The Writers’ Cafe

After wasting another hour with this interface, I decide to at least write these few words. If the video makes it to the virtual world, then it might be worth my comments.Unil then, please excuse me if I do not have a perfect understanding of all things be they technical or metaphysical, or chronological.

Guess what? You can now follow Aharon Moshe Sanders on Twitter @

www.twitter.com/AharonMosheNow

I decided to try to loosen up with my writing. There is no doubt that my writing is developing some kind of audience. People in the neighborhood that I run into tell me that “I saw your web site, I read some of your articles.” It is hard to explain just how good that makes me feel. In some of my past articles (why is it that I have trouble calling them that)

The formula for my writing is simple. Create provocative titles, elaborate introductions, develop and share some keen insights.

The new tool in my web arsenal is twitter. If you can say it in under 140 characters, you can tweet it to the whole world,

In my previous post I touched on the idea of automatic writing. the idea behind this type of writing is to free the author of all structure. Structure in any pursuit is essential, however it can totally impair a person’s ability to create. The key is to incorporate enough structure into your writing to make it readable. However if you actually become bored with your own self imposed structure, then it is time to complete your article and move on.

The End

In the virtual world we may be consumers, producers, or both. I remember some lyrics from a Robin Trower song, that goes like this:

“And that old stone keeps on rolling. Bringing me some new bad news. Takers get the honey. Givers sing, the blues”

I could easily wax philosophical for the next 1000 or more words bringing in all kinds of song lyrics, but how would they help me prove any kind of point. At this point I would like to say that many of the people have a certain love for what falls into the category of “Pop Culture”. For better or worse, many of us out there both in the real and the virtual world have been hopelessly brain washed by pop culture. If you really get down to it pop culture in some circles could be thought of as an oxymoron. Typically things that are popular, have really very little to do with culture, from the point of view defining culture as:

“A high degree of taste and refinement formed by aesthetic and intellectual training.”

Definition#4-Answer.com

These days I have been exposed to a rigorous kind of proving ground where any of even the beginning learners of Torah, are sometimes even encouraged to share their novel take on a particular piece (or pasuk) of Torah. A major difference when we discuss pop culture versus explaining nuance of meaning in Torah goes like this.

In popular culture, it is good enough if you could give over a set of lyrics, tune, poem, or lines from a movie, play, or television show, and somehow connect it, to the particular conversation you might be having. Often this might even be good enough to elicit some laughter.

In discussing ideas given in the Torah, one might share some learning, or cite a source which is connected with the particular pasuk, however then you have to explain its relevance.

The difference is when we share something we learn in Torah, we are coming head to head with 1000’s of other Rabbi’s of various levels of greatness. When we try to share our own personal take on the matter, we somehow expose ourselves to risk. Therefore we tend to need to be especially careful in our choice of wording. I think in part for some of these reasons, people often will hesitate to say what the think about the ideas that we learn in the Torah.

I have the benefit of learning from some teachers particularly at Hofstra University who’s ideas still stay in my mind till this day. One of my teachers in his class in the  Literature in Translation department, was teaching a class in existential thought. He had taught us a method called automatic writing. This method explains that the hand is a very slow scribe, and part of this exercise is to simply allow your mind to wander. Then when you land on a thought, simply write it down. Then simply try to keep up by writing down everything that comes into your mind as fast as you can. That first thought, my professor explained is called the kernel or seed.

That being said, I feel I need to complete the original thought of this essay. When we enter the world of literature, Torah, lecture, poetry or prose as readers, we are benefiting from the hard work which the creator of the piece put into it. When we create our own unique piece of work, we experience the difficulties associated with sharing our own inner world with others Many times we may miss the mark, however if we do not take our shot we will never even come close.

Aharon Moshe (Stepehen) Sanders

January 1, 2009

Parhsa Miketz and Parsha Vayigash, both deal with revealing what is hidden. Previously in Parsha Vayeishev , each of the three times that Yosef revealed a dream to his brothers, their hatred of him increased. When Israel (Yakov) sent Joseph to Shechem to find out about the well being of the brothers, they threw him and a pit, and he was sold into slavery, and taken down to Egypt.

Miketz: In Egypt Joseph was hurried out prison over to Pharoh to interpret his dream. He is given a new name by  Pharoh; Zaphenath-paneah. which means according to Rashi and Rashbam means “he who explains what is hidden”.

