By: Suri Davis
Jewish History, Chabad.org
Alexander in Jerusalem (313 BCE)
On Kislev 21 of the year 3448 from creation (313 BCE), there occurred the historic meeting between Shimon HaTzaddik and Alexander (‘the Great”) of Macedonia.
The Samarians, bitter enemies of the Jews, had convinced Alexander that the Jews’ refusal to place his image in their Temple was a sign of rebellion against his sovereignty, and that the Holy Temple should be destroyed. The Kohen Gadol (“High Priest”) at the time was Shimon HaTzaddik, the last of the “Men of the Great Assembly” who rebuilt the Holy Temple and revitalized Judaism under Ezra. On the 21st of Kislev Alexander marched on Jerusalem at the head of his army; Shimon, garbed in the vestments of the High Priest and accompanied with a delegation of Jewish dignitaries, went forth to greet him. The two groups walked towards each other all night; at the crack of dawn they met. As Alexander beheld the visage of the High Priest, he dismounted his horse and bowed respectfully; to his men he explained that he often had visions of a similar-looking man leading him into battle. Shimon HaTzaddik brought the emperor to the Holy Temple and explained that Judaism prohibits the display of any graven image; he offered to name all the male children born to priests that year “Alexander” as a demonstration of loyalty to the emperor (which is how “Alexander” became a common Jewish name). The Samarians plot was rebuffed, and Kislev 21 was declared a holiday. (Talmud Yoma 69a)
This week, those of us learning daf yomi were zocheh/merited to complete Masechet Menachos. The last daf/page is Menachos 110: Rabbi Solovetchik wrote about shimon hatzaddik, the cohen gadol was alive, saw the degradation of religious spirituality, and he thought that he might be the last cohen gadol of the chain of priests from Aaron, the brother of Moses. He saw no one living in his generation who could take over for him when he dies. But every year that he went into the holy of holies on Yom Kippur he overcame these feelings, he had feelings of hope and optimism. But the last year before the destruction of the holy temple in Jerusalem, he couldn’t shake the pessimism he was feeling and fearing that he would be the last cohen gadol to enter the holy of holies on Yom Kippur.
He saw darkness and fogginess and thought “this year I am going to die.” And he felt that he could no longer go in to the holy and holies and serve.
Rabbi Soloveitchik wrote this in 1943 at the chag hasemicha, when word of what was happening to the Jews in Europe were reaching America. We cannot think that Judaism and the Nation of Israel will die. He said to his rabbinical students, don’t be scared and in despair. We hear about darkness overseas, but the Nation of Israel lives forever.
My thoughts:
We are on the eve of Chanukkah, a commemoration of a time when the Greek want to destroy our religious spirituality. As rational beings, we act on our senses. When we saw that there was olive oil to light the menorah for only one night, we could have been in despair, but we have to overcome our belief that what we know about the natural course of events can be changed k’heref ayin, in ways that don’t make sense.
How often we hear of miraculous cures, how many times was Israel faced with mighty, wealthy armies, where it made no sense that they could ever be victorious, when we insist that rational intellect will rule the day, and when the weather man tells me at 2pm that at 3pm there will be a dusting of snow, and four inches fall. We want to believe we that we and what we know will be the natural course of events, but time and again and again and again proves us wrong. Outcomes make no sense, and we are forced to renew our belief that there is a G-d in heaven.
We know our senses tell us that a small bottle of oil cannot possibly last eight days. We know that a mighty Greek army cannot be defeated by a few Jews who were priests and not soldiers. We know that the State of Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973 faced Arab nations around them who had wealth and established armies, they could not possibly lose. That is what we know. That is what our intellect tells us, and we are not wrong, as rational beings to think this way.
But we are theological beings as well. Logic is bound well by logic. But theological beings mean that we accept that there is a G-d that cannot be perceived by logic. We have to have faith that G-d exists, and will make events happen that are beyond our logic and comprehension. It is our measure of belief that G-d can make anything happen, the strength of our faith, as seen by our actions and prayers and our giving up our logic and knowing that G-d could do all that can make anything happen. Small band of Jews beating out a well oiled Greek army and a small band of Israelis defending well oiled Arab countries that is faith.
This week’s torah portion Vayeishev spends a lot of time on Joseph. His brothers were jealous of him, especially after he reveals to them dreams he had wherein they bowed to him. His brothers throw Joseph in a pit, sell him to Ishmaelites, who in turn sell him to Potiphar, a minister of Pharoah’s. Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph, and when he refuses, she accuses of Joseph of trying to seduce her, and he is thrown in jail.
While in jail, Joseph meets two of Pharoah’s butlers, the baker and the sommelier. They both have dreams and he interprets the dreams for them. As they are freed from jail, Joseph asks the sommelier to intercede on his behalf with Pharoah so he could be freed. The sommelier forgets, and Joseph remains incarcerated.
We are told that Joseph was punished for asking the sommelier for help. He should have seen beyond the logic, beyond nature and his own abilities, and should have waited for G-d to intercede on his behalf. It was an error of faith of knowing G-d would free him without Joseph’s own intervention. Joseph was righteous, he is held to a higher level of faith, which he breached.
It is difficult to know what G-d wants of us sometimes. In the light of reason and intellect, we must know that our prayers for G-d’s intervention can work daily miracles to change nature and science and knowledge into some other than what is rational…k’heref ayin/in the blink of any eye.
Faith. That is what the Greeks wanted to destroy, and that is what we celebrate for Chanukkah.
Happy Chanukkah. Holy Shabbos.
-Suri