Chanukah “R” Rated (Restricted) for Children Only Adults Must Be Accompanied by a Child

CHANUKAH “R” RATED (RESTRICTED):

FOR CHILDREN ONLY

ADULTS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A CHILD

A Children’s Holiday

Chanukah is a children’s holiday. The very word Chanukah derives from the Hebrew word “chinuch” which means education. Whether it is a child - chronologically speaking or the child within us, Chanukah has a juvenile appeal. Whether it is the Chanukah Gelt children receive from their parents, the sizzling Latkes, the beautiful and mesmerizing sight of the burning candles, Chanukah - with all of its light and joy, song and fun - leaves an indelible imprint on the minds and hearts of every Jewish child.

Of all the Chanukah traditions, the dreidel is the most obvious juvenile oriented one. The dreidel has embossed on its four sides the four Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimmel, Hei, Shin. They are actually the initials of the four words, “Nes gadol haya sham-A great miracle occurred there,” referring to the great miracle of Chanukah which transpired in Israel over 2,200 years ago.

Moshiach’s Dreidel

There is a tradition that the four Hebrew letters of the dreidel, add up numerically to the number 358, which is the same numerical value of the word “Moshiach.” (Incidentally, in Israel, the final letter on the dreidel is a pey. There the sentence reads: “Nes gadol haya poh, A Great miracle occurred here.” The numerical value of this phrase is 138 which is the equivalent of the name Menachem, the name, the Talmud (Sanhedrin 98b) assigns to Moshiach!)

What connection could there possibly be between the four letters of a children’s Chanukah toy and the Jewish belief in the Messianic Age ushered in by the Moshiach? And what can we learn from this association?

Children are the Link

The link between the two, Chanukah and Moshiach, are the children. Chanukah with its emphasis on the youth and the youthful state of our adult existence, is linked with Moshiach, because, children are referred to in the Talmud as Moshiach.

The Biblical words: “Do not touch My anointed ones (Meshichoy),” the Talmud (Tractate Shabbos 119b) applies to children whose innocence and purity help sustain the world.

Moshiach - to be sure - is a person, who will lead the Jewish people and the entire world to an age of goodness and peace. But, our Chassidic sages tell us, every one of us - especially a child - is endowed with a spark of Moshiach. Every one of us has this child-like state of innocence, purity and pristine holiness, which characterizes the Messianic Age.

And what is a child, if not G-d’s natural venue for innocence and purity? This child-like spirit of Moshiach was alive and well at the time of creation. When the Torah states: “And the spirit of G-d hovered above the waters,” our sages comment that it is a reference to the “Spirit of Moshiach.” Before the advent of the human being, with his penchant for corruption and destruction, the world was a natural place for the purity and integrity associated with Moshiach. The world - was in its state of infancy and innocence.

Reclaim Innocence

The goal and objective of the world is not to remain that way, just as one cannot and should not forever remain a child. The purpose of creation was to give the human being the challenge of re-introducing purity and holiness into a world that is plagued with corruption and evil. The challenge of adulthood is to reclaim the innocence of childhood within the framework of maturity.

Our task as Jews is to be a “light unto the nations,” to preserve and regenerate the purity and holiness that existed before people began to soil and despoil the world. There is no time where this mission can be realized as much as it can during Chanukah, where light is not just a metaphor, but a tangible reality.

When we light the Chanukah candles and gaze at the small, but, pure, flames, we are reminded of the message of Chanukah. This message is to find and recapture the Moshiach-purity and light within ourselves, and to allow the whole world to bask in the glow of it.

The great miracle of Chanukah which occurred “there” is not only a reference to the miracle of the victory over the Syrian Greek forces, or the miracle of the lone cruse of oil which lasted for eight days. It refers primarily, perhaps, to the internal miracle which occurred then.

The miracle was that the Hasmoneans acted like children. They could not tolerate the loss of G-dly purity at the hands of the assimilationist’s forces which tried to extinguish the internal pure and unadulterated flames of their souls. The Moshiach component within them was unleashed and the tiny band of Maccabees did not rest until they liberated the land from the encroachment of alien values. Restoring the innocence and re-introducing the pure light of G-dliness which prevailed at the beginning of creation, is the miracle we are celebrating today, because it is that miracle which was the catalyst for all the other miracles that followed. And this is the only miracle we can be asked to emulate now.

Igniting the Spark Within Us

Now that “We are standing on the very threshold of the Redemption,” and “Moshiach is on his way” - as the Rebbe had told us - we must find ways of igniting the spark of Moshiach within us. We must make the miracle happen within ourselves to hasten and be ready for the miracle that we want to happen throughout the world. Chanukah with its emphasis on children, purity and miracles is a time most suited for achieving this goal.

So when your child asks you to play “dreidel,” the “spin” (pardon the pun) you are to place on this innocuous juvenile exercise is that it is an inspiration and challenge to us to find that miracle “there” deep down within ourselves. The spin of the dreidel is about children, purity and Moshiach.

May we all merit to light the Chanukah lights together with the restoration of the Beit Hamikdash in Jerusalem, in a spirit of purity, holiness and true peace.

From the book Light from the Future: Chanukah by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.