An interesting way to look at, the longest sustained narrative in the Torah, is how can we consider the actions of the Joseph and his brothers as “mistakes” when we see that it is through these mistakes, that G-d’s plan is enacted. There are different opinions about how we can understand and learn from the actions and yes sometimes even mistakes, of the Avos (fathers) and the 12 brothers, the sons of Yakov. One opinion might lead one to view the 12 brothers and the Avos as superhuman perfect tzadikim and therefore beyond reproach. I know of at least one Rabbi, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch,  who will point out the mistakes of the Avos, especially since we may be able to learn from them.

From my own perspective I feel that it may be more important that we can relate to the Avos, and particularly to Joseph and his brothers on a personal and human level. The reason for my opinion is that: if we continuously place these important figures on such a high level as if they can do no wrong, then we will not really be in a position to understand their greatness when they deal with the consequences of their actions.

For example the greatness of Yehuda does not come from his being so wise that he never makes any mistakes. No, the greatness of Yehuda, for example with the matter of Tamar, comes from his admitting of his error, and accepting the responsibility and the consequences of his actions. If we attempt to relate to the Avos and most particular Yakov’s 12 sons, as real people, then we can formulate ideas such as the following:

Imagine if you were Joseph, and you ample time to ponder your life while imprisoned in a foreign country for some unknown period of time, perhaps even the rest of your life. Your mind could theoretically take you in the direction of pondering how you got there in the first place. You might come to ask yourself something along the lines of, “Why did I ever tell my brothers, about my dreams?” Indeed you might, right at that very moment make a nedder, not to ever speak of dreams again. This, thank G-d was not the case with Joseph. Chazal go on to tell us that from the root of Joseph will come Mashiach ben Yosef.

Now how about Yehuda? Yehuda takes on the roll of spokesperson when he tells his brothers “What gain will there be if we kill our brother and cover up his blood” Genesis 37:26 Artscroll. While as usual there are at least two different opinions as to what he should have said, according to his brothers who were committed to the plan of ridding themselves of Joseph. The end result is clear, Yehudah spoke up, expressed his opinion, offered up his own plan and then was diminished in the eyes of his brothers, and suffered negative consequences.

If allow ourselves the option of looking at the 12 brothers, using human values, we again can imagine that something must have welled up in Yehudah, when he realized that the brothers were having difficulty in convincing Yakov to allow Yakov, to come down to Egypt. Yet, Yehudah’s powers of persuasion were again required, and Yehuda did not reamain silent and again stepped up, and came up with a plan, and made a promise to Yakov his father, pledging his soul as collateral. Yehuda told his father Yakov that it would have be that he would have sinned against his father for all time if he did not return with Benjamin.

This Blog is about many different things. My readers should understand that my writings on Torah based topics are not meant to be authoritative. Indeed in the community in which I live there are people who never seek to enlarge upon a theme which has not been previously documented by mefarshim (commentaries) or chazal.

In traditional discussion of Jewish Law, you will often see people speak of what Chazal says about a matter. Chazal is not a single person; the term refers collectively to the consensus of authoritative opinion, in much the same way that we might speak of what Congress says or what the Supreme Court says. Chazal is an acronym of the Hebrew phrase Chachameinu Zichronam Liv’racha, which means “our sages of blessed memory” or “our sages, may their memory be a blessing.” In its strictest sense, Chazal refers to the final opinion expressed in the Talmud, but the term is sometimes used more loosely to refer to the generally accepted opinion of any of the wise people who have contributed to Jewish law.

Source of explanation above from: www.jewfaq.org Judaism 101, click here to go there.

Followers of this blog may have noticed that that only the newest topic would appear on top. That format has changed with this post.

This post will remain on top as a disclaimer. It is important to understand that I am attempting to do far more with this website then to simply reiterate ideas that have already been firmly established by chazal. However it should be noted that I do try to credit the ideas to their source when possibly. My reader needs to understand that the ideas expressed which are uniquely my own are simply the ones which I do not typically try to credit to others. Also that it is the nature  of this blog, and perhaps all blogs in general, that the writing is done, live and in real time using the text box which is provided in the case by wordpress. Often my first draft will be published with incorrect grammar or spelling. I do try to repair them as they get noticed upon revisiting this site.

While I do attempt to get at the truth, with any given post, there are at times, inaccuracies that will be found. I am not posting these writings so that they can be repeated at ones’s own shabbos table in my name (although I believe this is a high honor) but rather I am doing this as a means of self expression, with the idea that once I commit these ideas and concepts to writing, it then opens up my mind to receive more of these insights.

I am hoping to implement further changes both in the look of this website, as well as its content.

A goal of my mine has been to find other writers who perhaps would to have their writing published in a blog like this. I have url’s which I have purchased that I would also like to further develop. I have already begun to contact other writers, and even people who have more experience with website coding so that I can have this particular website develop along the lines in accordance with the vision that I have for it’s future.

