The deepest secrets of the Torah, the teachings of Chassidus, are compared to oil. Oil makes food delicious, adding enjoyment. We don’t drink it as a drink by itself, but rather add it to other foods, symbolizing a very high level that transcends the person.
Chassidus ensures that we remember that the Torah is G-d’s Torah, not human wisdom. When we learn other parts of Torah together with Chassidus, it keeps this awareness in our minds.
The Greeks fought against recognizing that the Torah is from G-d. They wanted us to consider it like secular philosophy. On Chanukah we had the miracle of the pure oil, counteracting this. In more recent times, the “enlightenment” movement encouraged secular study and drew Jews away from observance. The Rebbe Rashab established the Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah, in which Chassidus is studied with thorough intellectual comprehension, to counteract this.
The closer we get to the Redemption through Moshiach, the more the Chassidus is revealed, as a taste of the Torah teachings of Moshiach. The darkness in the world also increases as we come closer to the Redemption through Moshiach – Moshiach fights the wars of G-d until he wins – and the oil of Torah, which lights up the world, becomes more and more revealed.
(See talk of the Lubavitcher Rebbe King Moshiach Shlita, Mikeitz 5752 (1991))
