HaRav Shlomo Avineris Head of Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim
"Often, the Israeli media portray the Jews who live in the Muslim Quarter, Ir David, and along the hilltops of Judea and the Shomron as fanatics and messianic dreamers who incite the wrath of the Gentiles against us.
“At the time of the Maccabees’ war against the rule of Greece in the Land, that is how most of the Jews regarded Yehuda. At the beginning of the rebellion, only a handful followed him. In the battle against Lyseus, he had mustered an army of ten thousand, but by the fourth encounter with the legions of Greece, only four-thousand men stood by him in the vital fight for religious freedom and national sovereignty.
"The vast majority of Jews were against him. They scoffed at the possibility that a tiny force of untrained and poorly armed farmers from Judea could overcome the mighty armies of Greece. They called Yehuda a fanatic and messianic dreamer, who endangered the security of the Nation, just like the epithets we hear today in the secular media regarding the Jews living in East Jerusalem and Yesha.
"But the truth is the very opposite – Yehuda the Maccabee was a realist. He was as aware of the reality of the precarious situation just like everyone else. Even his own soldiers warned him of the seemingly insurmountable dangers, as the account in the Sefer Hachashmoniim relates. But Yehuda’s more enlightened perspective encompassed generations. He reminded his troops that if Jewish history had followed the path of the pragmatists, Am Yisrael would never have left Egypt, David would never had killed Goliath, and the Jews would never have established their own Israelite Kingdom in a country inhabited by seven hostile nations.
"Yehuda reminded them that Hashem is the Chief of Staff of the armies of Israel, and that, if He wills, the Master of Wars can readily triumph over powerful enemies with a tiny number of Jews filled with Emunah. And he reminded his followers that trust in Hashem was not just some fairytale for children, but a down-to-earth reality in the life and history of the Jewish People.
"The same is true today. Hashem gave Jerusalem and all the Land of Israel to the Jews. Disbelievers and the nations of the world can say what they say, but the promise of Hashem is eternal. We are here to stay."
Question: In the Gemara, the miracle of Hanukah is attributed to the flask of oil that lasted for eight days, while in the Shemona Esrei and Birchat HaMazone, the victory of the few against the many is emphasized. Which miracle is more significant?
“The Maharal, in his treatise on Hanukah, Ner Mitzvah, writes that the military victory was the primary miracle. In effect, the miracle of the Menorah wasn’t necessary. When there is no pure oil, it is permissible to light with impure oil. This is a law of the Temple concerning the public congregation, similar to the law which allows the Korban Pesach to be sacrificed, and even to build the Beit HaMikdash, when the majority of the Jewish People in Eretz Yisrael are impure. Additionally, the lighting of the Menorah was halted by the Greeks many years previously. Waiting another few days until pure oil could be procured wouldn’t have caused a tragedy. Furthermore, every time the Menorah was lit in the past, a miracle occurred, since after all of the lights died out, the ‘western lamp’ continue to burn day and night.
"Thus, in effect, the Hanukkah light which lasted eight days was just another miracle of the Menorah. Therefore, the Maharal explains, the miracle of the Menorah didn’t come for its own sake, but rather to teach that the victory over the Greeks was a miracle from Heaven as well. The miracle of the oil was the “Teudat HaKashrut” revealing to everyone that Hashem was the invisible Hand behind the military triumphs of the Maccabees.”
Question: If victory in war is the main thing, why, in our time, did the Chief Rabbinate in Israel establish Yom HaAtzmaut and the recital of Hallel on the day the State was declared, when there was no miracle at all, and not on the anniversary of the day when the War of Independence ended, symbolizing the salvation of the Nation?
“HaRav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook was asked this very same question. He answered that the greater miracle indeed occurred with the declaration of Jewish Statehood, when we overcame all of doubts, hesitations, and fears of the Arabs and the nations of the world, when we stood up and boldly proclaimed the establishment of Medinat Yisrael. This awakening of Jewish valor in the eyes of all mankind, after nearly two-thousand years of Jewish impotence in the galut, was the foundation for all of the military miracles which followed after that in Israel’s wars.”
Question: Why do we recite Hallel on Hanukah, and not on Purim?
“The Gemara (Megilla 14A) replies that we don’t recite Hallel over a miracle that occurred outside the Land of Israel.”
Question: Why then do we recite Hallel on Pesach?
“The Gemara explains that the miracles associated with Pesach occurred before we entered Eretz Yisrael. From that time forth, we don’t recite miracles of the Diaspora. In the Hallel, we say: 'Let the servants of Hashem praise Hashem,' while at the time of Purim we remained servants of Achasverus. The Jews were saved from mass slaughter, but the miracle didn’t include salvation from subjugation to freedom. We remained subjects of a foreign nation. This situation is unnatural to our essence, as the Psalmist says, ‘How can we sing Hashem’s song in a foreign land?’ (Tehillim 137).
"The Jewish People as a whole can only attain true national joy in Eretz Yisrael, in our own Land, and not when we live in Gentile countries, subjugated to Gentile cultures and Gentile laws. In contrast, our joy on Hanukah expresses our healthy, natural condition, which comes to expression, as the Maharal explains in the first chapter of ‘Nezach Yisrael’ citing three necessary conditions: when the Nation is physically together, when we enjoy our own Israeli sovereignty, and when the Nation dwells in Eretz Yisrael.”
Question: In Israel, many people and yeshivot light their hanukias in aquarium-like containers outside by the doorways to their buildings, or at their gateways by the street, in the public domain as mentioned in the halakha. In the Diaspora where anti-Semitism is so prevalent today, should Jews do the same as an expression of Jewish pride, or is it better to light inside the house or yeshiva building.
“Everyone has to evaluate the options for themselves, but certainly, if there is a clear danger, it is proper to light inside.”
Question: Does Hellenism still exist today?
“Definitely. There are many forms of Hellenism. For the ancient Greeks, Hellenism meant conforming to Greek culture, which glorified the body and fostered the free expression of individual lusts and pleasures. The term for this is Hedonism. This exists today in the cultures of Western society where movements of liberalism and pluralism abound. In ancient Greece, the indulging in pleasure was a way of serving the gods. Today, the quest for pleasure and surrendering to its temptations are the gods themselves.”
Question: How can we fight against this cultural impurity and moral darkness?
“By adding holiness and the “new light on Zion” which we request in our daily prayers – the Torah of Eretz Yisrael.”