One might notice that there is also relatively few comments. Right here I need to let you know that due to that nature of what goes on out here in the virtual world, that I have already received over 13,000 comments. Most of these comment are poised for my deletion. This current state of affairs is unfortunate because i sincerely do welcome sincere and interested comments, but simply do not have the patience to wade through all the nonsense (spam) which may even have been generated by some sort of automated machinery or program (spam bots?) The reason is, that people (spammers) simply want you to go tho their website.

This web site does not only post on Torah related ideas.

I also write on various other topics. I often have trouble classifying what my other writings are about most probably because my other writings are so uniquely my own. Indeed part of my problem as an author, or perhaps more positively expressed as, part of my style as author, is that it is difficult to remove my own personal thoughts and ideas from any of my writing. This particular limitation unfortunately had created some difficulty for me, in attempting to produce a master’s thesis for one particular program which would have provided me with a masters degree in The Teaching of Science 7-12.

It is not very likely that my writing style. or mindset regarding writing in a manner which is uniquely my own will change anytime now or in the near future. It is however quite possible and even likely that my writing will continue to evolve and grow along with this website.

I also welcome personal as well comments and inquires. For not they can be e-mailed to me at the e-mail address below. This email address (even though it is long) was created to at least help promote this website which I believe does appear high on some of the listing on various topics of interest on google searches.

email me at: thewriterscafe.org@gmail.com

Aharon Moshe (Stephen C.) Sanders

Usually I am not able to simply, boom, hit you over the head with the amazing thought or idea that I had today. Typically there is an elaborate introduction, so why should this post be different from any other post? Today at Passaic Torah Institute, I had wondered if during the mussar  (*…traditional Jewish spiritual discipline that offers sound guidance to help you cultivate the qualities of your soul.*) part of the morning plan if Rabbi Shlomo Singer might start speaking about Purim, Asara B’teves or even the relatively minor TuB’Shevat. The surprise was,… ready,… Peysach. We began learning from a Sefer written by Rabbi Y. Hamburger, who is a brother of the Rabbi Hamburger we know in Passaic, NJ.

After spending so many hours learning with R. Singer, i guess I have become more comfortable about putting in my two cents and sharing my  opinions and thoughts about the subject matter at hand. Also I have become aware of the need to become a active participant in the learning otherwise there is the possibility that I would learn the same thing which I may have learned previously the last time I attended these sessions.

Rabbi Singer had asked the question, Why should the statement be “to see yourself as if it was you yourself coming out of Mitzrayem” (Egypt). I had made the comment that maybe it is not so much that we ourselves did not physically come out of Mitzrayem (I quickly made the point about the Mitzrayem as a metaphor for a spiritually low point) but rather that because only 1/5 of the Jews actually made it out of Mitzrayem, that it would be a humble statement to say that if we were there we ourselves might not have made it out. The thought being that it would fit in with the idea of maintaining a humble outlook which is indeed part of the holiday.

I want to mention here that while I take notes on the shiur, or perhaps better stated as the learning our chevrah (friends) accomplish at PTI, that these writings do not simply serve to record these shirum. However it is my take, on the shirum, and the issues or matters that interest me, that get recorded here on this website. Ideas that I identify as coming from a particular source, are just that, while others which I do not identify are my own ideas.

Rabbi Singer has repeatedly explained how the neshoma (soul) comes down to the world because it is in pain. The nature of the neshoma, (R. Singer repeatedly reminds us) is that it needs to grow. While we are two people at the same time, a neshoma and a guf (body), the neshoma is who we truly are. R. Singer likewise emphasizes that we do not want freebies (meaning getting something for nothing) which touches on the mostly kabbalistic concept of bread of shame. Our neshoma therefore comes to this world with a specific mission which will allow it (us) to grow.

There were a few questions that came up fro the chevrah which are noteworthy, someone asked, can Hashem grow. The answer from R. singer came back as no, which somehow for some reason I added in my two cents and said that “If Hashem could grow, it would mean that Hashem is not already complete, or perfect in every way. Then I thought to argue with myself and started to make some comment about we, being created in the likeness of Hashem. I would have went on with my reasoning however Rabbi Singer is very fast and quick to make the point that we are a chalick (portion or piece) of Hashem. Rabbi Singer was quick to point out this important difference, however I though I pretty much was pointing a pshat (straight literal interpretation) of Genesis 1:26 “ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” a well known pusek (verse) in our Holy Torah that has  983,001 references according to google. While this particular pusek of Torah presents some difficulties, too complex to fully detail here in this particular piece. I only brought this up due to the direction in which Rabbi Singer was pulling us.

