יְדֵי שֶׁבַּתְּחִילָּה הִתְחִילוּ וּפָעֲלוּ רַק ׳לְהַעֲבִירָם מֵחוּקֵּי רְצוֹנֶךָ׳, וּמִתּוֹךְ כָּךְ יְבַטְּלוּ וְיַשְׁכִּיחוּ אֶת כָּל הַתּוֹרָה.
  1. Shabbos 105b. ↩
In shortThe Greeks began with the chukim, arguing that only mitzvos the mind understands need be kept, so that step by step, the yetzer hara’s way, Israel would forget the whole Torah.
16[This is the meaning of the words “the chukim of Your will.” It is precisely by keeping the chukim, whose reason we do not know, that we show we keep the mitzvos because of Hashem's will. When the Greeks rose up against Israel to abolish the chukim, they wanted us, Heaven forbid, to keep the mitzvos because our minds understand them, and not because of Hashem's will. So in these days a holy duty rests on us: to strengthen ourselves and to root deep within us the keeping of the mitzvos only because it is the Creator's will.]
וְזֶהוּ הַלָּשׁוֹן מֵחוּקֵּי ׳רְצוֹנֶךָ׳, כִּי דַּיְיקָא עַל יְדֵי שֶׁמְּקַיְּימִים הַחוּקִּים שֶׁאֵין יָדוּעַ לָנוּ טַעְמָם, בָּזֶה נִיכָּר שֶׁאָנוּ מְקַיְּימִים הַמִּצְוֹות מֵחֲמַת ׳רְצוֹנוֹ׳ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, וְהַיְּוָונִים בָּזֶה שֶׁעָמְדוּ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבַטֵּל הַחוּקִּים, רָצוּ שח״ו נְקַיֵּים הַמִּצְוֹות מֵחֲמַת הֲבָנַת שִׂכְלֵנוּ, וְלֹא מֵחֲמַת רְצוֹן הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ. לָכֵן בַּיָּמִים הָאֵלּוּ מוּטָּל עָלֵינוּ חוֹב קָדוֹשׁ, לְהִתְחַזֵּק וּלְהַשְׁרִישׁ בְּתוֹכֵנוּ עִנְיָן זֶה, לְקַיֵּים הַמִּצְוֹות רַק מִפְּנֵי רְצוֹן הַבּוֹרֵא].
In shortKeeping chukim shows we act from Hashem's will, not our own understanding, and these days call us to strengthen exactly that.
17This is what my holy great-grandfather of Biala, zt"l, said in the 21 on the verse “And it will be, because (eikev) you listen to these laws, and keep and do them.”22 He explained: “Eikev hints at a path, a way of walking, as in ‘Go out in the footsteps (ikvei) of the flock.’23 Chazal said these are ‘the steps your fathers walked,’24 meaning the customs and the tradition of the fathers. If Bnei Yisrael keep the eikev, it will bring them to keep and do the whole Torah and its mitzvos.” This fits what we have explained. The customs and tradition of the fathers are a kind of chok without a reason, and on keeping even what has no reason depends the keeping of all the Torah's mitzvos, as we saw in the Greeks' plan to begin with the chukim.
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמַר זְקֵנִי הרה״ק מביאלא זצללה״ה (דברי בינה פרשת עקב אות ו׳), ״וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם״ (דברים ז, יב), דְּ׳עֵקֶב׳ מְרַמֵּז עַל בְּחִינַת דֶּרֶךְ וּמְהַלֵּךְ, כָּאָמוּר ״צְאִי לָךְ בְּעִקְבֵי הַצֹּאן״ (שיר השירים א, ח), וְאָמְרוּ חז״ל שֶׁהֵם ׳פְּסִיעוֹת שֶׁפָּסְעוּ בָּהֶם אֲבוֹתֶיךָ׳ (עיין רש״י ז״ל שם), דְּהַיְינוּ מִנְהָגִים וּמָסוֹרֶת אָבוֹת, וְאִם יִשְׁמְרוּ אֶת בְּחִינַת ׳עֵקֶב׳, עַל יָדָם יָבוֹאוּ לִשְׁמוֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת אֵת כָּל הַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוֹות. וְהוּא כְּפִי שֶׁבֵּיאַרְנוּ, כִּי הַמִּנְהָגִים וּמָסוֹרֶת אָבוֹת הֵם בְּחִינוֹת שֶׁל חֹק בְּלִי טַעַם, וּבָזֶה שֶׁמְּקַיְּימִים גַּם מָה שֶׁהוּא בְּלִי טַעַם, בָּזֶה תָּלוּי קִיּוּם כָּל מִצְוֹות הַתּוֹרָה, כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.
  1. Divrei Binah, Eikev §6. The first Biala Rebbe, author of Divrei Binah, the Rebbe's great-grandfather. ↩
  2. Devarim 7:12. ↩
  3. Shir HaShirim 1:8. ↩
  4. See Rashi on Shir HaShirim 1:8. ↩
In shortEikev, the footsteps of our fathers, are customs kept without a reason, and on them depends keeping the whole Torah, the Divrei Binah teaches.
18May Hashem grant that we be privileged to learn and keep the Torah simply and wholeheartedly, and to hold fast to the customs of our fathers. Amen.
ה׳ יְזַכֵּנוּ לִלְמוֹד וּלְקַיֵּים הַתּוֹרָה בְּפַשְׁטוּת וּבִתְמִימוּת, וּלְהַחֲזִיק בְּמִנְהֲגֵי אָבוֹת, אָמֵן:
In shortThe Rebbe prays that we learn and keep the Torah simply and wholeheartedly, holding fast to our fathers' customs.
The maamar as a whole

He asks why we light the first night, when the oil sufficed, and why Al HaNissim speaks both of forgetting the whole Torah and of straying only from the chukim. Even rational mitzvos should be kept as chukim, as Hashem's command: keeping them for our own reasons, the holy sefarim explain, is serving ourselves, and it led Shlomo astray. Only Israel serves so, as the sefarim read Dama ben Nesinah’s red heifer. The Greeks banned Shabbos, the new month and circumcision, each a kind of chok, so as to make Israel forget the whole Torah. So we light on the first night, which no miracle explains; an addition: this also strengthened faith in the Sages. The Rebbe's great-grandfather of Biala teaches in the Divrei Binah that keeping our fathers’ customs brings us to keep the whole Torah, and the Rebbe adds that these customs are kept without a reason.

Takeaway

The Greeks did not begin by attacking the whole Torah; they argued that we should keep only what makes sense to us, knowing that this road leads away from everything. Chanukah answers them: we light even on the first night, which no miracle explains, simply because the Sages commanded it. We can bring the same simplicity into every mitzvah and every custom of our fathers, keeping them wholeheartedly because that is Hashem's will.

Related learning

Sources he cites

· · · · · · Devarim 17:17 · Devarim 32:7 · Melachim I 11:4 · · · Rashi on Shir HaShirim 1:8 · Shabbos 23a · · Kiddushin 31a · Sanhedrin 21b · · · · Beit Yosef, Orach Chayim 670 · Megillat Antiochus 10 · Sanhedrin 99b:14-100a

Tzaddikim he names

The Maharal · Dovid HaMelech · Avraham Avinu · Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Rabinowitz of Biala · Rashi

Sefarim he cites

Beis Yosef · Derech Pikudecha · Maayan Ganim · Tiferes Yisrael · Ohel Torah · Megillas Antiochus · Divrei Binah

Translated with AI assistance. Sources and summaries were checked by a separate AI review; not yet reviewed by a human editor.

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English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.