The Strong in the Hands of the Weak

Chanukah is the season for offering thanks giving to Hashem for the miracles he brought, both the super natural and the natural.  Regarding the super natural, the miracle of the oil is truly beyond our comprehension. There is no question that the hand of Hashem was a necessity to defy nature.

For the war against the Greeks, Chazal established the tefillah, “We thank you… for the miracles… In the days of Mattisyahu… You delivered the strong in the hands of the weak, the many in the hands of the few…” They are teaching us to recognize the hand of Hashem even in a natural event when the odds were stacked against us, but not that a favorable outcome was impossible without Divine intervention.

Ultimately, one of the central messages of Chanuka is Hashem’s involvement in all aspects of our lives, super natural events, natural and improbable events and even situations that appear to be well within the ability of man to deal without any Divine intervention. Clearly, the Chashmonaiim were maminim, they had total faith that Hashem would intervene even though they were not aware of the outcome.

Consider this last point, having total faith in Hashem’s involvement in all life situations but not ever being sure of the outcomes. This principle of faith requires not only faith, but the willingness to confront adversity of even overwhelming proportions that could lead to significant hardship and pain. This idea can be described as having a Growth Mindset, the outlook that nothing within the realm of human possibility is beyond a person’s reach. If there is a will there is a way with siyata d’shmaya. This idea is also a powerful Chanukah message.

You may recall the concept known as a Growth Mindset. It was touched upon in a previous blog message. I wrote that the key to success in Torah is a growth mindset in contrast to a fixed mindset. The concept is based upon the research of Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychologist out of Stamford University. Her research bears out that all humans possess one of these two mindsets, not always one or the other exclusively.  The fixed mindset outlook is based on the notion that the brain is “hard wired,” how you were born is how you will be in intellect and other skills and talents more or less for the rest of your life.  The growth mindset is based on the more recent findings that the brain is malleable and anyone can grow their intellect and acquire new skills.  Dr. Dweck’s research reveals that people who possess the outlook of the growth mindset approach the challenges and obstacles of life as opportunities for growth. In contrast, the fixed mindset outlook sees life’s challenges as life’s pitfalls something to avoid at all costs.  I think everyone would agree that for our children and ourselves, the growth mindset is key to a life of success and satisfaction.

Let’s go back to the message of Chanukah and the plethora of statements made by the Torah and Chazal that the Growth mindset is the true outlook for a Jew of faith. When the few stood before the many and the weak before the strong, they believed they could and they did.