In other words, G-d is infinite but we are finite. However my question was going in the direction that we were made in G-d’s image according to Gen 1:26, however that is a major difference. Now as I read and reflect about what I just read there is another extremely important difference in that we are created beings, while G-d is the cause of all causes, and was not ever created, because G-d always existed. I need to wrap up this huge concepts for now by simply stating what i think were the two different ideas that may have been zipping around the table at PTI at the time:

R Singer: The neshoma has one agenda, to grow because we are part of Hashem. In Shemayim the neshoma gets freebies and does not earn its benefits (bread of shame) so is therefore in extreme pain. The neshoma comes down to this world to grow.

We all pretty much seem to have gotten the idea and no one was arguing or questioning the idea. Meanwhile I was putting together my own theory of why the neshoma comes down the this world, along with a beautiful mushell (analogy) of my own to explain it within the context of mitzrayem. Then someone asked if Hashem grows, the answer came back quickly from R. Singer, No! However I was having a problem really understanding that idea. I now realize that this could become one of these  irreconcilable ideas. On one hand we believe and accept with all our heart and soul that Hashem is perfect in every way.  However when we try to understand Hashem using our limited mental faculties (no matter how great these may be) we will always fall short because  a complete understanding of Hashem and Hashem’s ways are beyond the reach of the human mind.

For example we can ask the classic question, can Hashem create a vessel so strong that even He (Hashem) can not break it.  The logic one might employ to to solve such a riddle might evoke another pop culture image of our famous hero from Star Trek stating “ everything I say is a lie ” (46 million 800 thousand results when googled, add star trek and the number comes down to a mere 2,530,000). The exercise in logic might seem silly because even a child might ask, why would Hashem want to make a vessel so strong that he could not break it. However, spin the question slightly differently and ask:

Could Hashem make a vessel so strong that it could contain all his light?

Answer deepest Kabbalah crash course in the Ten Luminous Emanations:

Two answers to why Gen 1:26 reads “… Let us make Man in our Image… “:

Answer # 1: When Hashem made man, he consulted with Angels.

Answer # 2  During the act of the cosmic creation, where G-d created the heavens and the earth; G-d created vessel to receive his light of creation. There were ten utterances, where Hashem spoke, and things came into being. These vessels were not able to contain the light of Hashem, and they broke. The were ten of these vessels, corresponding to the ten utterances. These vessels fused to create primordial man or Adam kadmon.

Certainly the ideas above are difficult enough to understand, now when the question gets asked as to how come Hashem did not make the vessels strong enough to contain all the light that he “uttered “ ?Then we must simply get back to the thought of creation. In the quick research I did I noticed at least one concise explanation that these ten utterances were these forces that created all that was, is and will be in the universe. These forces were being represented in the microcosm of man. If these forces were bottled up, and contained (not shared) then they could not grow. What was required for the creation of primordial man, or Adam Kadmon was a fusion of each of these divine forces, into one being.

Now, that being said here is one of my unique little thoughts which I shared with with a nice Chabad couple when my daughter and I were first becoming frum. The vessel that gets broken at the wedding ceremony is often said to be a reminder of the destruction of the 1st Beis Hamikdash. I prefer to think of the breaking of the wine glass as a reminder of the cosmic creation of primordial man; Adam Kadmon. When we complete the wedding ceremony as evidenced via the physical act of the breaking of the glass, we are reenacting the original breaking of the cosmic vessels which were part and parcel of Hashem’s creation of man in his image. Indeed it is the sacred union of the husband and wife that allows for the bringing of the neshoma into this world.

There was much more, but once again my subject matter took me into a very strong but important tangent, and I felt it proper to simply go with it. I hope to share my new mushell and new understanding of the Lamed Vav Tzadikim. as well as further develop my ideas on the finite/infinite nature of the neshoma in future postings, maybe even as soon as tommorrow, G-d willing.

Aharon Moshe (Stephen) Sanders

December 22, 2009

5th (Hey) of Teves 5770

At a recent shiur (class) in the Nesivos Shalom we we learning about how when you exclude the shamesh candle, that there are a total of 36 candles lit during the holiday of Chanukah. It is now a pretty well known secret that there are 36 Tzadikim (perfectly righteous) people who at any given time, within every generation, that live amongst us, yet are considered to be hidden.

