The Uniqueness of Chanukah—to Illuminate the Lowest Places
The Gemara (Sukkah 5b) tells us טפחים מעשרה למטה שכינה ירדה לא מעולם, the Shechinah has never descended to a place lower than ten tefachim. Chazal are speaking of the concept of השכינה השראת in this world, and the Gemara distinguishes between the area above ten tefachim and the space below it. The Shechinah doesn’t come down below ten tefachim, and Chazal bring proofs for this concept from various verses in Tanach.
However, when it comes to the חנוכה נר, many Chassidishe Sefarim elaborate greatly on the idea that on Chanukah the Shechinah does rest below ten tefachim, and this is why we light davka below ten tefachim.
It is important to understand this concept of above and below ten tefachim—for, after all, isn’t the Shechinah everywhere?! Don’t we know that כבודו הארץ כל מלא, the entire world is filled with His glory?! If so, what is the difference between the space below ten tefachim and the space above it?
Feeling His Presence
The explanation for this is written in the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh on Parashas Vayigash where he explains that there are many levels within the concept of השכינה השראת.
The truth is that we’re not very equipped to grasp these concepts of השכינה התגלות, how, when and where the Shechinah is revealed in this World. But inasmuch as the Ribbono Shel Olam allows us to understand—through the words of Chazal and the Sefarim Hakedoshim, the basic understanding is the following.. Of course the Ribbono shel Olam is found everywhere—מיניה פנוי אתר לית, there is no place devoid of Him. He animates everything, and there’s Elokus in every part and place in the material world. For this reason, we use the word 'שכינה' when we speak about the Presence of Hashem who remains with all Yidden even in galus. This is the expression of Hashem that we use to describe the Presence of Hashem in dark places.
Says the Ohr Hachaim HaKadosh, the Shechinah is indeed everywhere, even in the lowest places, but the degree to which we can sense its Presence, depends on every individual Yid. For example, when a Yid is joyful, he becomes a vessel for השכינה השראת, and we can sense the G-dliness in him much more strongly. When a Yid is humble, he likewise becomes a vessel for the Presence of the Shechinah.
Concealed Countenance
However, in a place of great darkness, the Presence is more concealed, and it is more difficult to sense. The Ribbono Shel Olam is certainly found there, and He certainly animates and gives life to everything that can be found there (or else it would cease to exist) but the Presence is more concealed. There cannot be a revelation of the Shechinah in this place of darkness, for there are barriers that conceal it and prevent it from being revealed.
For example, when Moshe Rabbeinu davened for the makkos to cease, he was compelled to leave the city because it was filled with idolatry which disturbed the kedushah of his words. Avodah zarah brings about concealment of the Shechinah.
Conversely, the place where Yitzchak Avinu offered himself as a korban is the greatest place of השכינה התגלות. Everyone who came to the Beis HaMikdash experienced incredible revelations, seen with their own eyes!
Holiness Brings Revelation
The definition of השכינה השראת is when we can sense Hashem’s Presence and we can see the way the world is conducted through His actions, above nature. Indeed, in the Beis HaMikdash, one could see the boundaries and barriers of nature completely obliterated. There were incredible miracles happening there every day—because the concealment has no power in holy places.
Thus, there are factors which allow for greater revelation of the Shechinah, and there are elements that bring about greater concealment. When ten Yidden come together in one place, this brings about השכינה השראת, and we can thus recite יה"ר אמן and קדושה. When there are even more Yidden, there is even greater revelation (see Mishnayos Berachos 7:3).
Toiling to Illuminate the Darkness
The aforementioned Gemara in Sukkah tells us that when the Ribbono shel Olam created the world, He designed it so that there will no השכינה השראת למטה טפחים מעשרה—a term that symbolizes places where the order of טבע dominates—in order that we should bring the light to these places. Hashem specifically allows for there to be concealment in this area because He wants us to illuminate these dark places of טבע through our toil and our bechirah.
When You Feel Nothing, This is When Your Avodah Really Starts!
