09 Dec CHANUKAH: DAYS OF COMPASSION

The Gemara in
Masechet Shabbat
(21b) tells the story
of the Chanukah
miracle, and then
adds that “Le’shana
Aheret” – the next year – the Rabbis
established Chanukah as an annual
celebration. The clear implication is that
the Rabbis did not institute the holiday
of Chanukah immediately after the
miraculous triumph over the Greeks and
the miracle of the oil of the Menorah. The
decision to establish this holiday was
made only the next year. Why?
Rav Moshe Yechiel Epstein of Ozorov
(1889-1971), in his Be’er Moshe,
explains that the Rabbis waited to see if
the spiritual powers that existed during
the time of the miracles returned the
following year. Hashem has performed
and continues to perform many miracles
for Am Yisrael, but special holidays are
instituted to commemorate only a small
number of these miracles. A holiday
is instituted only if the Rabbis sensed
that each year, on the date when the

miracle occurred, the spiritual forces that
facilitated the miracle return, empowering
us to achieve what our ancestors achieved
at the time of the original story. During
the Chanukah story, the Be’er Moshe
writes, the Jews were blessed with a
special element of divine compassion and
grace. The vast majority of the nation had
assimilated, succumbing to the immense
pressure placed on them by the Greeks
to abandon their faith and embrace
Greek culture. Only a very small group
of Jews retained their commitment to
Torah. Hashem showered the people with
exceptional mercy and grace, providing
them with miraculous assistance that
they did not deserve. Despite having
assimilated almost completely, Hashem
enabled them to defeat the Greeks and
then sustained the lamps of the Menorah
in miraculous fashion. The following
year, the Rabbis sensed that this unique
grace and compassion returned, that
Hashem brought us this special gift,
the opportunity to receive undeserved
kindness and assistance, once again. At
that point, the Rabbis instituted the
annual celebration of Chanukah.

Indeed, the Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria,
1534-1572) taught that the thirteen
words that comprise the first Beracha
recited over the Chanukah candle
lighting (according to Sephardic custom)
correspond to Hashem’s thirteen Middot
Rahamim – attributes of mercy. Each
word of the Beracha is associated with
a different Midda. On each of the first
seven days of Chanukah, we receive an
especially large measure of one of the
thirteen attributes, and on the eighth and
final day of Chanukah, we are showered
with an abundance of all the remaining
attributes, from the eighth through the
thirteenth. (This is why the eighth day of
Chanukah is an especially significant and
sacred day in Kabbalistic tradition.) The
days of Chanukah are not just a time to
commemorate and express gratitude for
the miracles that Hashem performed for
our ancestors. This is, of course, the basic
purpose of Chanukah, but in addition,
this is a time of great compassion, when
Hashem bestows upon us undeserved
grace and kindness. This is a precious
time to beseech G-d for all that we need,
for the assistance that we require. Just

as Hashem graced our ancestors with
undeserved kindness, granting them a
miraculous victory, so is He prepared
to shower us with this same element of
kindness.
Let us take advantage of this special
opportunity by turning to Hashem in
sincere, heartfelt prayer, and humbly
beseeching Him for undeserved kindness
and compassion, that we be blessed with
all that we need, even if we are unworthy
of it.