Okay, 1st let me get a few previous ideas out on the table so to speak. While I have not been studying Torah all my life, I have been interested in things relating to the cosmic creation, Genesis, as well as the eternal nature of the soul from when I was about 16 years old. The first time I had heard about the Lamed Vav (36) Tzadikim was when I was in an art class in one of the High Schools I had attended. I was showing some of my photographs to my teacher and he spontaneously told me the LV Tzadikim. I was an avid photographer, leartning The Zone System of light values (on my own) at the time, so not knowing the Hebrew letters I transliterated the Lamed Vav into LV which stood for light values. So this is how the concept remained for some time in the back of my mind.

Now, you simply can not get many people living here in Passaic today to get into any kind of in depth conversation about the Lamed Vav Tzadikim. Nor can you seriously engage anyone in serious discussions about the qualitative aspects of Shechinah (G-d’s presence here on earth).  Now enter some recent learning, one from the Daf Yomi, (daily explanation) of  Gemara one page at a time, I believe it was from Tannis where there is a brief discussion how at the time of the flood, one star was removed from the constellation of Kimah, and somehow this provided plenty enough water for the flood.

Also, within the 1st 52 words of the Torah (specifically at the 26th) we get one word, Vayihi, which means and then there was, {”Yihi Or, Vayihi Or”}. G-d said “Let there be light, and then there was light”. Now what became of this light, and what is this light. Is this the same light we use to read a book at night, or the same light, that there never seems to be enough of, when taking photographs at rock concerts in Madison Sqaure Garden? No, we have learned that this light, was light that was put away for the Tzadikim.

Now the pop culture component of this essay:

In the movie “The Jewel of the Nile” a 1985 romantic Adventure film with Michael Douglas and, Kathleen Turner. There was this particular jewel that Jack (Michael Douglas) had agreed to help find, the Jewel of the Nile. stop reading the next few lines if you want to see the movie and want to be surprised at the right time. so Jack looked everywhere for this jewel, in deep pits, amongst snakes scorpions etc. Guess what, The Jewel of the Nile was not a very valuable gem at all. it was this man, who was the true spiritual leader of the people and his nickname was The Jewel of the Nile.

The Essence of Chanukah:Torah She’Baal Peh (Oral Torah):

Revised 12/12/09:

On this web site I often will write about things having to with my new found orthodox jewish lifestyle. Currently, I do spend a significant part of my day, typically several hours ad day learning Torah @ Passaic Torah Institute. In my humility I can indeed point out that I do become very motivated to learn in part due to the constant urging of Rabbi Shlomo Singer. However I am also intrinsically hard wired to delve deeply into things, to get to heart of any given matter.

If I state that this article was inspired by a series of discourses which were given at Passaic Torah Institute, at 441 Passaic Ave, Passaic NJ, and were lead by Rabbi Shlomo Singer shlita, then I can avoid the possible pitfall of attributing my own personal take on the matter to someone other than myself. I can also avoid potential criticism from my teacher by leaving out some of the essential ingredients which were developed over the series of discourses, over time.

The ongoing interactive discourse began sometime in late November, 2009 continuing through today (one day before Chanukah) December 10, 2009.

On more than one occasion Rabbi Shlomo Singer had asked our small but consistent group of about 5- 7 chevrah (friends), what was the main idea, or the essence of Chanukah. We all gave our answers and were individually recognized for having some good ideas and insights, however it was clear that our Rabbi was clearly steering us in a particular direction. The essence of Chanukah is Torah She’Baal Peh (Oral Torah).

The salient point left out of this original piece is that on some level, according to the concept as developed by R. Singer shlita, that the Greeks allowed Jews to have our written Torah. However the Greek concept of allowing us to have our written Torah was more like simply allowing a person to read an interesting novel. Certainly the Greeks were not happy to sit still and allow places such as Yeshivah’s to flourish where people would become engaged in extensive discussions regarding different potential interpretations of our Holy Torah.

I need to add the particular image which had been in my mind from as far back as I can remember as a grade school child, a secular Jew who attended public school as a child pick a year anywhere from say second grade to 6th grade. The Chanukah dreidal application image that was firmly implanted in my mind was that a given group of adult male Jews (say between 3 to 5) would somehow have this Torah scroll, I imagined it might have been kept under something and covered up when not being used, and it would be taken out so that it could be studied. Now when a Greek (or Roman) soldier, some fellow in full Roman type armor, complete with that classic sort of brush type helmet, happened to be anywhere in earshot or line of sight, these regular Jews of the day would hurriedly scurry the Torah scroll away into its secret hiding place, and take out a dreidel, and throw out some coins from their pocket and then act as if they were in the middle of a dreidel game just in case the Roman soldier might have thought that these fellows were studying Torah.

