Chassidic sources relate to Chanukah as a time of accessing the Hidden Light of creation (for a fuller treatment, see this source sheet!). The concept of the Hidden Light refers to a profound force that lies at the root of all that exists, that cannot be seen, but that is present nonetheless in a concealed way. It is a primary animating force of our universe - something as ancient as Creation itself, that will be accessed again at some future time. In Chassidic teachings, this light is embedded within the Torah itself, and can be accessed through its teachings.
While this may feel like a cryptic spiritual concept, Chassidic teachings seek to make the mystical tangible and can help us see how this idea can be understood in reference to the holiday of Chanukah. This piece from Rav Tzadok Hakohen Rabinowitz of Lublin (1823-1900) relates to Chanukah’s unique quality of revealing the hidden miracles that persist throughout time. In order to appreciate his perspective, let’s take a moment to acknowledge Chanukah’s placement within Jewish history.
Chanukah is the latest historical holiday to be established. Another unique element of Chanukah is that it does not have a canonical text associated with it. The holiday of Purim - which is the other rabbinically established holiday that was not Biblically commanded - has an entire Megillah written about it. But Chanukah has no primary text, and even in rabbinic literature, it’s discussed in a mere few pages in the Talmud. Within this context, Rav Tzadok identifies Chanukah as a celebration of all of the miracles that “cannot be written down”, that have not been fully realized in a revealed way, but that are present with us nonetheless throughout the prolonged period of exile.
Rav Tzadok Hakohen Rabinowitz (1823-1900) was one of the most brilliant rabbinic minds of his generation, and wrote volumes on every aspect of Torah. In this piece, he explores the unique quality of the miracle of Chanukah and its ongoing reverberations throughout the generations of exile.
ועל כן נס דפורים ניתן לכתוב והוא סוף כל הנסים (יומא כט.)... והוא ההכנה לנס דחנוכה שהוא לבדו מהנסים שלא ניתנו לכתוב שנקבעו לדורות...
The miracle of Purim was allowed to be written, for it was “the end of all miracles” (Yoma 29a)... And it was the preparatory step for the miracle of Chanukah, which is the only one of the miracles that were not allowed to be written that was [nonetheless] established for all generations...
Rav Tzadok quotes the Talmudic teaching that the miracle of Chanukah “was not committed to writing”, and he reads this statement to mean something much deeper than its technical description. The miracle of Chanukah may not have been written down, but it is commemorated for all generations. Rav Tzadok continues:
...כי הנסים שלא ניתנו לכתוב אין להם התגלות בפועל עדיין ואי אפשר שיקבעו לדורות כל אחד בפרט. רק נס חנוכה הוא כללות כל הנסים דעת הגלות שלא ניתנו לכתוב, שיש בו קביעות לדורות...
...This is because the miracles that were not allowed to be written down have yet to be revealed in their full manifestation, and it is impossible to establish every one of them for all generations. But the miracle of Chanukah is the sum total of all the miracles throughout the period of exile, which cannot be written down, and it was established eternally...
Rav Tzadok explains that a miracle that is “committed to writing” is a miracle that is fully manifest; one that we can all recognize and see, and speak openly about. But the miracles that were “not committed to writing” are the miracles that have yet to be fully realized. We may regard them as hidden miracles - the kinds of miracles that continue to occur, even in a time of exile, but that we can’t proclaim with total certainty or establish a holiday to commemorate.
Chanukah, he says, is the sum total of all of these miracles in exile. It is the holiday that commemorates all of the miracles that cannot be written down. He goes on to explain the unique quality of this holiday:
רק בהארת נר שהוא הארה זו דהתגלות קדושת… שבחיצוניות בפעל ממש להיות מאיר גם בפנימיות דהיינו בכל מיני ערבובים. ואחר שנתברר בפעל שלא על ידי דברי תורה הוא הולך ומתגלה בכל פרטי הכחות בכל זמן המשך הגלות.
...And it is only through the light of a candle, which is the light of revealing the holiness of the Yesod [foundation] in the outermost realms, in manifest reality, that also shines its light inward into all manners of confusion. And once this became clear through means other than [written] words of Torah, it continues to be revealed through the specifics of all the myriad forces throughout the entire duration of exile.
For Rav Tzadok, the miracle of Chanukah “cannot be written” because it is the sum total of the miracles that sustain us and accompany us throughout the long exile. For this very reason, Chanukah carries a strength that extends beyond what is communicated through the written word. Unlike other holidays that commemorate revealed miracles, Chanukah commemorates a holiness that continues to exist even in the most external forms of life, in the outermost realms of experience. And when we encounter this small “light”, the light of a candle, it has the power to illuminate the confusion and darkness within.
Perhaps the Chanukah lights placement at the doorway serves this very purpose. By lighting a candle that shines outwardly at night, we acknowledge that there is still light “out there” even though it appears dark. And as we sit inside of our homes, we allow that sense of hope and possibility to shine into our inner experiences and the physical and spiritual places that we inhabit.
Chanukah Music!
Listen to this meditative song of longing - the Breslov Chassidic tune to “Maoz Tzur”, recorded by the Israeli musician, Evyatar Banai.
Questions:
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Do you have any personal “miracles that cannot be written”? Moments or experiences in your life that feel like miracles but that could never be fully confirmed or expressed as such? What are some of those moments for you?
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What is it like to let yourself feel the presence of that miracle in your life? When you bring that experience to mind, or invite that recognition into your life right now, what happens when you let it cast some of its glow onto your present situation?