Miracles and Mesirus Nefesh
Written by Rav Pincus zt"l on Chanukah, 26 Kislev תש"נ
We all know that the wondrous miracles of Chanukah took place thanks to the extraordinary mesirus nefesh of the Chashmona’im. Rashi writes in Parshas Vezos Haberachah on the verse ח’הךֵרָּ ב that the Chashmona’im were few in number. It was twelve sons of Chashmonai and Elazar against myriads of soldiers.
When the Greek rulers first enacted decrees against the Jewish people and the practice of Judaism, the Jews did not uprise against them at that time. The Greeks ruled Eretz Yisrael for 180 years. Much of that period was marked by terrible, indescribable troubles, both physical and spiritual. It was impossible to rebel against the Greek conquerors. For generations, Jews accepted the fact that the Greeks are the rulers of the land, and that it is absolutely impossible to rout them. Greek rule became a heritage.
In such a situation, it is hard to rebel. Not just because of the overwhelming power of the Greeks, but even more so because it is hard to overturn that which is an established fact and a heritage from one’s parents and grandparents, going back many generations.
But the Chashmona’im did not give up hope. They arose to change the accepted reality, and because they did so, Hashem assisted them, and did great miracles for them, and saved them from their enemies, and rulership returned to the Jewish people.
This applies to us as well. To the personal war that every one of us has against the Yetzer Hara. Most of the time, we are ready to stand up against the Yetzer Hara and battle him when he tries to get us to do aveiros or to abandon good habits and practices that we have acquired and are used to.
But what about bad habits and behavior patterns to which we have grown accustomed over the course of decades? These might include lashon hara, bitul Torah, lack of focus in tefilah, getting up late for davening in the morning, and many other unfortunate habits that we know only too well. They have already become second nature and it might seem to us that there is no reason to try to change and correct them at this point. They have become an established fact. They are the reality of our lives, and it’s going to be pretty hard to do anything about them.
Let us take a lesson from Chanukah. It is possible to rebel against the establishment, against the “Big King,” against the Yetzer Hara. He has been the established ruler for many years. He issues his decrees against us to forbid proper practice of Judaism. He doesn’t let us learn Torah and do mitzvos like we should. He got control of our heart, which is Hashem’s sanctuary, and made breaches in its walls and contaminated that which is pure.
He built up his forces to the point that it seems as if he will rule over us forever.
But if we will truly gather our strength and arise against him energetically and fearlessly, with trust in Hashem, Hashem will work miracles and wonders also for us, in our time, just as He did for our forefathers in those days.