Roman Helmet (cotume store image) 200 BCE

Now, I am not sharing this idea with any particular pride, however this would be the working image, until something more sophisticated (A greek based word from sophists- Greeks who somehow made a living by teaching philosophy) image or concept might come along to replace this one.

Therefore when Rabbi Singer repeatedly kept beating the drum how it was Oral Torah, that the Greeks were trying to eliminate, that the idea simply was not being put concretely into my head. After at this particular time period there were no books called Gemara, Talmud, or Mishna. As far as I know, back then there was Torah, and that was it!

So now try to understand my dilemma when I kept hearing the Rabbi Singer say that: The Essence of Chanukah is Torah She’Baal Peh (Oral Torah).

Now there were days that I sat there kind of just listening, and wondering if we were ever going to hear why this was true. There were days, that I got so engrossed in learning new concepts, that it was becoming difficult to keep of with all the ideas that were being expounded upon. There were times where it seemed like our Rabbi Singer was reading Hebrew word after Hebrew word from the Sefer (book) we were reading  ”Siftei Chaim” by Rabbi Chaim Friedlander. There were days where it seemed like our Rabbi was repeating the same ideas over and over again.

Rabbi Singer asked us questions, we gave answers. He liked our answers, we liked our answers but the questions kept coming at us. Different questions, about different ideas. Rabbi Singer sometimes asked us questions, and nobody would speak, thinking maybe it was a rhetorical question. Then he would ask us the same question again, sometimes he would give us the answer, and dramatically bang on the table. ” Do you like my answer? Is it okay with you? Are you going to let me go on? ” Rabbi Singer would often ask us, challenging us to think for ourselves, question him, argue with him, or perhaps even agree with him. Sometimes someone would chyme in, and sometimes we would sit there and wait because very often Rabbi Singer would tell us even more, or give us a deeper insight to think about after such a series of questions.

I would sit, and I would listen. On a good day, i would have a pen, and scramble around to find a few scraps of paper that were not filled with Hebrew words, words from the Gemara (the written oral Torah) which always seemed to be floating around Passaic Torah Institue (PTI). On an even better day I would have my marble composition notebooks with me. During the best, of the best, of these days, I would let go of trying to answer all the questions, and would simply do my best to keep with what Rabbi Singer was asking us, or reading from our source text.

I realize that part of the way Rabbi Singer imparts information is using the Socratic method (a Greek work for a particular teaching method-Socratic method based on Socrates 470-399 BCE- a Greek philosopher where information is elicited by the teacher by repeated questioning of the student).

Also I understand that there was a very strong tradition of Oral Torah which had been in existence prior to the writing down of this information in  Mishna and Gemara. As a matter fact part of the Oral Tradition of Torah She’Baal Peh, as is implied by it’s name, actually prohibited the writing down of this information in the form of books.

Also, for better or worse, my first formal entry in the world of Torah learning (some 15 or so years ago-having never even been exposed to Hebrew school when I was in grade school or in junior high school) had happened to be from the point of view of Kabbalistic ideas. One of the ideas of Kabbalah is that some ideas, or secrets are not supposed to ever be put into writing. Indeed as per Halacha, some ideas are never even supposed to be talked about even in a group as small as two people. The idea here is that one could only bring up chapter headings or the main idea without filling in the details.

Now lets get back to Chanukah::

We emphasize the (seemingly small and unimportant)  miracle of the oil lasting 8 days, as the primary important thing and then add our thanks to Hashem for the miracles of the military victory of such a small number of Yeshivah students over at minimum 10’s of thousands of trained military soldiers, or to use Rabbi Singer’s number, 6 million Greek soldiers.

It really is no small wonder that Chanukah may be one of the most enigmatic of the Jewish holidays. On hand we have some relatively easy requirements that we must satisfy in order to observe the holiday correctly. For example, lighting candles, how difficult is that to do when compared to the kind of cleaning that we as orthodox Jews must do in order to remove all the chametz (bread, and bread products) from the household in preparation for Pesach.

