From the teachings of Rav Yitzchok Hutner, adapted by Rabbi Pinchas Stolper (Part One)
From "Hidden Lights: Hanukkah and the Jewish/Greek Conflict" (David Dov Publications, 2005, Chapter 31) by Rabbi Pinchas Stolper
Presented by Rabbi Yitschak Rudomin
The following is from "Pachad Yitzchok 5739" by Rav Yitzchok Hutner (1906–1980), a translation from a taped lecture first published in "Living Beyond Time: The Mystery and Meaning of the Jewish Festivals" (The Shaar Press, 2003, Chapter 39) by Rabbi Pinchas Stolper (1931–2022).
1. Introduction: Torah demands breadth of understanding. On one hand, one of the greatest periods of Torah transmission was the era of the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah (Men of the Great Assembly, or 'Synod", was an assembly of about 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, which existed from the early Second Temple period, around 516 BCE, to the early Hellenistic period, which began in the region with Alexander's conquest in 332 BCE, roughly coinciding with the Persian hegemony over the nation of Israel) where Torah was transmitted collectively.
On the other hand, Torah transmission in succeeding eras was associated with individual Jewish Sages (i.e. "Rabbi so and so teaches that...") each of whom acquired proprietary rights to his unique Torah portion. The method of Torah transmission of each era created its unique grandeur.
2. The First Torah Disagreement: The Tosefos commentary of Talmud tractate Chagigah (16a) teaches that the first disagreement concerning Torah law took place as a result of the confrontation between the Jews living in ancient Judea and Ancient Greece. The Talmud relates that when Shimon HaTzadik (probably lived 310–291 or 300–273 BCE) met Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE) who was the Greek general whose armies conquered the entire civilized world, the period of Israel's (Judea's) encounter with Greece began.
These were the same Greeks who later, during the time of the Hasmoneans (the Hasmonean dynasty ruled Judea during the Hellenistic times of the Second Temple period from c. 140 BCE to 37 BCE) compelled Israel (the Jews) to abandon Torah and Mitzvah observance.
The miracle of the Temple oil sufficient for one day that burned for eight days goes well beyond the ability of the spiritual to overcome the physical. Obviously God who commanded oil to burn can just as easily command vinegar to burn. The miracle of Hanukkah was that the Temple Menorah burned not only with the flame of Mitzvah (the Commandment/s), but with a flame of the light of Torah, which is eternal.
3. Hanukkah Initiates a New Era of Torah Learning: What is the significance of the Maccabean victory over Greece? Greek wisdom tore chunks from the Torah as it has been doing throughout the ages. The essential Hanukkah miracle, greater even than the miracle of the Temple Menorah or the miracle of "the weak and the few who overcame the strong and the many" was the initiation of a new era of Torah learning and transmission.
The rekindling of the Temple Menorah on Hanukkah represents this new era of Torah transmission. The Temple Menorah was located on the southern side of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. For this reason the Jewish Sages teach: "He who wishes to pursue wisdom should face south"; that means to say that the acquisition of Torah wisdom is symbolized by the Menorah itself.
4. The Torah Became the Possession of Each Jew: The determined dedication of the Jews who confronted the Greeks in order to preserve the Torah initiated a fundamental change in the method of Torah transmission. Wars are hinge periods, and the Talmud mentions more than once that societies are transformed in the wake of war. Indeed, it was the ancient Jewish conflict with the Ancient Greeks that caused the Torah to become the possession of each individual Jew.
5. Placing the Temple Menorah in the Home of Each Jew: The Hanukkah menorah (in every Jew's home) is an extension of the Temple Menorah. When lighting the menorah at home the following is said: "These lights are holy, it is forbidden to make use of them; we are only permitted to gaze at them." The Halachic rule that "it is forbidden to use the Hanukkah light", says the RAN (Rabbi Nissim ben Reuven of Girona, Spain, 1290–1376. A great Talmudist and Halachist): "derives from the laws (Halachot) governing the Temple Menorah." The Temple menorah was the flame of Klal Yisrael — the Jewish collective. On Hanukkah, Jews place the Temple Menorah in the home of each and every Jew to mark the transition from collective Torah to the Torah of the individual.
6. Martyrdom: The Jewish Response to Oppression: The RAMBAN (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, also known as Nachmanides, 1194–1270. a leading Jewish scholar, rabbi, philosopher, physician, Kabbalist, and Biblical commentator, lived in Girona, Spain and then moved to Jerusalem) teaches that the Greek Exile (though the Jews remained in their own land, they were "exiled" in a spiritual sense) was an exile marked by ideological compulsion and oppression. This was a unique and necessary preparation for the subsequent Roman Exile.
Prior to the Roman Exile , the Jewish People had to be educated and habituated to bear the brunt of persecution. There is a Jewish expression "Oh Yehudo'ei, Oh Tzelov" ("Either allow me to be a loyal Jew — or hang me on a cross", which was the method of execution followed by the Romans) that had to be internalized by every Jew.
Through persecution and trial Israel, meaning the Jewish People, acquired the ability to endure the oppressors who conspired to make the Jews abandon Torah and Judaism. This is the meaning of "Om, Ani Chomah ("Nation, I am a wall," from a poem recited on the Jewish Holy Days), Israel, the Jewish People, is more than a nation, it is a fortress, a impenetrable "wall"! Thanks to their obstinate loyalty, the Jews earned the right to carry the name Israel. It was necessary to brand this quality into the character of the Jewish People. Martyrdom became the response of the Jews to oppression.
