19 Dec A LASTING CHANUKAH MESSAGE FOR THE GAZA WAR – PART TWO
The Maharal, zt”l, zy”a,
in his Chidushei Aggados
on Shas, asks the following
question. When we say
the primary Chanukah
prayer of Al HaNissim,
the focus is on the miracle
of the conquest against the
Syrian-Greeks, “T’mei’im
b’yad t’horim – The impure
into the hands of the pure, U’resha’im b’yad
tzadikim – And the wicked into the hands of
the righteous, V’zeidim b’yad oskei Sorasecha
– And willful murderers into the hands of those
who occupy themselves with Your Torah.” The
miracle of the lone jug of oil which only had
enough to light for one day but miraculously
remained lit for eight days is not mentioned at
all. Rather, we say almost casually, “V’tiharu
es Mikdoshecha – They purified Your Temple,
V’hidliku neiros b’Chatzros Kodshecha – And
lit lamps in Your Holy Courtyard,” omitting any
mention of the miracle of oil. On the other hand,
the Gemora in Shabbos [21b], when it asks the
seminal question, “Mai Chanukah – What is the
essence of Chanukah?” zooms in exclusively on
the miracle of oil.
The Maharal gives the following fundamental
answer. Of course, he explains, when giving
praise to Hashem in the Al HaNissim liturgy,
we focus mainly on the miracle of the saving
of Jewish lives from the olympic hoards of the
Syrian-Greeks. However, when making an
analysis of the Chanukah saga, one can err by
looking through the lens of history and saying
that perhaps Matisyahu and Yehuda HaMakabi,
together with his courageous warriors, pulled off
a stunning and daring military victory. One might
err that it was a ‘natural phenomenon’ orchestrated
by shrewd generals and valorous combatants.
After all, we know that there were many
casualties on both sides, and even our hero Yehuda
HaMakabi fell in battle. Therefore, the Gemora
highlights the obvious extraordinary miracle of
the pach shemen, the lone jug of oil which burned
amazingly throughout the eight days to reveal that
nothing was natural about Chanukah, neither the
menorah not its military campaigns.
The same mistake can be made about the present
Gaza war. One could surmise that, of course, Klal
Yisroel has the upper hand; the superior forces of
the highly trained elite troops of the brave IDF,
the amazing Israeli Air Force assisted by aircraft
carriers such as the Gerald R. Ford, the most
sophisticated aircraft carrier in the world. One
can err and not see the Hand of Hashem in this
battle. So Hashem has given us multiple miracles
to reveal that He is with us every step of the way.
A commander testifies that while he was inching
forward with his men to eradicate a house full of
weapons and explosives in a city already bereft
of any animal life, a lone dove alighted in front
of him causing him to pause momentarily. This
pause was enough for one of his men to scream,
“Don’t move!” He had noticed a tripwire that
would have obliterated the entire platoon!
On October 7, forty murderous terrorists broke
into the city of Ofakim. Right in their path
was a shul with 500 mostly unarmed people
davening their Shabbos/Simchas Torah prayers.
If the terrorists had entered, it would have been,
G-d forbid, a mass slaughter. But, for some
inexplicable reason (to the human eye), the
terrorists veered off, entering the nearby town
which had armed Israeli police, and they managed
to liquidate the danger!
Another soldier testifies that on October 7, he
was davening in shul without a gun when he
received an urgent page to immediately come to
the base. There, he was handed a random gun.
He explained that many of these haphazard guns
which are handed down jam, and are almost
useless. But, without any time, he went into battle
and during the course of three days, the gun served
him faithfully with which he terminated many
would be assassins. When his tour was over, he
went back to the base on Tuesday and took the
gun to the range to practice with it. It immediately
jammed. He cleaned it a bit and it jammed again.
He took it to the armory where they dismantled
it and told him that the gun was completely
defective. But, when he needed it, with the help
of Hashem, it served him faithfully!
The stories of miracles continue to pour out.
There is woman who, for the first time, was
mafrish challah with prayers that her relative
should be rescued from her captivity as a hostage.
She received a phone call about the release of this
hostage in the middle of being mafrish challah!
There will be undoubtedly books written about
the scores of miracles in this war.
For us, the words of the Maharal ring true in
our contemporary times! Hashem is revealing to
us, notwithstanding the tragic and heartbreaking
casualties of precious Jewish lives, that He is
with us every step of the way. In the merit of
our prayers and tehillim, our Torah learning and
tzedakah, may Hashem bring victory speedily,
and safety, security and tranquility for Jews
worldwide, and especially in our Holy City and
may He bless us all with long life, good health,
and everything wonderful.