Chanukah 2024: Gratitude, Resilience, Emunah and Bitachon

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It is so difficult to fathom that close to fifteen months ago, acheinu bnai yisroel experienced the most inconceivable violent attack against Israel and world Jewry since the Holocaust.

As a community, we are still reeling from the reverberations, shocks and aftershocks of the  October 7th bloody massacre. In fact, we will continue to feel this tragedy of unimaginable magnitude and its long-term impact for generations to come.

I can vividly recall how we all felt last Chanukah (2023) ….only three months following this tragedy. We were, (and still are) bewildered, depressed and  heartbroken by the daunting and  profound loss of precious lives of  acheinu and those of Israeli heros, pioneers and innocent women, children and men. Their only crime was to settle and live in Eretz Yisrael and to fulfil the beautiful  mitvah  of  yeshuv eretz yisrael.

At that time, we all hoped and prayed that by Chanukah 2024, our precious hostages would have been released in good health, and that the war between Israel and Hamas would have ended in victory for Israel.  But, not only did this not materialize, but the hostages were not released, and the war morphed into an existential battle between Israel and Tehran’s proxies – hezbollah and the houties.  All of this was occurring while the world watched silently as world Jewry experienced a seismic explosion of global anti semitic and anti-israel hatred and violent demonstrations on college and university campuses. This was in addition to the ugly and vile progroms in the streets and neighborhoods in Europe, reminiscent of pre-nazi Germany.

Who would have thought that close to fifteen months following this tragic attack by hamas, that we would still be praying to HaShem for the safe release of our dear  hostages being held captive, and that we would still be fighting an existential  war with our enemies on several fronts.

Although one life is way too many, during this period of time, we lost hundreds of our young soldiers as they so proudly and heroically  defended and protected our Jewish homeland.

Throughout Jewish history, we have experienced existential challenges of similar magnitude. Whether these wars and battles were physically existential in nature, or those that threatened our spiritual well being or survival, they all threatened our peaceful status and wellbeing as a people and as a nation.

The one unifying  force which has helped acheinu overcome these adversarial challenges was and remains our deep and profound emunah and bitachon in HaShem complimented by ahavat yisrael…….all, reinforced and bolstered by our continued  hishtadlut  – unswerving due-diligence and unwavering perseverance.

There are those who attribute our survival to the IDF and their remarkable victories on the battlefield; and, there are others who attribute our survival and praise our people for our brilliant strategy, intelligence, creativity  and know-how, driven by modern state-of the-art technology.

Friends, all of these factors are important and invaluable, but, at the end of the day, it’s all about our undeniable relationship to HaShem. Plain and simple.

Throughout history, from our very first war or battle with Amalek at Rafidim to our current wars on the battlefields of Gaza and Lebanon, we have fought and won these battles b’yad HaShem – through the strong and mighty hand of GD.

In 164 BCE, against all odds, the Maccabees captured Yerushalayim and rededicated the Beit HaMikdash, the holy Temple.

This miraculous revolt resulted from a Jewish uprising against the Seleucid empire’s repression. The revolt was led by Matisyahu and his military followers who became known as the Maccabees.

As we know, the victory of the Maccabees was a significant campaign to resist anti-Jewish suppression, and to establish political independence. It was also a powerful lesson and indication that Israel’s defeat, whether it be physical or spiritual is protected through the through nissim and the through the mighty hand of HaShem.

This powerful strength and resilience of achienu bnai yisrael was just one of many victories we experienced when defending our people and our religion.

One has only to look and the wondrous modern-day nissim (miracles) now unfolding in Israel, on the battlefield and in our homes.

Who would have thought that the horrible and ugly devastating events of October 7th would have created a spiritual renaissance or a Jewish identity awakening of our Jewish community? Who would have thought that this devastation would have create a tidal wave of increased Jewish commitment, identity, awareness and practice. To be sure, it would have been just as easy for the war and its terrible impact to have had the very opposite effect. But, it did not…and we are all now experiencing, living and witnessing these nissim on a daily basis.

This new reality does not assume that we are all out of the woods and that achdut (Jewish unity) is no longer a communal challenge. Just the opposite. Irrespective of our current matzav, we are consciously battling and balancing an inner enemy and demon which if not kept in check can also have a devastating effect on our community’s viability, vitality, future and survival.

As my dear father z”l of blessed memory used to say, “the road to geula  (redemption) is pathed with many challenges and obstacles”. Our challenge is to confront these obstacles directly and to overcome their barriers through bitachon, emuna and resilience.

As is told, the Maccabees entered Yerushalayim in triumph. They virtually cleansed  the second holy temple, and reestablished traditional Jewish worship there; the 25th of Kislev, the date of the cleansing of the Temple would today become the date that we begin to celebrate the beautiful Chag Chanukah.

As we celebrate the miracle of Chanukah, we are also reminded of the many miracles and nissim which we have experienced on the battlefield in Gaza,; the miraculous stories of survival of those who escaped the hamas onslaught and the stories of  steadfast heroism, resilience and achdut.

In 164 BCE, against all odds, the Maccabees capture Yerushalayim and rededicated the Beit HaMikdash….was one of the most miraculous events in our history.

Friends, we still face a significant share of communal challenges….way too numerous for the spaced allotted to this blog. Whether they be embedded in the need for greater communal achdut, tolerance or respect for one another; or our ability to transcend our divisiveness, one thing is almost certain –  Ahavat  Yisrael through achdut, bitachon and emuna must be our matra and raison d’etre for our future.

I tremble at the thought of how we can possibly thrive, grow or  even survive in their absence,

The rest is up to us, with the guidance of HaShem.

May we all be blessed to continue witnessing miracles in out time; and may we all merit to witness the healthy release of our brothers and sisters still being held captive in Gaza.

Have a bright, peaceful, beautiful and enjoyable Chag Chanukah

Chag Urim Sameach!