In
his powerful essay Kol Dodi Dofek, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik outlines
what he views a six "knocks" – divine messages from heaven which a
sensitive Jew must hear, recognize and incorporate into his or her religious
worldview. He writes,
First, the knock of the Beloved was heard in the political
arena. From the point of view of international relations, no one will deny that the rebirth
of the State of Israel, in a political sense, was an almost supernatural occurrence. Both Russia and the
Western nations supported the establishment of the State of Israel. This was perhaps the
one resolution on which East and West concurred [during the Cold War era]. I am inclined to
believe that the United Nations was especially created for this end — for the sake of fulfilling the
mission that Divine Providence had placed upon it.
The
Rav reminds us that sometimes political events, especially related to the
Jewish people, represent something greater than simply the decisions of
individuals. They reflect the guidance of the Divine, bringing blessing to the
Jewish people and to the world.
I
believe that this past month we experienced just such an event. For the first
time since the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple, the
individual who represents the most powerful nation on earth (the President of
the United States) officially recognized Yerushalayim as the capital of the
Jewish State, the homeland of the Jewish people.
Some
will argue that nothing has changed. Currently, they may in fact be correct.
The US State Department announced
that it has no plans to recognize my daughter (who was born in Hadassah
hospital) as having been born in "Jerusalem, Israel" on her US
passport. (As of now, she was only born in Jerusalem.) But if it's so
unimportant, why did tens of thousands of Muslims protest
in Indonesia? Why is the President
of Turkey up in arms? Why is Egypt introducing
yet another UN Security Council resolution aimed at declaring the American
recognition illegal? Politics matter, and have very real consequences in world.
While the President of the United States' statement was just, in
his words, "a recognition of reality," it also established a new
reality – one that Israelis intuitively appreciated and understood.
As
religious Jews, we must ask ourselves: What is our religious response to this
declaration? Have we responded spiritually in any way at all? I'm not referring
to Facebook posts or WhatsApp messages. Rather, has this recent news affected
us spiritually? Have we reacted religiously to this great gift to the Jewish
people?
Orthodox
Judaism is notoriously (and justifiably) conservative. We don't like change,
and don't adapt to it very well. Our strength lies in our allegiance to our
traditions; to adhering to the way things have been done because that's how our
parents and their parents did things. We're reluctant to introduce new liturgy
which makes us inherently uncomfortable (I'm still uneasy reciting parts of Lecha
Dodi on the eve of Yom Ha'atzmaut). At the same time, that
reluctance to innovate and introduce seems downright inappropriate in the face
of historic events. If we can't or won't give thanks to God when our Holy City
is recognized internationally as belonging to the Jewish people, what does that
say about us as a religious people? I believe that one answer to the pull
between these two values lies in coming to a new understanding and appreciation
of a blessing and prayer we already recite throughout this entire week of
Chanukah.
When
we kindle the Chanukah lights we recite two blessings – the first on the
rabbinic commandment to light the candles – a birkat mitzvah. Tradition
teaches us that we recite a second blessing as well.
בָּרוּךְ
אַתָּה ה' אלקינו מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים
הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe who
made miracles for our ancestors in their days in this time.
This
is of course a reflection of the opening to Al Hanisim where we give
thanks,
עַל
הַנִּסִּים וְעַל הַפֻּרְקָן וְעַל הַגְּבוּרות וְעַל הַתְּשׁוּעות וְעַל הַמִּלְחָמות
שֶׁעָשיתָ לַאֲבותֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בִּזְּמַן הַזֶּה:
[And we praise You] For the miracles and for the redemption
and for the mighty deeds and for the victories and for the battles that You
performed for our fathers in those days at this time.
In
his Levush commentary on the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayyim
682), Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe writes that in his opinion, one should add a "vav"
to the last two words of this sentence.
We says, שעשית לאבותנו בימים ההם ובזמן הזה – "That you have done for our forefathers and
in our time"...[through this language] we give thanks for the miracles
that [God] did for our forefathers in those days, and we are also thankful for
the miracles that You have done for us in this time, for each and every day He
performs among us revealed and hidden miracles, as He did in the era of our
forefathers...
The
halachah does not follow the position of the Levush; the Taz
(O.C. 682:5) rejects his suggestion and we don't add the additional "vav".
Nonetheless, I find his sentiment inherently appealing. In addition to giving
thanks for the miracles that occurred centuries ago, we must also give thanks
to God for those miracles that take place in our time. And, if the author of
the Levush – who suffered great persecution and exile, had no problem
seeing hidden miracles in his lifetime, how can we, who live in the era of the
greatest renaissance in Jewish history, not see even greater miracles today?
Commenting
on the timelessness of Chanukah Rabbi Berel Wein writes that,
The Rabbis framed one of the blessings over the lights of
Chanuka as recognizing the events ‘bayamim hahem,’ in those days’ bazman
hazeh,’ in our time. We always have to look at how past events play
themselves out in the current scene.
When
we recite Al Hanisim and the second brachah of She'asah Nisim,
we must concentrate not only on the miracles of long ago, but those taking place
literally in our time – this year, and this month. It is incumbent upon each of
us to add a special kavanah when reciting these brachot, to give
thanks that dominion of the Jewish people of Yerushalayim has been strengthened
and reinforced across the globe.
Finally,
we must also give thanks and recognize that this small but significant
declaration brings us closer to the day when the Jewish people will light the
candles of the menorah not only in their homes, but in God's true home as well.