However the mitzvot (commandments) associated with Pesach are defined in the written Torah, while Chanukah is a holiday which came to be after the time period of the Torah, shortly before the destruction of the second temple. Now I should point out here that my belief regarding R. Singer’s discourse on the essence of Chanukah is Torah She’Baal Peh,  is not simply because the mitzvahs associated with Chanukah, and the description of how to keep Chanukah are given outside the time period where the total body of literature which was to be encoded into Tanach. In other words:

According to the Talmud,[2] much of the contents of the Tanakh were compiled by the “Men of the Great Assembly” by 450 BCE, and have since remained unchanged”

The source of statement above is wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanakh

The point that I am trying to make here is that my understanding is that the essence of Chanukah is about Oral Torah, not because Oral Torah is required in order to provide the details and the rules about how to celebrate the holiday of Chanukah.  Rather the essence of Chanukah is Torah She’Baal Peh (Oral Torah), because having an accurate written and kosher Torah Scroll is not enough to keep the nation of Jewish people a distinct and separate Jewish nation. Indeed there must be such things as communities of Torah observant Jews who seek to follow the code of Jewish law both in its written form and in its oral form. In order for there to be any understanding of how to apply the Oral law of Torah, to each subsequent generation of Jewish people there must be a strong tradition to continue to learn and transmit oral law to subsequent generations. Simply writing down oral law down in some book that sits on someone’s shelf, is not enough to keep the oral tradition alive.

Why Chanukah is such an important holiday:

It is easy to be mislead about the significance of Chanukah for a great variety of reasons including the current emphasis on buying toys for children, spinning dreidels giving and eating chocolate coins and eating food prepared in oil,  like latkes and jelly donuts.  The preparation and  mitzvahs associated with the holiday primarily revolve around lighting candles before it gets dark, saying a relatively simple bracha (blessing), adding a few lines to the normal morning, afternoon, and evening prayers, and saying Hallel, which is an additional set of prayers that are usually said on other Jewish holidays where it is fitting to give thanks to Hashem and give praise of Hashem, for the great miracles and for all the good things which Hashem has done and continues to do for us.

If one considers the elaborate preparation required to properly celebrate a holiday such as Sukkot for example there is no question that Chanukah is a cake walk! Yet, we celebrate the holiday for eight days. Why not just for one day? Rabbi S. Singer shlita tells us, yes, somehow it is the 1st time we light the candle on the 1st night, it should be good enough to advertise the miracle. Yes, thats right to advertise the miracle. It is a mitzvah (a commandmant, not a good deed) to place the Chanukah Menorah in a window so that everyone could see. We are specifically told by our Rabbis to make known the miracle that occurred about 150 years before the destruction of the second temple.

Are we specifically reminding the whole world about the miraculous military victory where about one dozen yeshivah students took on and defeated  the entire Greek army? No, of course not. We do not celebrate military victories, as religious holidays because, military victories involve death and bloodshed. Instead and more properly so, our Rabbis instituted Chanukah as a way to memorialize a tiny subtle miracle that occurred in the second temple. I have long wondered about this because on the surface celebrating the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days may not seem like such a great and important miracle.

In my humble opinion the above paragraph touches on the essential fact of our Chanukah celebration. The seemingly small and insignificant act of quietly lighting candles in our homes on Chanukah (just like we light candles in our homes once a week at night upon the commencement of shabbos) is an act that is very dear to Hashem.

After all when the Greeks had thoroughly defiled and corrupted our Bayis Sheini (the second temple) they had also outlawed three things, and one of those three things was shabbos observance. The Greeks also outlawed the bris milah (the mitzvah to circumcise a baby boy on the 8th day after his birth). The Greeks outlawed Rosh Chodesh, a mitzvah that was given in our Torah, which recognizes the new moon which helps us along with our Jewish calendar to recognize the entire the various times of the year, which allows us to properly fix the dates and the commencement of all of the Jewish holidays, at their proper time.

On the surface one might be lead to believe, hey maybe the Greek occupation was not such a terrible thing. Indeed when we look at the numbers of Jews today who have the religious freedom to stay true to the ways and the traditions that were given to us the Jewish people by Hashem yisborach. This kind of reasoning results from the very large portion of today’s Jewish nation. When the freedom to follow one’s religion is believed to be a given, then what may happen is that individuals, and then entire communities may become unaware when these G-d given rights become slowly and subtly infringed upon.

After all the Greeks were not out to wipe us, the Jewish nation, entirely off the face of the earth (chas v’shalom). No, indeed they even enjoyed our written Torah so much that they even had our Rabbis of the day, translate the Torah into a language that they could understand. Very simply they only tried strip the Jew of every thing which is unique to the Jew. That is to say through their specific decrees they were seeking to destroy essential elements of the Jewish people as a whole. They had no problem with allowing us to live, eat, sleep, work, have children, homes, wealth, and independence.

Indeed the decrees that were inflicted upon us might seem to be so very minor to the vast majority of Jews today. One could see how so many Jews did indeed simply go along with these decrees and live their lives, in peace as Hellenized Jews.

