Fourth Night • Sparks of Light 5781

The Deeper Meaning Behind Maoz Tzur

Lizzy Dalfen (Grade 9), Rachel Goldstein (Grade 10) and Emma Muscat (Grade 11)

Every night of Chanukah, we gather together to recite brachot, light the candles and then sing songs related to our history. One of the songs we sing is Maoz Tzur. Maoz Tzur is a very unique song, as it runs through some of the events of our history in which we were persecuted and then saved by Hashem’s hand. The song starts by praising Hashem as our מעוֹז צוּר, meaning our “Rock of Ages”, and then continues how with Hashem’s help we will be able to praise and serve Him in the Beit Hamikdash. The song then gives examples of some events of Jewish persecution where Hashem saved us. Some of these examples include: when we were slaves in Mitzrayim and how Hashem brought us out (story of Pesach), when Hashem saved us from the evil Haman who wanted to annihilate the Jewish nation (story of Purim), and when Hashem saved us from the Greeks, who wanted us to assimilate (story of Chanukah). Finally, in the very last stanza of Maoz Tzur, it speaks about how Hashem will keep his promises of redeeming Bnei Yisrael in the future.

One question that arises when looking at the words of Maoz Tzur, is why on Chanukah specifically do we recite it and not during any of the other holidays that are mentioned in the song (Pesach and Purim for example)? If the lyrics are speaking about the ultimate redemption of the Jewish people, then wouldn’t it make sense to sing it also on Pesach and Purim?

One idea of what the answer may be lies within the text. If you look in the last line of the first paragraph, it says “אָז אֶגְמוֹר בְּשִׁיר מִזְמוֹר חֲנֻכַּת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ”. This means that we will celebrate with song when the Beit Hamikdash is finally rebuilt. One idea as to why we only recite Maoz Tzur on Chanukah and not during the other mentioned holidays, is that unlike the holidays of Pesach and Purim, the story of Chanukah is directly related to the Beit Hamikdash. For example, we celebrate Chanukah because the Chashmonaim found a way to rededicate the Beit Hamikdash after the Greeks desecrated it. When we sing Maoz Tzur, we are reminded of how we were once able to rededicate and serve Hashem in the Beit Hamikdash, and how we hope to be able to do so in the near future. 

What makes Chanukah special is that it’s not only a holiday for remembering all of Hashem’s miracles that saved us in the past, not necessarily specific to the miracles of Chanukah, it’s about how Hashem will help us in the future in similar circumstances. One of the ways we remember our past is by singing Maoz Tzur. In this day and age, we have no Beit Hamikdash, but Maoz Tzur brings us hope of one day singing in it. We hope that this shows you a new meaning and understanding as to why we sing Maoz Tzur on Chanukah. Have a wonderful and spiritual Chanukah!

Spreading Our Light With Others

Ms. Miriam Bessin (Director of Student Life)

The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat 22a talks about a dispute between Rav and Shmuel regarding the lighting of the Chanukiah. They pose a hypothetical situation: let’s say you don’t have a Shamash; can you light the first candle and then use that to light the other candles? Rav said no, you cannot use one of your Chanukah candles to light the other candles. However, Shmuel says this is permissible. 

Normally, when Rav and Shmuel disagreed, the Halacha would follow Rav. However, there were 3 exceptions and this was one of them. Why was Rav opposed to using one of the other candles in place of a Shamash? According to the Gemara, Rav said that it wasn’t permissible because using the candle for a purpose other than illumination would diminish that candle because you would spill some of the oil or wax while lighting the other candles. And Rav didn’t think we should do anything that would diminish the light of that first candle. Yet, Shmuel disagrees and the law follows him. Why?

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l gives a beautiful answer. “Think of two Jews; both religious, both committed, living Jewish lives. One says: I must not get involved with Jews who are less religious than me, because if I do, my own standards will fall. I’ll keep less and my light will be diminished. The other says: when I use the flame of my faith to light a candle in someone else’s life, my Jewishness is not diminished. It grows, because there is now more Jewish light in the world. That’s the view of Shmuel and that is how the law was eventually decided.”

When we give to another, whether it’s our time or knowledge or money, we aren’t lessened by that. As the saying goes, lighting someone else’s candle won’t make yours shine any less bright.

Chag Urim Sameach!

Hanukkah and Purim: A Story Comparison

Orel Zvi (Grade 11)

We all know the Chanukah story with the Maccabees revolting against the Greeks and their improbable victory that resulted in Chanukah. An important question comes up within this story that can apply to any generation: Were they fighting back against Greek culture? We ourselves are very integrated into North American culture; if Yehuda HaMaccabi were alive today, would he be leading a revolt against the culture around us? Would he support or fight against our study of secular knowledge and science? 

