English translation — חנוכה ב

Sicha in <pg>209</pg>

A.

In the prayer "Al Hanissim" that we say during Chanukah: "You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and the willful sinners into the hands of those who occupy themselves with Your Torah"<sup>1</sup>.

And the commentators on the prayers already wondered,

that the last three categories

("and the impure etc., and the wicked etc., and the willful sinners etc.")

"at first glance<sup>2</sup>

this is not from the action of the miracle,

for impurity and purity, and wicked and righteous, and willful sinners and those who occupy themselves with Torah are not matters of strength and weakness to consider the overcoming of the pure over the impure as a miracle."

There are those who answered<sup>3</sup>

Based on the saying of our Sages<sup>4</sup>

"Who are the weak ones? The Sages"

("That even<sup>5</sup>

in their health they are weak in strength because the Torah weakens their strength"<sup>6</sup>),

And it follows that "there is also in these matters strength and weakness, and the weak overcame the strong by the power of the miracle"

[And according to this, there is here only an additional explanation on the previous "the strong into the hand of the weak",

that this that the Children of Israel were weak is not because such was the nature of their body,

but because they were "occupying themselves with Your Torah",

that the Torah weakens the strength of a person].

However

(In addition to this that according to this it does not emphasize the greatness of the miracle,

and what difference does it make what is the cause of the weakness and the strength,

after all, also in the essence of the matter)

according to its simple meaning it is difficult to explain thus,

because this matter applies only to those whose Torah is their occupation until "the Torah weakens their strength",

as above,

and if so,

besides this that it is still not explained the reason for the saying "the impure into the hand of the pure and the wicked into the hand of the righteous",

in which their virtue as Torah scholars is not emphasized<sup>7</sup>

— after all, also regarding "the insolent into the hand of those who occupy themselves with Your Torah" it is difficult to explain thus,

because it is forced to say that

(all)

the soldiers of Mattityahu and his sons were "Sages" whose "Torah was their occupation"!

[And in particular according to the saying of our sages, of blessed memory<sup>8</sup>

that "Were it not for David

(who was engaged in Torah<sup>9</sup>)

Joab would not have waged war"

("The merit of David

(who engaged in Torah)

stands for him for Joab in his wars of David"<sup>9</sup>),

from this it is understood,

that at the time of war — upon Torah scholars

("rabbanan")

there is the obligation to strengthen themselves even more in the study of Torah,

so that their merit should protect the soldiers who fight,

and on the contrary,

specifically on this depends the victory of the war].

And seemingly it must be said,

that the meaning of "the wicked into the hands of those who engage in Your Torah" is not,

that all the soldiers were "rabbanan" whose "Torah is their craft",

but rather that the leaders of the victors in the war were "those who engage in Your Torah".

And more it seems to me,

that "occupiers of Your Torah" here means

(not only those whose "Torah is their craft",

<pg>210</pg>

but)

all learners of Torah

(also businessmen who set fixed times for Torah),

that all are called "occupiers of Your Torah".

And as is proven from this that each and every Jew is obligated in the blessings of the Torah,

including the blessing "to occupy<sup>10</sup>

in words of Torah".

[And additionally we can say,

that the phrase "those who engage in Your Torah"

(and not "those who learn Your Torah")

here does not come to emphasize the manner of engagement in the study of Torah,

but rather includes also engagement in the commandments<sup>11</sup>

which is the purpose of study

(study that leads to action).

And this is what is called "those who engage"

(not "those who learn"),

because "those who learn Your Torah" refers to those who study Torah,

which relates to a person's intellect and understanding; but engagement in Torah<sup>12</sup>

indicates that the person in all his matters and faculties is engaged in Torah,

and this is when he studies in order to do,

in a manner that all his actions in all his 248 limbs will be according to the instructions of the Torah.

And based on this, the question of the commentators is simply resolved<sup>13</sup>

"Why does it say 'arrogant ones into the hand of those who engage in Your Torah' and does not say 'a thing and its opposite' as it said in all the others" — because according to the above, this clause too is "a thing and its opposite",

for "those who engage in Your Torah" are those who fulfill the commandments of the Torah,

the opposite of the "arrogant ones",

who willfully transgress<sup>14</sup>

the commands of the Torah].

And the difficulty returns to its place — what is the miracle in "You delivered..

the impure into the hands of the pure, and the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and the insolent into the hands of those who occupy themselves with Your Torah"?

2.

At first glance, one can say,

that what is said "and the impure into the hands of the pure etc." refers to what is said before this — "when the wicked kingdom of Greece stood up against Your people Israel to make them forget Your Torah and to force them to stray from the statutes of Your will",

that is

(not a war in its simple sense,

but rather)

decrees against the religion,

a spiritual war; and from this it is understood,

that the description of Israel's victory afterwards,

must include not only the victory of the military men,

but also

(and moreover,

primarily)

the spiritual victory,

the overcoming of the decrees and their nullification.

