Yaakov Avinu’s Chanukah Message
Yaakov Avinu returned to his homeland, Eretz Canaan after a twenty-two-year hiatus. Although he came back in grandeur with a royal family and significant wealth, his mood was not of jubilation but rather of fear of his brother Eisav. He realized that before he could fulfill his role as one of the Avot and reunite with his parents that he would have to deal with Eisav. And so, upon entering the land his top priority was to scope out the Eisav threat. The Torah records that he sent messengers to check it out and report back to him.
Rashi in his commentary wrote that the messengers were really malachim and not just mortals. Actually, there is a dispute in the Midrash as to whether they were human or not and Rashi chose the opinion that they were not based upon the language of the Torah. It appears that the two sides of the Midrashic dispute revolves around the nature of the mission. Did it require the involvement of real malachim similar to the missions of the three messengers that were sent to Avraham or was it a function that human beings could successfully carry out?
HaRav Moshe Feinstein, Z”L, asked a powerful question and his answer brings greater clarity to the dispute in the Midrash. To Rav Moshe, it was obvious that the mission of these messengers did not require any supernatural action. It was simply messengers going to Eisav to deliver a message and to scope out Eisav’s attitude towards his brother and physical prowess. As a result, he asked, why were real malachim sent if it was unnecessary? Sending real malachim comes with a price tag. Their involvement constitutes the reliance on a Nes-miracle that usually causes a person a loss of his zechuyot from his spiritual bank account. Furthermore, reliance on a Nes when unnecessary shows that a person lacks in Emunah. It seems like the person thinks that through a natural situation HaShem can’t bring salvation. Obviously, this mindset can’t be any further from the truth.
This outlook can be found in a Gemarrah that Chizkiya faced prosecution in shomayim because he refused to sing Shira for a miracle that occurred. He was rescued by the land when it opened up and sang Shira. HaRav Moshe learned this episode that Chizkiya refused to recognize the miracle in any greater way than had it been a natural occurrence. He recognized that in the eyes of HaShem there is no difference between an open supernatural miracle and an apparent natural occurrence that brings a salvation.
HaRav Moshe concludes that for an Adam Shalaim like Yaakov Avinu there is no difference between the natural and the supernatural, between messengers of flesh and blood and those who are real Malachim. Therefore, Yaakov Avinu’s choice of real malachim did not indicate that the mission necessarily required a supernatural intervention. Due to this outlook, calling upon or relying on a supernatural Nes does not result in a person’s spiritual bank account becoming diminished. Only those of us who lack the Emunah and sensitivity to equate the natural and supernatural, does reliance on the supernatural costs us in shomayim.
This same idea has a prominent place in the days and miracles of Chanukah. The main expression of Chanukah is the publicizing of the supernatural miracle of one day’s amount of oil for the Menorah in the Bet HaMikdash lasting eight days. One of the fundamental questions on this age old tradition that provides volumes of insights into Chanukah is why we celebrate and commemorate the Nes for eight days and not seven when the actual miracle was seven days? The mefarshei HaTorah provide many keen insights and one of them speaks to our theme. They say that the first night’s lighting represents the publicizing of the nes that HaShem controls everything and every simple action like lighting a fire from olive oil is as great a miracle as lighting a fire from a puddle of water. This message is so important along with the supernatural miracle of the other seven days that the Mitzvah of the Menorah, although it is not one of the Taryag mitzvot, has a special status called pirsumei nisa-publicizing the miracle. This status gives it greater prominence in practice and in halacha above most other rabbinical based mitzvos.
This is our que, we who are responsible for readying the next generation for kabalat pnei HaMashiach. Let’s publicize and promote to our children that the hand of HaShem is involved in everything and everybody. Sensitizing them to the notion of hashgacha pratit will draw the generation closer to HaShem as their Father in Heaven. In fact, mefarshei HaSiddur, the Rishon the Meiri, Rav Schwab Z”L and Rav Wolbe, Z”L among others understand that Pesukei D’Zimra and more specifically the Hallelukas as the preparation for Shamoneh Esrei have as their central theme hashgacha pratit. Before talking to Hashem, we think about what He is doing, has done and willing to do in our lives. This is the message to convey to this generation and Chanukah can be a tremendous vehicle to put this chinuch imperative into action.