7. A New Era of Torah Transmission: The Roman Exile is saturated with Jewish suffering and martyrdom. We see that Torah, which until then was the collective possession of the Jewish People, now became associated with individuals; for example, "Hillel says," "Shammai says." With this, a new manifestation of Torah emerged.
The Greek conflict ended the era of the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah (Men of the Great Assembly) and initiated a new era of individual transmitters of Torah. Israel (the Jewish People)ascended to a new stage in the study of Torah: This is the sweetness and pleasantness of [those who study Torah and Talmud and Rabbinic commentaries] being able to say: "the Ketzos says" [the Ketzos HaChoshen is the major writing by Rabbi Aryeh Leib Heller (1745–1812) known as "The Ketzos"]; "The Nesivos says" [Rabbi Yaakov ben Yaakov Moshe Lorberbaum of Lissa (1760-1832) is most commonly known as the "Ba'al HaChavas Da'as" or "Ba'al HaNesivos" for his most well-known works, or as the "Lissa Rav"]; "Rabbi Akiva Eiger says" [Rabbi Akiva Eiger (1761–1837) was a Talmudic genius, Posek (Halachic decisor) and a major leader of European Jewry.]
The Torah of individuals was an outgrowth of the trial of "either I remain a Jew or crucify me." This is how the Jews steeled themselves for the later Roman and Christian Exile, the exile in which the Jewish People live in, to this day. Unbounded loyalty was now ingrained into the Jewish psyche.
This is how Jewry prepared for 2,000 years of exile under the Roman and Christian empires.Each Jewish home was transformed into a Temple; individual Jews demonstrated martyrdom and heroism. Holiness (Kedusha) could no longer be obtained from the Jewish prophets and the two destroyed Jewish Temples known as the Beit HaMikdash ("House of Holiness"). Now, Holiness had to glow from within each home belonging to each Jew and Jewish family within the Jewish People. On the other hand, the Jewish People had also become equipped with the wherewithal to provide that glow of Holiness as exhibited on Hanukkah.
For 2,000 years, the Jewish People, known as the Torah Nation, confronted the challenge of the fourth Exile — Roman and then Christian civilization. (The first Exile was under the Babylonians, the second Exile was under the Persians, the third Exile was under the Greeks, the fourth Exile was under the Romans.) The exile of the Jewish People under the Greeks was the testing ground for this, subsequently under the Romans and then under Christendom — Israel's (the Jewish People's) longest, most challenging and severe exile of persecution, wandering and oppression.
8. Hanukkah Initiated a New Era of Torah Study: The essential achievement of Hanukkah was the ability of the Jewish Sages to initiate a new era of Torah learning and transmission. This refers to the ascendancy of the Torah Shebe'al Peh (Oral Law, Talmud). The determined dedication of the Jews who confronted the Greeks in order to preserve the Torah initiated a fundamental change in the method of Torah transmission.
It was the Jewish-Greek conflict that caused the Torah to become the possession of each individual Jew. The Temple Menorah was the flame of Klal Yisrael, the Jewish collective. On Hanukkah Jews place the Temple Menorah in the home of each and every Jew to make the transition from collective Torah to the Torah of the individual. Each individual Jew and each Jewish home became an instrument for generating and disseminating sanctity (Kedusha).
9. Beit Midrash Study for Every Jew: The confrontation of the Jewish People with Greece not only prepared the Jewish nation to be ready to sacrifice their lives in the defense of Torah, but to also dedicate their lives and the lives of their children to the intellectual challenges of learning the Oral Torah. It is clear that the Beit Midrash, the house of Torah study and inquiry, now became the focal point of the life of every Jew. Each Jew, young and old, was expected to aspire to the Beit Midrash as a lifetime pursuit. Every Jew was expected to be involved in the daily pursuit of Torah knowledge on whatever level a Jew was able to attain.
10. "Wisdom is Higher Than Prophecy": It was the Jewish Sages who inspired the Jewish People to appreciate the distinction and importance of the Torah wisdom of the Jewish Sages over prophecy (and the Jewish Prophets of the Tanach, the Jewish Bible) when they taught in the Talmud, Bava Batra 12a: Chacham Adif Menavi, that a Jewish Sage is of even greater significance than a Jewish Prophet!
The Jewish Sages also said in the Talmud, Avoda Zara 35a that: "The words of [Jewish Torah] Scholars are more beloved than the Torah itself for as it says in the Song of Songs: 'Your love is better than wine' (Song of Songs 1:2)'."
Rabbi Yitschak Rudomin was born to Holocaust survivor parents in Israel, grew up in South Africa, and lives in Brooklyn, NY. He is an alumnus of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and of Teachers College–Columbia University. He heads the Jewish Professionals Institute dedicated to Jewish Adult Education and Outreach – Kiruv Rechokim. He was the Director of the Belzer Chasidim's Sinai Heritage Center of Manhattan 1988–1995, a Trustee of AJOP 1994–1997 and founder of American Friends of South African Jewish Education 1995–2015. From 2017–2024 he was a docent and tour guide at The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Downtown Manhattan, New York.He is the author of The Second World War and Jewish Education in America: The Fall and Rise of Orthodoxy. Contact Rabbi Yitschak Rudomin at izakrudomin@gmail.com