Sometimes, a person reflects and thinks about times in his life that were bright and illuminated. He felt so elevated—spiritually on top-of-the-world. He had an easy time overcoming nisyonos, and he was engaged and awake to ruchniyus. But then he encounters an area which is very difficult for him. He doesn’t know why... but he can’t overcome it. He thinks to himself: “What’s happening with me? Am I an ehrlicher Yid or not? On the one hand, I have a feeling for matters of holiness and spirituality and I truly strive to improve myself. I exert myself to do many things even when it’s hard. Why then is this nisayon so difficult for me? I simply can’t get myself to overcome it. This nisayon makes me doubt who I am!
But the truth is that it’s no wonder at all.. Some areas of avodas Hashem are easy for you because you have השכינה התגלות in them. You feel the Ribbono Shel Olam in those areas, and this gives you the kochos to endure. However, in the place of your struggle, you’re experiencing concealment and פנים הסתרת.
Every person has their own erehw, טפחים" מעשרה "למטה the Ribbono shel Olam conceals Himself from him.
When a Yid feels like he’s struggling, and nothing is going well, it means that the Ribbono Shel Olam is telling him: “Until this point, I was here in the open, in a revealed manner. Things were pretty easy. From here and on, I want you to work harder in order to reveal My light.”
Now begins the work of davening, reciting Tehillim, giving tzedakah, pleading with Hashem to open your eyes, and performing other actions in order to illuminate oneself.
When we begin this path, the Ribbono Shel Olam says, “Incredible! You got the hint! This is what I wanted you to do. Persist... Stay on course, and I will surely help you!”
Illumination is Always Followed by Concealment
This is the way it always works in avodas Hashem. We see this with the concealment of the Sefirah days that follow Pesach. On the night of Pesach, the Ribbono Shel Olam reveals Himself in incredible ways—לילה יאיר כיום, the concealment of night is turned into the brightness of the day. It’s a night of illumination and elevation where every Yid is so uplifted. We perform so many mitzvos and we sing and praise the Ribbono Shel Olam with great deveikus.
Then the Seder night goes away and all the lofty madreigos are removed from us, as the Sefarim Hakedoshim tell us. At that point, the Ribbono Shel Olam says to us: “Now I want you to toil with your own kochos!”
So this Yid begins to work on himself, and he’s not very successful. The Ribbono Shel Olam to turns to him and says, “This is part of the necessary process! Of course, you won’t be entirely successful. But you must continue to work on your own— it must come from you!” On your own,” doesn’t mean without the Ribbono Shel Olam Who always helps us; rather, it means that we should turn to Him and recognize that we haven’t turned to Him sufficiently, and to recognize that we haven’t done enough. This is how the process always works.
On Chanukah There’s No Concealment
On Chanukah, however, the system is different.., The Tzaddikim tell us that on Chanulah,, the light permeates even the area beneath ten tefachim—even in the darkest places!
How can this be? Did the design of the entire creation change for this week?! What happened to the need for us to toil to bring light to the darkness?
The answer is that this Yom Tov is different from all others. On Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos, the aura of the Yom Tov begins with an אתערותא דלעילא, an arousal from Above. It is the Ribbono Shel Olam Who initiates the aura of the Yom Tov, and this is why we say באהבה אלוקינו ה' לנו ותתן לשמחה מועדים, You have given us these days with love.
The חנוכה נס, however, came through the mesirus nefesh of the חשמונאים. The Yom Tov and its preceding events were aroused and initiated from below. There was nothing special about those days; and they didn’t have an inherent light. To the contrary, there was a terrible cloud of the kelipah of Yavan that dominated the world at that time. But the חשמונאים toiled and fought to dispel the darkness.
For this reason, the light of these days actually does descend even below ten tefachim—because it originates from the avodah of the Jewish People! This is a “Klal Yisrael” Yom Tov! It came from our end!
