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

Chanu-Kah: The Grace Promised to Avraham's Children

Name a tzaddik: tap for who he wasTitle a sefer

Bereishis 15:5–6
וַיּוֹצֵא אֹתוֹ הַחוּצָה וַיֹּאמֶר הַבֶּט נָא הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וּסְפֹר הַכּוֹכָבִים אִם תּוּכַל לִסְפֹּר אֹתָם וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ. וְהֶאֱמִן בַּה' וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ צְדָקָה
He took him outside and said, “Look now toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” He believed in Hashem, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
4aThe name Chanukah follows our explanation of the verses in Parshas Lech Lecha: “So shall your offspring be,” and Avraham's faith, which Hashem “reckoned to him as tzedakah.” explains that Hashem counted the faith with which Avraham believed in Him to his merit and as tzedakah, righteousness.1 For tzedakah is what stands forever,2 as the Midrash Rabbah explains on the verse “Hand to hand, the evil man will not go unpunished.”3 That is, the power of the faith of Avraham Avinu, the first of the believers, was given to us as tzedakah. This holds even for us, when our soul is bowed to the dust, with no mitzvos or good deeds. The Midrash Rabbah speaks of such a time, “When your children become carcasses without sinews or bones,”4 which we explained in Parshas Lech Lecha as a life without the mitzvos. Even then, in the merit of the faith with which we believe in Him, and by His kindness, the merit of Avraham Avinu is awakened to shield us and bring us out from darkness to light.
[ב] קְרִיאַת שֵׁם חֲנוּכָּה. הִיא ע"ד שֶׁפֵּרַשְׁנוּ מַה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּפָ' לֵךְ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ כֹּה יְהִי' זַרְעֶךָ וְהֶאֱמִין בַּד' וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ לּוֹ צְדָקָה. ופרש"י ז"ל שהקב"ה חֲשָׁבָהּ לְאַבְרָהָם לִזְכוּת וְלִצְדָקָה הָאֱמוּנָה שֶׁהֶאֱמִין בּוֹ. וְהַיְינוּ כִּי צְדָקָה הִיא הָעוֹמֶדֶת לָעַד. וְכַמְּבוֹאָר במד"ר (סוף פ' בחוקותי) ע"פ יָד לְיָד לֹא יִנָּקֶה עיי"ש (עיין לעיל בפ' לך אות י') וְהַיְינוּ שֶׁכֹּחַ אֱמוּנָתוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אע"ה רִאשׁוֹן לְהַמַּאֲמִינִים נִיתַּן לָנוּ בִּבְחִי' צְדָקָה. שֶׁגַּם אֲנַחְנוּ כְּשֶׁנְּהִי' בבחי' שָׁחָה לֶעָפָר נַפְשֵׁינוּ בְּלֹא מִצְוֹת ומע"ט. וְכַמְּבוֹאָר במד"ר (פ' לך) כְּשֶׁיֵּעָשׂוּ בָּנֶיךָ כִּפְגָרִים בְּלֹא גִּידִין וַעֲצָמוֹת וּכְפֵירוּשֵׁינוּ עַל הַמִּדְרָשׁ הַזֶּה (עיין לעיל פ' לך אות ב') אעפי"כ בִּזְכוּת הָאֱמוּנָה שֶׁאֲנַחְנוּ מַאֲמִינִים בּוֹ ית"ש וּבְחַסְדּוֹ נִתְעוֹרֵר זְכוּת אַבְרָהָם אע"ה לְהָגֵן עָלֵינוּ וּלְהוֹצִיאֵנוּ מֵאֲפִילָה לְאוֹרָה.
  1. Rashi on Bereishis 15:6. ↩
  2. Tehillim 111:3, “and His tzedakah stands forever.” ↩
  3. Mishlei 11:21; Vayikra Rabbah 36:3. There R' Pinchas says that one who does a mitzvah and asks to take its reward at once, “hand to hand,” leaves nothing for his children, and R' Simon adds: had the first Avos taken the reward of their mitzvos in this world, what merit would stand for their children after them? ↩
  4. Bereishis Rabbah 44:16, on Bereishis 15:11, where R' Azariah goes on: “your merit will stand for them.” ↩
In shortAvraham's faith, reckoned as tzedakah that stands forever, was given to his children, so even when they are empty of deeds, their faith wakes his merit.
4bSo it was in the days of the wicked Greeks. As the Midrash Rabbah explains, they darkened the eyes of Israel and said, “Write for yourselves on the horn of the ox that you have no portion …”5 All their wisdom was only to bring everything under nature, as if “Hashem did not do all this,”6 Heaven forbid. They planted this in the hearts and thoughts of Israel, until they defiled “all the oils,” which stand for thoughts. Afterward, when the Holy One, blessed be He, lit up Israel's eyes after the wars, by the power of the holy Kohanim and the power of their own teshuvah, Bnei Yisrael wanted to do teshuvah for this belief. They looked and saw with their own eyes that Hashem had done all this: “It is He Who gives you strength to make wealth,” which Onkelos renders, “Who gives you counsel to acquire possessions.”7 For even what is nature is also Hashem's power and might. Elokim (אלקים) has the numerical value of hateva (הטבע), “nature”:8 nature too comes from His power.