The Hellenized Jews represented the 1st breach in  wall with the potential to wipe out not the physical bodies of the Jewish nation, but rather the destruction of the very heart and soul of the Jewish nation.

In conclusion it is not the grand and great miracle of the military victory where the 12 yeshivah students prevailed over the entire Greek war machine. No, the essence of Chanukah is the small miracle in which helped us re-establish ourselves as a Jewish People after the spiritual assault upon us by the Greek army and Greek culture. It is the re-dedication of the bayis sheni (second Temple) and the miracle of finding a small flask of of pure oil in the second temple which had been throughly and completely defiled by The Greeks.

The divine grace that was bestowed upon the Jewish people was a response that was elicited from Hashem yisborach, because of the action of twelve righteous souls who acted with the extreme of self sacrifice. These righteous Jews acted with alacrity at a dark time in Jewish history, where to do nothing would have resulted in (chas v’shalom) in the extinction of the Jewish nation. In the time of the 1st temple, the Jewish nation received so much divine grace that it was taken for granted. During the time period of the second temple, the Hellenization of the Jews may have started as a subtle and relatively benign act.

The nearly insane actions of twelve righteous Jews, who had the holy chutzpah to stand up to the entire Greek military regime was the very thing that initiated a miracle to come down from Shamayim on two fonts. The huge miracle that could be seen by all, how twelve righteous Jews defeated the entire Greek Army. The subtle and silent miracle witnessed by the Levites who were restoring the purity of the second temple. The miracle of Chanukah (like Purim) was a miracle which was initiated by by just a few individuals who were zealous in their belief and in their actions. They overcame whatever personal fear they may have felt, and were rewarded with a victory which would not have been possible if G-d would not have performed a miracle for the Jewsih nation in their merit. Likewise before G-d saw that there was still one small remnant of Kedusha in those 12 righteous souls, Hashem provided the small and subtle miracle that the Levites could restore the previously thoroughly defiled holy temple to its original state of purity by providing one pure flask of oil, that would miraculously last seven times longer then it could have lasted without miraculous assistance from Shamayim.

The mitzvah that is precious to Hashem yisborach (may his name be blessed) is the small mitzvah when the family gathers together in the early evening in the privacy of our homes to light the Chanukah candles. The essence of Chanukah is about the quality of The Jewish neshoma (soul). That the Jewish people (like the temple) had become so fallen and so thoroughly corrupted, yet a small quantity of people (12 tzadikim-righteous people) like the small quantity of oil (one flask of pure oil with the proper seal), was enough to restore the kedusha (holiness) to the second temple, and bring back the Shechinah (G-d’s femine aspect and spiritual presence) to the second temple.

Just like the small quantity of righteous tzadikim were sufficient with G-d’s help to withstand the onslaught of the entire Greek army, likewise the small quantity of pure oil which was miraculously found in the aftermath of the war when the Levites (members of the Jewish tribe of Levi,  who were in charge or all temple related functions) sought to re-dedicate the Holy temple, was enough to last for eight days, (long enough to restore ritual purity to one who had become ritually defiled by contact with the dead-seven days and one day to make pure oil from olives) so that more pure oil could be produced.

Chanukah- the miracle that Hashem yisborach helped us, by extending the effectiveness of the small quantity of pure oil, which we found in the completely defiled second temple in the aftermath of the Chanukah battle , to last eight days, so that we could keep the light of the Menorah lit in the second temple, and thereby restore purity to the second temple and allow Hashem’s Shechinah to dwell amongst us.

Today, Chanukah 5770,  we do not have the Beis Hamikdash. However when we go to our home and light the Chanukah Menorah in our homes with our families, we can have the kevanah (devotion, meditation, keeping our mind, thoughts and heart upon G-d) that we are doing this mitzvah because it is precious to Hashem yisborach. That we are as frum yidden (as a small number of people with yiras shmayim- a jewish nation) have the capacity by properly keeping the mitzvot with pure heart and intentions, have the ability to bring down the glory of the Schechinah, and bring the revelation of Meshiach and the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash speedily in our day.

Amen.

Aharon Moshe (Stephen) Sanders

Feel free to share my writngs at your shabbos table or with others. My words in their entirety are my own, other than the brief excerpts which have been properly attributed to their sources. This original essay is protected by copyright, however one may use brief passages as a long as a link back to this web site is provided. I am also grateful to Rabbi Shlomo Singer- shlita, who helped me learn much of the content of this essay, along with his gentle urgings to actually record my thought and ideas in a cohesive written format.

December 11, 2009

Erev Chanukah 5770