What Is Hanukkah

Hanukkah, Kislev, December 1960

Our sages said, “What is Hanukkah? Our sages said, ‘On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Hanukkah,’” etc. (Shabbat [Sabbath] 21a). That is, Hanu-Koh [parked here], for on the twenty-fifth, they parked from the war. We should understand that parking means specifically in the middle of the work. We stand and rest in order to regain strength so we can keep walking and win the war until it is finished.

We should understand what is this parking. Our sages said that at that time, the Greeks sentenced Israel not to engage in Torah. That is, the miracle was only on the redemption of spirituality, which is the needs of the soul. Conversely, on Purim, there was the redemption of the bodies.

For this reason, on Hanukkah, we were given the recognition of the miracle through praise and gratitude, whereas on Purim, it is written, “a feast and merriment,” since the miracle was on the bodies. Hence, there must be recognition of the miracle through to the body, meaning with feast and merriment.

To understand all the above in the work and in ethics, we must understand what our sages said, “You shall love the Lord with all your heart—with both your inclinations, the good inclination and the evil inclination” (Berachot 54). We should serve the Creator with the good inclination, meaning engage in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] to bestow contentment upon our Maker. But what is the meaning of the evil inclination? It is known that the evil inclination is the will to receive in us. We should understand how the will to receive can serve the Creator.

According to what is explained in the Sulam [Ladder commentary on The Zohar], when a person engages in reception of pleasures in order to bestow, there is no evil in the will to receive, as it is written, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice,” for through the Torah, the evil inclination is sweetened.

The miracle of Hanukkah was only with the good inclination. This is why it is merely called “parking,” since the work has not been completed, meaning that there are still more corrections on the evil inclination, which is called “body.” This was only the miracle of Purim.

This is the meaning of “observed and received,” thus far by force, since the evil inclination has not agreed to the work because it was still not corrected, and now that the miracle was in the redemption of the bodies, “with all your heart—with both your inclinations” comes true. This is why it is called “willingly.”

Hence, on Hanukkah, there is recognition of the miracle only in praise and gratitude, which is only the needs of the soul, while on Purim, we recognize the miracle in feast and merriment, which touches through to the body.

“Greeks gathered around me, then in the days of the Hasmoneans, and broke the walls of my towers and defiled all the oils.”

“Greeks” refers to a philosophy, when one wants to understand everything with the external mind. “Then in the days of the Hasmoneans” means that specifically when there are Hasmoneans, meaning servants of the Creator, we see that the Greeks have control.

Homot [walls] has the letters of Techum [zone/area] (as explained in the writings of the ARI). This means that a person limits his thought from wanting to understand the work with the external mind, but rather with faith, and faith is a wall against the external ones. “My towers” means “a tower filled with abundance.” “Oils” are clarity…

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