Amazingly, this explains how it can be that the Chachamim should institute a Yom Tov that doesn’t come from the Torah. Where do they get this ability? The answer is that this is indeed a different kind of Yom Tov altogether, a Yom Tov created by us. And this type of Yom Tov can be added by the Chachamaim (as a DeRabbanan)..
The Light that Illuminates Now More Than Ever
The Light of Mashiach is Being Revealed
The Yom Tov of Chanukah is alluded to in the Torah in very hidden and indirect ways. In all of Mishnah, Chanukah is only mentioned once—in Masechta Bava Kamma—and even in the writings of the Arizal, Chanukah is spoken about in very few words. It took the arrival of the Ba’al Shem Tov and his talmidim to elaborate greatly on the holiness, the power, and the uniqueness of Chanukah. Indeed, studying the teachings of the Chassidic masters on Chanukah is a special ohr in itself.
Tzaddikim explain that the reason for this is that Chanukah is the light of Mashiach. There are many levels of kedushah, and Chanukah is the last stop. For this reason, its light is being revealed davkah in the last generations before Mashiach.
Chanukah is the avodah of מעשרה למטה, beaming in that light into the lower places of concealment.
Difficult but Eternal
This aspect of our avodah is one that we must toil for much harder and longer. But at the same time, the results are eternal. To take a state of darkness and transform it into light is very difficult work. We must make our way into a space where’s there’s no revelation of the Shechinah, and we must toil with our ten fingers—with mesirus nefesh and with tefillah—to illuminate the place with השכינה השראת. This is very difficult work, but it is eternal—and this avodah is the purpose of the creation of the world!
All Avodah Illuminates for Future Generations
We have merited the Yom Tov of Chanukah only through the toil of previous generations who have paved the way for us, who began the work of illuminating the world for future generations.
We have a wealth of Chassidishe Sefarim which illuminate the world for us. We have so many teachings on the power of בלילות אמונתך, seeking and finding Hashem in the greatest darkness. In our recent history alone, how many stories do we have of Yidden who exhibited ironclad emunah in the depths of the Holocaust? They believed in the Ribbono Shel Olam even with a sharp sword hovering over them!
Yet, in that generation, these teachings weren’t as available. The Yidden who came before us didn’t have knowledge of these stories of chizuk and emunah. The revealed ohr had not yet appeared, and the awareness that even the simplest Yid can strengthen himself and cleave to the Ribbono Shel Olam in even the darkest moments of his life wasn’t readily understood.
But this ohr has been revealed in our time, and there are thousands of Yidden who live this way because of this revelation. This is a light that was centuries in the making.
There’s More Chizuk Than Ever
Today, you can have a Yid who isn’t necessarily the greatest eved Hashem, he seems like a regular Yid. He does what he’s supposed to every day without fanfare. But when he experiences times of darkness and challenges, suddenly, he is surprised to see that he has the tools to fight and to emerge stronger.. He’s able to strengthen himself with stories of Tzaddikim from throughout the millennia, passed on from generation to generation. This Yid will later relate how much light these stories brought him in his most difficult moments. Today, when a regular Yid experiences a difficult situation of darkness, he has avenues of recourse; He has the ability to pull himself out of the situation in ways that didn’t exist in past generations.
In the olden days, when Yidden lived in shtetlach and hamlets, they didn’t have sefarim to strengthen them. Sometimes, they didn’t even have a melamed to teach them aleph-bais! There was often no rov or spiritual guide who could teach this person to sing and dance in his darkest moments. No one told him that “The Ribbono Shel Olam is with me.... The Ribbono Shel Olam is helping me!” He didn’t have the chizuk to be joyful and to daven with serenity and emunah. But our times are different –because many Yidden and Tzaddikim toiled with mesirus nefesh to bring down this ohr of chizuk to the world.
Mesirus Nefesh Illuminates the Low Places
This is the essence of the Yom Tov of Chanukah. The kelipah of Yavan was at its most powerful point, yet a small band of חשמונאים stood up against them. All seemed lost, but they didn’t give up. They persevered with joy trusting that the Ribbono Shel Olam will help them. They managed to rebuild everything and reignited the light of Torah, which manifested itself with the miracle of the menorah.. This mesirus nefesh drew down an ohr for all generations to come. They brought the world closer to its pinnacle because this is what the world was created for.
