This year, Shabbos Chanukah coincides with Rosh Chodesh Teves. As we know, Chanukah is the only Yom Tov that bridges two months, Kislev and Teves. Although the significance of this phenomenon has been discussed in many places, this year we can gain a new taste in the lesson of this unusual dichotomy. Let us begin with a fascinating story.
Rav Shmuel of Slonim was known for his intense dedication to the lighting of the menorah. This was such an obvious aspect of his avodas Hashem that it was said that he spent virtually the entire year preparing the oil and the wicks for this annual mitzvah. Yet, one year he didn’t light the menorah at all. Here is the story:
When the future author of the Divrei Shmuel was quite young, he went to watch his grandfather, the author of the Yesod Ha’avodah, light the menorah on Erev Shabbos Chanukah. He first prepared his own menorah, meticulously straightening the wicks and pouring a sufficient amount of oil into the cups. He then watched carefully as his venerable zaide lit the neiros with great kavanah and simcha, hurrying back to light his own. However, to his dismay, he discovered that someone else had already lit his menorah. It seems that one of the guests didn’t realize that this was the future rebbe’s menorah, but it was already too late to find a substitute and start all over.
We can perhaps imagine Rav Shmuel’s disappointment. In fact, such a saga often results in anger and frustration. Nevertheless, the future rebbe, who radiated love for every single Yid, overcame his feelings, saying out loud, “The same Creator Who commanded us to light the Chanukah candles also commanded us not to get angry.” Since it was almost Shabbos, he went to welcome the Shabbos Queen with great joy, as if nothing untoward had occurred (Rav Menachem Mendel Pomerantz, Sefer Sapir Veyahalom, page 123). The author suggests that this story opens for us a window into why Chanukah begins in Kislev and continues in Teves.
The Bnei Yissoschor (Kislev-Teves, 4:113) reveals that Teves is called the month of anger, as hinted in the fact that the word b’apo, meaning “his anger” (see Iyov 18:4), carries the same gematriah (numerical value) as Chanukah, which is 89. The Bnei Yissoschor offers an elaborate Kabbalistic explanation of the anger of Teves and how Chanukah counteracts it, but perhaps we can suggest a simpler, more practical answer. ARav Chaim Kanievsky analyzes the differences between the Al Hanissim of Chanukah and that of Purim. One of the distinctions is that on Purim we mention that Hashem “nullified [Haman’s] counsel,” while on Chanukah we also thank Hashem because “He stood up for them in their time of distress.” Why this extra dimension of gratitude and to what exactly does it refer? Although I discussed this at length in my ArtScroll book, Days of Gratitude, Days of Triumph (page 73), I would just like to quote the part that is relevant to our discussion this year.
Rav Chaim cites the story at the end of Maseches Sukkah (56b) about Miriam bas Bilga. She was the renegade Jewish woman who abandoned her people to marry a Greek aristocrat and eventually banged her shoe on the mizbeiach. As she haughtily showed her disdain for the holy places, she screamed, “Lukus lukus (Wolf O wolf), how much longer will you destroy the prosperity of Klal Yisroel?” She meant to denigrate the altar as wasting Jewish money with the sacrifices it received, giving us nothing back in return. Rav Chaim explains that the Al Hanissim of Chanukah provides a rejoinder to Miriam bas Bilga’s blasphemy. Had she just showed some patience and waited a bit, she would have seen and realized that the mizbeiach in fact gave us very much in return. Amongst the miracles of Chanukah was the fact that thirteen untrained Chasmonaim triumphed over tens of thousands of Greek armed soldiers, restoring the mizbeiach and the menorah to their former glory. That is why we utter a special of prayer of gratitude to Hashem for saving us in our time of distress.
This year, we should add that unlike the ingrate Miriam bas Bilga, the Maccabim—indeed all the Chashmonaim and Klal Yisroel—did not get angry at Hashem. We patiently waited for our salvation, not knowing when or how it would come. That is how Chanukah is the antidote to the potential anger of Teves. Hashem taught us that if we wait indulgently and have emunah and bitachon, He will always come through for us. We enter Teves armed with the knowledge and experience of that certainty and we therefore don’t go banging on the mizbeiach or any other representation of kedusha. On the contrary, we annually begin Chanukah with the joy and trust in our Father in Heaven that He is always there for us. Not only is there no disappointment, but we are in full elation about our position in the world. I unfortunately but proudly shared with someone in mourning this Chanukah that he is allowed to dance with his children in front of the menorah and its flickering lights (see Rav Chaim Kanievsky, quoted in Ohr Yisroel, note 725). The menorah removes all negatives, all worries, and even the sadness of a recent passing. Hashem wipes away the tears of Klal Yisroel because we have a loving Father regardless of what is happening around us.
On Shabbos Chanukah, the poskim (see Ben Ish Chai, Vayeishev 25) state, we add special foods, sing Lecha Dodi with special joy (Luach Devar Yom B’yomo) and when, as this year, it is also Rosh Chodesh, we add another dish as well (Be’er Heiteiv 419:1). In fact, the Zohar (2:206a) teaches that this Shabbos, when the aron is open, is an especially propitious time to daven for whatever we need. The rebbe of Sadigura, Rav Avrohom Yaakov (quoted in Be’er Avrohom, Chanukah, page 124), even suggests that this Shabbos we are considered to be “Hashem’s mechutanim.” He explains that although the kedusha of Shabbos comes automatically, regardless of what any of us do, since it is the human bais din that declares Rosh Chodesh, it is we who are able to give the gift of a new month to Hashem. We should add that since it is the month of Teves that we are ushering in, our gift, so to speak, to Hashem should be that we are grateful for everything He gives, we consider everything a matnas chinam, a free gift (see Rashi, Devorim 3:23), and, of course, we have no complaints about anything He does.
Although we are still surrounded by anti-Semites, and we have our worries and concerns, we must take our cue from the tzaddik portrayed in the Chovos Halevavos (10:1) who was suffering from terrible tragedies and suffering. Yet, “he stood up in the middle of the night and declared, ‘My G-d, you have starved me and abandoned me in the darkness. Even if you see fit to burn me in fire, I will not cease to love you.’” Of course, this is a very high bar to which to aspire. But what the Chashmonaim taught us in the transition from Kislev to Teves is that every day, every month, and every era provide us with both new tests and new opportunities to witness Hashem’s salvation. One of the hallmarks of Klal Yisroel, as recited in the last Ani Maamin, is that we wait patiently with full trust in Hashem for the final redemption and salvation. This is indeed the antithesis of Miriam bas Bilga and the Greek doctrine that all that counts in the world is what your eyes can see and your ears can hear. We, on the other hand, believe in a Hidden G-d Who may sometimes seem inscrutable but is always there with us.
As Rav Shlomo Levenstein (Umasok Ha’ohr, Chanukah, 1:99) points out, Rochel Imeinu gave the simanim to her sister yet saw no personal benefit from her magnanimity for decades. Unlike Miriam bas Bilga, she did not give up her faith or complain. Eventually, because of her selflessness, she was rewarded by producing the house of Shaul Hamelech and Mordechai and Esther (Rashi, Bereishis 30:22). Not only did her two sons, Yosef and Binyomin, become members of the holy shevatim, but even her grandsons, Menashe and Efraim, became shevatim as well (Bereishis 48:5). The zechus of waiting for Moshiach even though he tarries and of trusting in Hashem despite seeming delays is a large part of the legacy of Chanukah and the righteous Chashmonaim. May our loyal waiting soon be requited with the light of Moshiach Tzidkeinu bemeheirah beyomeinu.