And therefore they say "and the impure into the hands of the pure, and the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and the insolent into the hands of those who occupy themselves with Your Torah",

to emphasize and describe the spiritual victory of Israel

(even though "this is not from the action of the miracle").

But ostensibly it is forced to explain that the details<pg>211</pg>

These that are said in continuation of "And for the miracles etc." are not included in the miracles and wonders "that You performed for our forefathers in those days."

And one can say the explanation in this: It is known from the chronicles of those days,

that even though the decrees against the religion of Israel

("to cause them to forget Your Torah and to make them transgress the statutes of Your will")

were decreed by "the wicked kingdom of Greece",

that "they decreed decrees upon Israel and nullified their religion and did not allow them to engage in Torah and mitzvos etc."¹⁵,

nevertheless there were several from the Children of Israel

(the Hellenists)

who joined with the Greeks

(in addition to those who did so due to coercion),

until a minority of the Children of Israel remained complete openly with God and His Torah.

And perhaps one can say,

that the intention in the three matters mentioned above

("the impure into the hands of the pure and the wicked into the hands of the righteous and the insolent into the hands of those who engage in Your Torah")

is for the Hellenists from the Children of Israel¹⁶,

that is,

that in addition to the miracle that the Hasmoneans prevailed over the kingdom of Greece

(in the manner of "You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak and the many into the hands of the few"),

behold there was this further thing,

that there were delivered into their hands also the "impure...

and wicked...

and insolent" from the Children of Israel themselves¹⁷.

And this magnifies the miracle most — and from both aspects: both the victory of the war in its simple sense,

and as is understood simply the greatness of the miracle when among Bnei Yisrael there were on the side of the Greeks,

and nevertheless the "pure ones.." won

righteous ones..

occupiers of Your Torah"; and both from the aspect of the spirituality of the matters,

this that Hashem made for Yisrael this miracle

[for this is the content of saying "And on the miracles",

to emphasize that this was not a natural victory but a miracle that was done by Hashem,

"And You in Your abundant mercies stood for them in their time of distress, great etc. You judged etc. You avenged etc. You delivered etc."]

— for even though several of Yisrael were not worthy of this miracle,

nevertheless Hashem considered the minority that were "pure ones..

righteous ones..

occupiers of Your Torah" and made for them this miracle.

3.

And according to this explanation

(that "You delivered etc. impure ones etc. and wicked ones etc. and insolent ones etc." refers to the Hellenists from Bnei Yisrael),

it is possible to explain also that which it specifies specifically these three descriptions,

in a manner of "a thing and its opposite"

(as above sec. 1)

— "impure ones into the hand of pure ones and wicked ones into the hand of righteous ones and insolent ones into the hand of occupiers of Your Torah" — for the contrast in these three things<sup>18</sup>

pertains

(in truth)

only to Bnei Yisrael themselves

(and not in the relation between Yisrael and the nations).

That is: in the relationship between Israel and the nations,

it is not so appropriate to describe the nations as "impure..

wicked..

insolent" in contrast to Bnei Yisrael who are "pure..

righteous..

occupying themselves with Your Torah" — because the category of purity and righteousness and occupation with Torah regarding Bnei Yisrael is of an entirely different type than how they are regarding a Ben Noach, and it is not within their category at all

(as will follow),

and consequently it is not applicable to say that they oppose Israel in these matters

(from the aspect that they are "impure..

and wicked..

and insolent"),

for just as<pg>212</pg>

that the concept of "pure..

righteous..

occupying themselves with Your Torah" as they are in Bnei Yisrael does not apply to them,

so too it is not applicable to say that they oppose these things and do their opposite.

And the explanation in this:

The definition of impurity and purity

("Impure ones in the hand of pure ones")

— according to the law — applies only to Israel,

for a non-Jew does not become impure,

And in the language of the Rambam¹⁹

"A non-Jew who touched a corpse etc. is like one who did not touch; to what is this comparable? To an animal that touched a corpse etc. And not only regarding impurity of a corpse, but regarding all impurities, a non-Jew and an animal do not become impure from them,"

that the intention of the Rambam in the length of his language

("is like one who did not touch; to what is this comparable? To an animal etc.")

is,

that this that non-Jews do not become impure,

the explanation in this is not that they are only actually exempted from the law of impurity,

but rather that they are not in the category of impurity and purity,

that regarding this matter they are not an entity²⁰

upon which the name impurity can take effect,

and like an animal that is not in this category at all;

The matter of righteousness

(and its opposite)

Among the children of Israel depends on the observance of the 613 commandments that were given specifically to Israel,

But not so a son of Noah,

That the matter of righteousness and wickedness is only in the observance of their seven commandments,

That the difference between the 613 commandments of Israel and the seven commandments of a son of Noah is not only in the number of commandments

(seven or 613)

But they are two completely different categories,

As explained elsewhere at length²¹,

[Therefore we find that the main matter of reward and punishment is only for Israel²²,

As it is said²³

"Only you have I known from all the families of the earth, therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities",

"He does not²⁴

care about them whether they do good or evil..