One might ask, who says that this was an enduring light? Maybe it was just a one-time event? Who said that the world was changed forever because of this victory? The answer is that the Gemara tells us that לשנה אחרת, קבעום בהלל והודאה, the following year, Chazal instituted a Yom Tov, and the Kedushas Levi explains why they waited a year to declare it a Yom Tov. They sought to ascertain whether something changed in the world, whether they would feel an eternal ohr coming down during these days even the following year. When they saw that a special light did descend, they instituted a Yom Tov for eternity.
They understood that when the ohr is initiated through אתערותא דלתתא, an awakening from below, it is possible to cause illumination with the Presence of the Shechinah even below ten tefachim, even in the lowest places where the Shechinah is usually concealed.
The entire world waited for the avodah of the חשמונאים within the darkness, and they left an eternal impression, giving strength and ability to every Yid in future generations to feel this light. When a Yid toils to bring the light down to the darkness, the effects are everlasting, and this is indeed the fulfillment of the purpose of the creation of the world.
Our Strength is Derived From Mesirus Nefesh of Yore
The Ba’al HaTanya poses a fascinating question. Why is it that the event of עקידת יצחק is held up as the greatest act of mesirus nefesh for eternity? Haven’t we seen Yidden sacrifice their lives for the Ribbono Shel Olam throughout the millennia?! What is so unique about the sacrifices of Avraham and Yitzchak? The Rebbe explained that it was only the mesirus nefesh of our forefathers that implanted this strength and courage into the hearts of their offspring. The event of עקידת יצחק gave the strength to Klal Yisrael for all future generations to sacrifice for Hashem.
The Ba’al HaTanya refers here to Yidden who sacrificed themselves for Hashem in the most literal sense—to give up their lives for His sake. But the Tzaddikim explain that this nisayon takes on a different form in our generation. Most people in our time aren’t being asked to die al kiddush Hashem—but rather to live al kiddush Hashem! We’re being tested with the greatest darkness—darkness of lust and temptation, and darkness of confusion in emunah.
Our Avodah Will Illuminate for the Future
The Heiliger Ruziner has already foretold that our generation—the one before the coming of Mashiach—will struggle mightily to retain the emunah that Hashem runs the world and that we can do nothing alone... that everything that happens is for the best, and that we should give constant thanks and praise to Hashem... that we should sing and rejoice in every situation in which we’re placed. This is that place of מעשרה למטה in which we must illuminate!
The Ribbono Shel Olam challenges us with great confusion, and we wonder: How can this be? The Ribbono shel Olam is so good, why would He place us into such darkness?
But we have the power and the kochos to strengthen ourselves and to illuminate the darkness through the tradition of those who came before us, through the great heritage of the teachings of our tzaddikim. We must daven, plead and meditate on emunah based on their teachings. Indeed, we constantly invoke the traditions of our forefathers—because their avodah gives us the kochos to this day.
When a Yid studies this and toils in this work, he illuminates the darkest places—and through this he impacts future generations as well!
The Purpose of “Weakening of Generations”
Falling or Rising?
When we hear such words, we may ask: Is the world more pure and greater as a result of the sacrifices of our predecessors? Shouldn’t all of their avodah have combined to make the world holier and greater? Why then do we always mention ירידת הדורות? This seems like a contradiction: On the one hand, we see a clear weakening of the generations and we’re not on the same level as Yidden of the past. The entire world seems to be descending into darkness. The entire atmosphere is filled with heresy, kefirah, ta’avah, lust, and temptations. At the same time, we know that the avodah of previous generations accumulates and stands by us in the future. So, how does this all work?
A Veiled Light
The answer to this dilemma is a very important and foundational one. It depends where a Yid finds himself. There’s a great difference between the time before a Yid begins to work on himself and afterward. As long as...
