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Self-Mastery Academy
The Deeper Battle of Chanukah By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman
T
here was once a public debate between a rabbi and an astrophysicist regarding the nature of our universe. The astrophysicist, representing the atheist perspective, confidently approached the podium and began addressing the audience: “I don’t know much about Judaism, but I believe I can sum it up in a few words: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” With that, he went on to detail how physicists could now adequately explain the nature of our universe, without the need for religion. When he finished his speech, it was the rabbi’s turn to address the audience and represent the religious approach. With a sparkle in his eye, the rabbi turned to the crowd and said: “I don’t know much about astrophysics, but I believe I can sum it up in a few words: Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are.” With that, he went on to deliver the rest of his speech.
The Age-Old Debate Spiritual debate has been a recurring phenomenon since the beginning of time. Chanukah is when we tap into the spiritual debate between the Jews and the Greeks, as the Greeks specifically attempted to destroy our spiritual way of life. They aimed to cut off our connection with Hashem and replace it with the worship of the natural, physical world. Yavan, the Hebrew name for the Greeks, means “quicksand” (Tehillim 69:3) – the Greeks sought to “drown” us in their secular culture, replacing spirituality with atheism and hedonism. The Midrash says that the Greeks attempted to darken our eyes: “hichshichah eineihem” (Bereishis Rabbah 2:4). Darkness represents a lack of clarity, the inability to per-
ceive true form. Physical darkness prevents physical clarity, spiritual darkness prevents spiritual clarity. This was the Greek attack on the Jewish People: a distortion of truth, a darkening of knowledge and perception. For this reason, the Jewish People went to war against the mighty Greek army, and to this day we carry on that fight against Greek culture, a culture that we view as damaging and antithetical to Judaism. However, if we take a deeper look into Jewish literature, we find a strikingly different picture of the Greek nation and their culture. In Parshas Noach, Noach blesses his two sons, Shem and Yefes, with a seemingly peculiar bracha: “Yaft Elokim l’Yefes, v’yishkon b’ohalei Shem,” Hashem will grant beauty to Yefes, and he (Yefes) will dwell within the tents of Shem. Yefes is the precursor to the Greeks, and Shem to the Jews. This seemingly paints the Greeks in a positive light, as a beautiful nation fitting to dwell within the framework and boundaries of Judaism. In a similar vein, the Gemara (Megillah 9b) states that despite the general prohibition of translating the
Torah into different languages, it is permissible to translate the Torah into Greek due to the beauty of the language. According to both of these sources, it seems as though Greek culture does not contradict Judaism but is meant in some way to complement it, harmonizing with Jewish ideology. How can we understand this contradiction?
The Spiritual-Physical Relationship How do we understand and perceive Hashem? Is Hashem within time and space, limited to this world alone, as Pantheists believe? Or is Hashem completely transcendent, beyond time, space, and this physical world, as many of the ancient philosophers believed? The Jewish approach, as explained by the Rambam, Maharal, Ramchal, and others, is a beautifully nuanced blend of these two approaches. Hashem is transcendent, completely beyond our physical world of time and space, and yet, He is also immanent, within our physical world. This principle applies to all spirituality; we believe that the spiritual and transcendent is deeply connected to the limited and physical
world. In other words, our physical world is a projection and emanation of a deeper, spiritual reality. This is the meaning behind the famous Midrash, “Istakel bi’Oraisa, u’bara alma,” Hashem looked into the Torah and created the world (Bereishis Rabbah 1:1). This means that the physical world is an emanation and expression of the Torah, the spiritual root of existence. To give an analogy, imagine a projector: the image you see on the screen is emanating from the projector. The projector and film are the source; the image on the screen is the expression. Similarly, each and every one of us was once a zygote, half a male and half a female genetic code. From that single cell, a fully developed and expressed human being ultimately manifested. The same is true regarding the physical world – it stems from a spiritual root, a transcendent dimension. Thus, we are able to understand and experience the spiritual through the physical, as the two are intrinsically connected. If you’re wondering how to understand this concept, consider the way other human beings experience, relate to, and understand you. All they have ever seen is your physical body. They’ve never seen your thoughts, your consciousness, or your emotions. The only way they can understand you is by relating to how you express yourself and your internal world through your physical body. Through your words, actions, facial expressions, and body language, other people experience what’s going on inside of your body, inside of your head, inside of you. The same is true regarding our experience of Hashem and the spiritual. We can’t see spirituality, only physicality. We must therefore use the physical to connect back to the spiritual root.
