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Yismach Yisroel · Chanukah – Fourth Night · Maamar כו From the Torah ofRav Yerachmiel Yisroel Yitzchok Danziger of Alexanderרבי ירחמיאל ישראל יצחק דנציגר מאלכסנדרProfile ›

The First Night: Nature Itself as a Free Gift

Name a tzaddik: tap for who he wasTitle a sefer

Mishnah Sanhedrin 6:5
בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָדָם מִצְטַעֵר, שְׁכִינָה מָה הַלָּשׁוֹן אוֹמֶרֶת? קַלַּנִי מֵרֹאשִׁי, קַלַּנִי מִזְּרוֹעִי
When a person suffers, what does the Shechinah say? “My head is heavy, My arm is heavy.”
69aThe holy sefarim explain that just as the Shechinah says, “My head is heavy,” when a Jew is in distress, Heaven forbid, so when salvation comes to Israel, everything there on high is filled with joy and delight. And from this, more salvation is added to that person, because he caused joy and delight on high. And according to what the holy sefer explains on the verse “And Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land in the midst of the sea,”1 one must believe even of the natural course of events that this too is above our level and not owed to us; it too is a free gift and a miracle from the Holy One, blessed be He.
[כ"ו] כְּפִי הַמְּבוֹאָר בסה"ק דִּכְשֵׁם שֶׁאָדָם מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל הוּא בְּצַעַר ח"ו, שְׁכִינָה מַה אוֹמֶרֶת כו' (סנהד' מ"ו) כָּךְ כְּשֶׁבָּאָה יְשׁוּעָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל נִתְמַלֵּא שָׁמָּה שִׂמְחָה וְעוֹנֶג. וּמִזֶּה נִתּוֹסַף לָאִישׁ הַזֶּה יְשׁוּעָה עַל שֶׁגָּרַם שִׂמְחָה וְעוֹנֶג לְמַעְלָה. וּלְפִי הַמְּבוֹאָר בַּס' נוֹעַם אֱלִימֶלֶךְ הַק', עַל פָּסוּק וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָלְכוּ בַיַּבָּשָׁה בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם, הַיְינוּ שֶׁאַף עַל הַתַּהֲלוּכוֹת הַטִּבְעִית צָרִיךְ לְהַאֲמִין שֶׁגַּם זֶה הוּא לְמַעְלָה מִמַּדְרֵיגָתֵינוּ וְאֵין מַגִּיעַ לָנוּ, רַק זֶה הִיא ג"כ מַתְּנַת חִנָּם וְנֵס מהקב"ה.
  1. Shemos 14:29. In Likkutei Shoshanah, Noam Elimelech recalls its reading of this verse: tzaddikim who walk always in deveikus see Hashem's wonders even on dry land, in every single thing in the world, as Israel saw them at the sea. ↩
In shortSalvation that brings joy on high brings more salvation to the one who caused it, and even the course of nature must be seen as an unearned miracle.
69bThis resolves the question the Rishonim ask: surely on the first night there was no miracle?2 On the contrary, it was because there was no miracle at all, only nature as human reason and eyes of flesh see it. Israel looked at how low they had fallen: they were in real darkness, as the Midrash explains, “‘And darkness was upon the face of the deep’: this is the kingdom of Greece, which darkened the eyes of Israel, and they told them, ‘Write on the horn of the ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel.’”3 They truly felt this darkness. Yet they saw that even so, the Omnipresent, blessed be He, in His kindness, had not let His love for their fathers and for them come to an end, and their service was still dear in His eyes. He left them a blessing, a single cruse of oil to light the Menorah, which is a testimony for Israel that the Shechinah dwells among them,4 as it is written, “I am Hashem, Who dwells in the midst of their impurity.”5 Out of the great joy and delight this gave them, they loved the Omnipresent all the more and earned true teshuvah out of love. Through this, gladness and joy grew in Heaven, and the windows of abundance opened to do them a nes, a miracle (נס), whose numerical value equals mah (מה), “what?”, together with Adni (אדני), “my Lord.”6 As the sefer explains in the name of [to the question “what?” the answer is “my Lord”], they knew that everything is from Hashem; even nature is from Hashem.7 Through this the whole miracle was awakened. So, far from lacking a miracle, the first night was its heart, and from it the whole miracle was awakened.