The story is quite complicated and there are many more components than will be mentioned here. A major attempt at the Jews integrating with Greek culture was attempted by a person named Jason, who became the Kohen Gadol by bribing Antiochus. Jason built a gymnasium in Yerushalayim, something taken straight from Greek culture and the Jews were generally accepting of it. It is important to know that the Greeks had control over the Jews for roughly one hundred and fifty years before the revolt and the Jews were generally at peace with that. Rav Aharon Lichtenstein talks about the difference between Greek and Jewish culture. The Greeks placed man at the center of the universe rather than God which we, the Jews, cannot accept; but we can still learn from their desire to understand all that they could about nature and the universe. The Gemara in Shabbos 75a says it is a Mitzvah to study astronomy in line with the Greek emphasis on understanding nature. 

So, when did the Maccabees revolt? The Greeks made decrees that if someone kept Kosher, got a Brit Mila, observed Yom Tov or Shabbos they were to be punished by death. At this point it is no longer about integrating into Greek culture and knowledge, it is a war on Torah and Mitzvot and that is when the revolt is needed. Nowadays, we learn math, English, and science; all of which help us understand the world and can be integrated with Torah and Mitzvot. If Yehuda HaMaccabi were alive today it is likely that he would be a thriving student at Or Chaim learning both Judaic and general studies. 

Chanukah is a reminder for us that although things in the outside culture can be positive and sometimes even a Mitzvah, everything we learn should be through the lens of Torah and Mitzvot.

A Light to Be Kindled

Rabbi Eitan Aviner (Director of Judaic Advancement and Israel Guidance)

I need to be honest. I have a secret. The holiday of Chanukah holds a special place in my heart. The Shelosh Regalim – the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Succot – are the cornerstones of the birth of our nation. They tell the story – our story – of faith and covenant. They are biblical in nature and monumental in understanding our national and religious historical identity. But Chanukah, oh Chanukah… Don’t be fooled by its modest Rabbinic stature. It’s celebration is more than just a commemoration of our past or a lesson for the present. It has embedded within it our promise of a future. And that promise lies in the heart of the Chanukah candles. 

Many of us are accustomed to fulfilling this mitzvah in its most meticulous and glorified manner. We add lights every night, and/or light many lights according to the members of the household. Others seek out the finest oils and highest quality wicks so their flames are pure and strong. However, at the heart of the mitzvah lies one principle – neir ish u’beito – a light for a man and his household. One light. Every night. For the entire household. That’s it. Any oil. Any wick. That’s it. So simple, yet, so deep.

Our lighting of the chanukiah is more than just a commemoration. We, as lamp lighters, are playing the role of the priests of the mikdash. There is a beautiful idea from Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch which every educator and parent should contemplate and internalize. Rav Hirsch (Bamidbar 8:2, Shemot 27:20) points out that in describing the kindling of the menorah in the mikdash, the Torah uses the unique terminology of ha’alot – to raise the flames. This terminology is specific and calculated, and only really used concerning kindling a flame in the context of the service of the priest to light the menorah. The Talmud (Shabbat 21a) derives from this unique language that the priest needs to light the menorah until the ‘flames arise by themselves’. They must be self-sustaining. Rav Hirsch explains that the services of the priests in the mikdash were only half of their job. Their other job was their service to the community, as educators and teachers. And just as the priest needed to kindle the lights of the menorah in a manner in which the flames would ‘arise by themselves’ and be self-sustained, so too they must kindle the fire within each student so that their internal desire to learn and grow arises by itself and their ability to continue along that path is self-sustained. This, explains Rav Hirsch, is the job of every educator. And, by very nature, is the job of every parent.

The triumph of the Jews during the time of the Hasmonean persecutions, and their ability to survive throughout the generations in exile, was anchored in the foundation of the Jewish family; in their ability to pass on identity and values to the next generation. The Greeks understood this, and that is why all their decrees against them were to attack this foundation. But to no avail, for ‘Matisyahu ben Yochanan Kohen Gadol Chashmonai U’vanav’ eventually revolted and defeated them. It was The High Priest Matisyahu and his children who led the revolt. It was not any revolt. It was the family. We commemorate the miracle and victory of Chanukah by focusing on what merited it – neir ish u’beito – a light for a man and his household. It was the value and sanctity of the family unit that brought about our salvation and ensured our promise of continuation. 

On Chanukah, we gather together with our family. We retreat back into our homes. This isn’t a holiday of pilgrimage in which we all come together as a nation and celebrate our historic identity and birth. Instead, we retreat to our homes, to our nuclear family, and we celebrate that which has been our secret for survival throughout history, and our promise of our future – neir ish u’beito. No fanfare. Nothing too crazy. Nothing too complicated. Just a family, gathered around a single flame. It’s a representation of the transmission of values from generation to generation – parent to child. It’s a focus on our responsibility, and privilege, to kindle those dear lights so that they arise by themselves and are self-sustained. And when we keep that at the center, our homes will be that much brighter, and our future that much more promising. This Chanukah, no matter where we are or who we are able to be with, let us be reminded of the lessons of the lights.