וְכָאן בִּימֵי הָרְשָׁעִים הָאֵלֶּה כַּמְּבוֹאָר במד"ר (ב"ר פ"ב) שֶׁהֶחְשִׁיכוּ עֵינֵיהֶם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמְרוּ כִּתְבוּ לָכֶם עַל קֶרֶן הַשּׁוֹר שֶׁאֵין לָכֶם חֵלֶק. שֶׁכָּל חָכְמָתָם הוּא רַק לְהַכְנִיס כָּל דָּבָר תַּחַת הַטֶּבַע וְלֹא ד' פָּעַל כָּל זֹאת ח"ו. וְהִכְנִיסוּ זֹאת בְּלֵב וּמַחְשְׁבוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד שֶׁטִּמְּאוּ כָּל הַשְּׁמָנִים הַמְּכוּנִּים לְמַחֲשָׁבוֹת. ואח"כ כַּאֲשֶׁר הֵאִיר הקב"ה אֶת עֵינֵיהֶם אַחֲרֵי הַמִּלְחָמוֹת בְּכֹחַ הַכֹּהֲנִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים וּבְכֹחַ תְּשׁוּבָתָם רָצוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה ע"ז וְהִבִּיטוּ וְרָאוּ בְּעַיִן חוּשִׁיִּית כִּי ד' פָּעַל כָּל זֹאת וְהוּא הַנּוֹתֵן לְךָ כֹּחַ לַעֲשׂוֹת חָיִל וְתַרְגִּימוֹ דִּיהַב לָךְ עֵטִין לְמִקְנֵי נִכְסִין (פ' עקב) כִּי אַף מַה שֶׁהִיא הַטֶּבַע הִיא ג"כ כֹּחַ ה' וִיכוֹלְתּוֹ. וֶאֱלֹקִים בְּגֵימַטְרְיָא הַטֶּבַע. שֶׁגַּם זֶה הִיא מִכֹּחוֹ.
  1. Bereishis Rabbah 2:4. ↩
  2. Devarim 32:27. ↩
  3. Devarim 8:18; Onkelos there. ↩
  4. Both words have the numerical value 86. ↩
In shortThe Greeks darkened Israel's thoughts with the claim that all is nature; after the victory, teshuvah let Israel see that nature itself is Hashem's power.
4cThis was the nes, the miracle: the light. Nes (נס) is the same word as misnosesos (מתנוססות) in “crown jewels sparkling,”9 and it speaks of light. And this is nes: נס has the numerical value of מה, “what,” and אדני, Adni, “Lord,” together.10 They saw that everything is from Hashem. This is complete faith: believing that even “a little bird is not caught without Heaven.”11 This is the promise Hashem made to Avraham Avinu, “So shall your offspring be”: they too will believe that I do everything and that I overturn the order of the stars. And this is the name Chanukah (חנוכה), read as chanu-kah (חנו כה): chanu (חנו), for Hashem showed them grace (chananam), with the promise “Koh (כה), so shall your offspring be.”12
וְזֶה הֵי' הַנֵּס הַיְינוּ הָאוֹר מִלְּשׁוֹן אַבְנֵי נֵזֶר מִתְנוֹסְסוֹת (זכרי' ט') מִלְּשׁוֹן אוֹר. וְזֶה הִיא נֵס. גִּמַטְרִיָּא נֵס "מַה "אֲדֹנָי. הַיְינוּ שֶׁרָאוּ שֶׁהַכֹּל מד', וְזֶה הִיא אֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵימָה שֶׁמַּאֲמִין אֲפִילּוּ צִיפְּרָא קַלִּילָא מִבַּלְעֲדֵי שְׁמַיָּא לָא מִתְּצִיד. וְזֶה הוּא הַבְטָחָה שֶׁהִבְטִיחַ הקב"ה לְאַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ ע"ה כֹּה יְהִי' זַרְעֶךָ שֶׁגַּם הֵם יַאֲמִינוּ כִּי אֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה הַכֹּל וַאֲנִי מְשַׁדֵּד הַמַּעֲרָכוֹת וְזֶה "חָנוּ שֶׁחֲנָנָם ה' בְּהַבְטָחָה "כֹּה יְהִי' זַרְעֶךָ. (כתי"ק) :
  1. Zechariah 9:16. ↩
  2. Nes is 50 + 60 = 110; mah is 45 and Adni 65, together 110. ↩
  3. Bereishis Rabbah 79:6, R' Shimon bar Yochai's words. ↩
  4. The sefer's note, added by his son, the editor: printed from his own handwriting. ↩
In shortThe nes was a light, seeing that all is from Hashem; this faith was promised in “Koh, so shall your offspring be,” and so the festival is named chanu-kah.
Takeaway

Even when we feel empty of mitzvos and good deeds, our simple faith in Hashem awakens Avraham's merit, which Hashem keeps as tzedakah forever. The light of Chanukah is to see that nature too is Hashem's power, so that not even a little bird is caught without Heaven; holding to that faith is the grace promised in “Koh, so shall your offspring be.”

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

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