ולפ"ז יְתוֹרַץ קוּשְׁיַת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים הֲלֹא בַּלַּיְלָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה לֹא הֵי' נֵס, אַדְּרַבָּא יַעַן שֶׁלֹּא הֵי' שׁוּם נֵס רַק בְּטֶבַע כְּפִי הַנִּרְאֶה בְּשֵׂכֶל אֱנוֹשִׁי וּבְעֵינֵי בָּשָׂר וּכְשֶׁהִבִּיטוּ שֵׁפֶל מַצָּבָם שֶׁהֵם בַּחוֹשֶׁךְ מַמָּשׁ כַּמְּבוֹאָר בַּמִּדְרָשׁ (ב"ר ב') וְחֹשֶׁךְ ע"פ הַתְּהוֹם זוֹ מַלְכוּת יָוָן שֶׁהֶחְשִׁיכָה עֵינֵיהֶם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמְרוּ לָהֶם כִּתְבוּ עַל קֶרֶן הַשּׁוֹר שֶׁאֵין לָכֶם חֵלֶק בֶּאֱלֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְהֵם בְּעֶצֶם הִרְגִּישׁוּ הַחוֹשֶׁךְ הַזֶּה, וּכְשֶׁרָאוּ שאעפ"כ עוֹד אַהֲבַת אֲבוֹתָם וְאַהֲבָתָם לֹא יִכְלֶה מֵחַסְדֵי הַמָּקוֹם ב"ה וְחָבִיב בְּעֵינָיו עֲבוֹדָתָם, וְהִשְׁאִיר לָהֶם בְּרָכָה פַּךְ א' שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן לְהַדְלִיק הַמְּנוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר הִיא עֵדוּת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁהַשְּׁכִינָה שׁוֹכֵן בְּקִרְבָּם, וַאֲנִי ה' הַשּׁוֹכֵן בְּתוֹךְ טוּמְאָתָם כְּתִיב, וּמִגּוֹדֶל הַשִּׂמְחָה וְהַתַּעֲנוּג שֶׁהֵי' לָהֶם מִזֶּה הוֹסִיפוּ אַהֲבָה לַמָּקוֹם וְזָכוּ לִתְשׁוּבָה מֵאַהֲבָה מַמָּשׁ, ועי"ז נִתּוֹסַף חֶדְוָה וְשִׂמְחָה בַּשָּׁמַיִם וַאֲרוּבּוֹת הַשֶּׁפַע נִפְתְּחוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת לָהֶם נֵס שֶׁהוּא גימט' "מַה "אֲדֹנָי, וְכַמְּבוֹאָר בַּס' עבו"י (בשם קדושת לוי) שֶׁיֵּדְעוּ שֶׁהַכֹּל מֵה' אַף הַטֶּבַע הוּא מד', ועי"ז נִתְעוֹרֵר כָּל הַנֵּס, נִמְצָא שֶׁהַלַּיְלָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה הֵי' הָעִיקָּר לְהַנֵּס, וּמִמֶּנָּה הִתְעוֹרֵר כָּל הַנֵּס:
  1. The question is brought in the Beis Yosef, Orach Chaim 670: since the cruse held enough oil for one night, the miracle was only on seven nights; why then were eight days established? ↩
  2. Bereishis Rabbah 2:4, on Bereishis 1:2. There the wording is “‘And darkness’: this is the exile of Greece,” and “upon the face of the deep” is read of a later kingdom; the Rebbe gives the whole phrase as Greece. ↩
  3. Shabbos 22b, on the western lamp of the Menorah: “It is a testimony to all who come into the world that the Shechinah rests in Israel.” ↩
  4. Vayikra 16:16. There the wording is “Who dwells with them in the midst of their impurity”; the Rebbe gives it as “I am Hashem, Who dwells in the midst of their impurity.” ↩
  5. Nes is 110 (50 + 60); mah is 45 and Adni 65. ↩
  6. Avodas Yisrael, by the Kozhnitzer Maggid, Chanukah, in the name of R' Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev: when a miracle happens, people ask one another, “What (mah) is this?”, and the answer is that there is a Master over all that happens. ↩
In shortSeeing Hashem's love in a cruse of oil that seemed merely natural, they rejoiced and returned to Him in love; that joy opened Heaven to the miracle, so the first night was its root.
70By what we said at the start, that one who brings joy on high is given more salvation, we can explain the verse “Yours, my Lord, is the kindness.”8 The kindness is truly all Yours, and when You do kindness in Your great kindness, afterward “You repay a man according to his deed,” as though he had been the cause of the kindness. This is the Gemara's wording: “On the twenty-fifth (כ״ה) of Kislev, the days of Chanukah are eight”:9 all eight days are contained in that first one. And the name Chanukah is read chanu-kah (חנו כה): it is reckoned to them, as it were, as though they had shown grace and kindness to Hashem and to the Shechinah, which is called Koh (כה), as is known from the holy sefarim.10
וּלְפִי דְּבָרֵינוּ לְעֵיל בַּהַתְחָלָה נוּכַל לְפָרֵשׁ פָּסוּק וּלְךָ ד' הֶחָסֶד (תהלים ס"ב) שֶׁהַחֶסֶד בֶּאֱמֶת הַכֹּל שֶׁלְּךָ, וּכְשֶׁאַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד בְּחַסְדְּךָ הַגָּדוֹל תְּשַׁלֵּם אח"כ לְאִישׁ כְּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהוּא הֵי' הַגּוֹרֵם הַחֶסֶד. וְזֶה הוּא לְשׁוֹן הגמ' בכ"ה בְּכִסְלֵו יוֹמֵי דַחֲנוּכָּה תְּמָנְיָא אִינּוּן שֶׁנִּכְלָל בָּהּ כָּל הַח' יָמִים וּלְשׁוֹן "חֲנוּכָּה שֶׁנֶּחְשָׁב לָהֶם כִּבְיָכוֹל כְּאִלּוּ עָשׂוּ חֲנִינָה וְחֶסֶד עִם ד' וְהַשְּׁכִינָה שֶׁנִּקְרֵאת כ"ה כַּיָּדוּעַ מסה"ק:
  1. Tehillim 62:13, which goes on, “for You repay a man according to his deed.” ↩
  2. Shabbos 21b. ↩
  3. Koh (כה) is also the number 25, the date of Chanukah. ↩
In shortHashem credits those who gladden Him as if they had caused His kindness; so Chanukah, chanu-kah, counts as Israel showing grace to the Shechinah, called Koh.
Takeaway

Even what looks like plain nature is Hashem's free gift. When we see His love in the ordinary, even in our darkness, and rejoice in it, that joy rises on high and opens the way to further salvation.

Translated with AI assistance. Sources not yet mapped; not yet reviewed by a human editor.

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