And so our sages said²⁵

That an idolater is different, for judgment is not visited upon them"

("They are not hastened from heaven to visit their iniquities upon them"²⁶),

And this means that their deeds are not significant before the Omnipresent to be considered a sin,

And as our sages said on the verse²⁷

"Jerusalem has sinned a sin" — "The nations of the world etc. even though they sin, they are nothing"]

;

"Zedim beyad oseki torasecha" — the term "oseki torasecha" applies only to Bnei Yisrael,

since "an akum who engages in Torah is liable to death"²⁸

[for although Bnei Noach are obligated to learn the laws of their "seven mitzvos"²⁸

— nevertheless they are not in the category of "oseki torasecha",

who are only those who engage in the Torah of Hashem that was given specifically to Yisrael],

and since the akum are not in the category of "oseki torasecha",

it is understood,

that they are also not in the category of "zedim" who oppose "oseki torasecha".

<pg>213</pg>

4.

And from here [there is] encouragement and great strengthening for Bnei Yisrael in this generation of ours,

that in addition to this that "you are the fewest of all the peoples"²⁹,

behold also from Bnei Yisrael themselves,

those who observe Torah and mitzvos in completeness

(and in all their details)

are for now a minority relative to the rest of our fellow Bnei Yisrael, may they live,

and the contemplation of this situation can bring a person to despair, G-d forbid,

or at least cause weakness — for how will Bnei Yisrael merit the true and complete redemption which depends on teshuvah

(for Yisrael are not redeemed except through teshuvah³⁰),

when several of Yisrael are still far from this?

And regarding this there is the lesson in a fortiori and a fortiori from the days of Chanukah,

that just as in the days of Chanukah, when there were "impure..

and wicked..

and insolent",

nevertheless the "pure..

righteous..

occupiers with Your Torah" prevailed,

and so too in our generation,

when some of Israel who are not observing Torah and mitzvos in completeness for now are "captured infants" — and the "pure..

righteous..

occupiers with Your Torah" stand on their guard with self-sacrifice for the observance of Torah and mitzvos,

surely the Holy One, blessed be He, helps them etc. until He brings salvation and rescue to the world.

And furthermore — that there is given to them the power to overcome those who are not "pure etc.",

for this that the pure etc. are the minority,

this is in quantity,

but in quality the pure etc. are the main thing,

for they have the force of holiness whose source is in the holiness of the Omnipresent,

whereas the force of "impure..

and wicked..

and insolent" is physical only.

And therefore, in the end, they are the victors in a manner of "delivery",

not only that the side of holiness is victorious,

but moreover,

that the opposite side is delivered into the hand of holiness,

that they are turned to good,

"subjugated" under the control of holiness,

until they become "pure..

righteous..

occupiers with Your Torah".

5.

Just as it is regarding the entirety of Israel — so too is it with each and every one:

Our Sages, may their memory be blessed, said&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;

"Many did..

like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and it did not succeed for them",

most of the Children of Israel are not dwellers of the tent but rather businessmen,

that most of the day they are occupied with their material needs,

and the minority of the day they are occupied with matters of holiness actually — prayer,

fixed times for Torah and fulfillment of the commandments.

And also that they do all their deeds "for the sake of Heaven"&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;

and "in all your ways know Him"&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;

— behold they are called "your deeds" and "your ways",

except that they are done "for the sake of Heaven".

And perhaps it is possible that a thought of "black bile" may arise in a person's heart,

for how is it in his ability to fulfill the command "And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst"³⁴

— within each and every one of Israel,

that His holiness will dwell within him and within his house literally — when most of his time is in material matters?

And in this is the lesson from the days of Chanukah,

that this that one imagines in his soul that only "a minority of it" is invested in purity and righteousness and involvement in Torah — this is only in quantity,

but in quality — the essence of him is those hours that he engages in prayer and in Torah and in commandments,

and they are the ones that determine his true existence.

And additionally: through this recognition itself,

merits to "I delivered etc. and impure into the hand of pure and wicked into the hand of etc." — that also during his occupation&lt;pg&gt;214&lt;/pg&gt;

in physical matters,

it is felt by him that all this is not his main thing,

and they are secondary to his essence and true being,

which is the service of G-d.

And from here we also learn encouragement for those who return in repentance,

that even if for some days in the past they were, G-d forbid, in a state of "impure ones,"

and furthermore — "wicked ones..

and insolent ones,"

their evil inclination overcame them then — and they feel themselves "weak" and "few" — behold, they must know,

that they in truth are "pure ones..

righteous ones..

occupiers with Your Torah,"

and this is the essence of their existence,

and through this they will overcome their past,

And each one will build his private "Sanctuary" — at first purifying himself from all his undesirable matters,

"and clear out Your Hall and purify Your Sanctuary,"

and afterwards lights the candle of his soul

(The candle of G-d is the soul of man)

— "and they shall light candles in Your holy courtyards,"

until he merits "to thank and to praise Your great Name."

(From the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Miketz 5732)