The Talmud [states], in Shabbat 21b: “What is Ḥanukka? Our Rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Ḥanukka…. A miracle occurred thereon…. The next year they permanently instituted them as holidays with praise1“Hallel” means “praise” and also refers to the series of psalms recited on Ḥanukka and other Jewish holidays. and thanksgiving.” See further there. We must understand why they did not institute feasting, as on Purim. After all, here, too, there was a miracle involving the body, as the liturgy states: “You delivered the mighty [to the weak]…the many [to the few]….”2From the Al HaNissim (“For the miracles”) prayer inserted into the Amida prayer and Birkat HaMazon during Ḥanukka.
[To understand] this matter, we must first explain [the Sages’] statement in Moed Katan 25a: “Why do a person’s sons and daughters die young…? Because he did not weep and mourn at the death of a worthy person.”3The passage continues: “For whoever weeps and mourns over a worthy person is forgiven all his sins, due to the honor he showed the deceased.” We can explain how this is quid pro quo by first citing a statement from Yalkut [Shimoni], Psalms, 710:
When the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Torah to Israel, His voice went forth…and all the kings of the world…gathered around Balaam and asked: What is this mighty noise we have heard…? He said to them…He has a wondrous delight in His treasure house…and He is giving it to His people, as it says: “God will give strength to His people” (Ps. 29:11). Then they all replied and said: “God will give strength [to His people], God will bless His people with peace.”
To explain this matter, we must preface it with by noting that in the Torah portion of Re’eh, [the section dealing] with the festival of Shavuot concludes: “And you shall remember [that you were slaves in the land of Egypt]…[and you shall keep] these statutes” (Deut. 16:12) – whereas [the sections about] Passover and Sukkot do not [conclude thus]. We can now propose the following idea. There is a well-known argument, in Eiruvin 13b, between the Schools of Shammai and Hillel, about whether a person is better off being created. “They voted and concluded: A person is better off having not been created than having been created….” For although a person stands to gain a great deal if he is righteous in his actions, loss is nevertheless all too common, for, as we see, most people succumb to sin. Thus, human reason dictates that a person is better off not having been created…. Thus, the giving of the Torah was a new creation – [a new opportunity] to uphold 613 mitzvot, whose reward is immeasurable. On the other hand, with receipt of the Torah comes the prevalence of loss and punishment for [violating] this great Torah. Therefore, the idolaters did not want to take on the risk. Only the people of Israel followed with guileless integrity (see Shabbat 88b, “The guileless integrity [of the upright] shall guide them” [Prov. 11:3]), to fulfill the will of God, blessed be He – just as His will to create man contravenes human reason, as noted.
Now, there are punishments in the eternal world and in this world, except that the punishments of this world can rectified, as they, of blessed memory, said in Pesaḥim and in the Yalkut [Shimoni], Hosea, 2:520: “Great is peace, [for as long as the people of Israel are at peace with each other,] [the enemy] cannot rule over them….” The main thing the idolaters feared was [divine] retribution in this world, because the next world does not enter the heart easily. Therefore, when they heard that Israel accepted the Torah, they all said: “May God bless His people with peace,” so that they are saved from retribution in this world.
Thus, according to human reason, it does not make sense to rejoice on Shavuot for receiving the Torah; rather, it is a statute (“ḥok”),4Beginning in the early medieval era, Jewish thinkers have differentiated between “ḥukkim” and “mishpatim.” The former term refers to commandments whose rationales are inaccessible and that seem arbitrary, whereas the latter comports with conventional notions of natural reason, justice, and morality. Here, R. Salanter is categorizing rejoicing on the festival of Shavuot as a ḥok, asserting that it is unreasonable to celebrate the giving of the Torah, as most people will fail to live up to its standards, thus incurring divine punishment. and hence it is written with regard to it: “And you shall keep these statutes.” In contrast, reason dictates that we rejoice over the miracles associated with Passover and Sukkot.5On these two festivals, the joy over the miracle of liberation from Egypt is unalloyed by anxiety about new responsibilities and the punishments for failure to meet them. The desire to live is only a bodily instinct, for according to true reason, it would have been better for man to have not been created. It is better to die, God forbid, rather than being further ruined by sin. To be sure, even according to reason [and not only bodily instinct], it can make sense to want to live in order to rectify the past, which can only be done in [this] life. But for a worthy man who never succumbed to sin, and for children,6Who are innocent. death (God forbid) is better – according to human logic.
However, God, blessed be He, wants life – indeed, He created man even though it is better for man not to have been created. This is why there is a mitzva to weep for a worthy person.7I.e., when we weep for a worthy person, we show that we are looking at the world from God’s view, as it were; from a human standpoint, we should rejoice at the death of the worthy, as the deceased person has successfully navigated this world’s minefield of temptation and will now reap eternal reward. However, God created man for life in this world, and from that perspective, the loss of a worthy human life is indeed cause for mourning. And when one does not weep for a worthy person, he shows that he follows human reason [according to which the worthy person is better off dead], and quid pro quo, his children die young, God forbid, which, according to human reason, is better for them.
Suffering, [as opposed to death,] is not good even according to human reason, for a person is obligated to keep the Torah even when suffering. This is a terrible trial, as [the Sages] say in Bava Batra 8b: “[Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for famine, to] famine; [and such as are for captivity, to] captivity” [(Jer. 15:2). And R. Yoḥanan says: The later [a punishment appears] in this verse, the more] severe. So on Purim, the miracle [was deeply experienced by] the spiritual [person], whose reason adheres to God, blessed be His name, in that he wants humans to live; and by the person who clings to bodily existence, for his yearning for life is very great. But for the average person it was not such a miracle.8I.e., the average person, who clings to life neither out of identification with God’s will nor from the survival instinct, was not desperate for a miracle. This is the meaning of “Sackcloth and ashes were put on for the many”9Esther 4:3. – “for the many” but not for all. So on Purim, the mitzva [to read] the scroll [of Esther] is spiritual, and the feast is physical, but on Ḥanukka we have only Hallel, the spiritual, for they would have been enslaved [but not killed].10On Ḥanukka, there is no commemoration of a bodily miracle because our lives were not threatened. However, even for the average person, there was a spiritual threat of enslavement, and so Hallel is recited to mark the miraculous spiritual salvation.
גַּם זֶה מָצָאתִי בִּכְתַב יָדוֹ הַקְּדוֹשָׁה.
I also found this written by his holy hand. [R. Isaac Blazer]
בַּגְּמָרָא שַׁבָּת דַּף כ"א, מַאי חֲנֻכָּה דְּתָנוּ רַבָּנָן בְּכ"ה בְּכִסְלֵו יוֹמֵי דַּחֲנֻכָּה כוּ' נַעֲשָׂה בּוֹ נֵס כוּ'. לְשָׁנָה אַחֶרֶת קְבָעוּם וַעֲשָׂאוּם יָמִים טוֹבִים בְּהַלֵּל וְהוֹדָאָה עַיֵּן שָׁם. וְיֵשׁ לְהָבִין הָא דְּלֹא עֲשָׂאוֹ גַּם בְּמִשְׁתֶּה כְּמוֹ בְּפוּרִים, הֲלֹא גַּם הָכָא הָיָה נֵס בַּגּוּף. כְּמַאֲמַר הַתְּפִלָּה מָסַרְתָּ גִּבּוֹרִים כוּ' וְרַבִּים כוּ'.
The Talmud [states], in Shabbat 21b: “What is Ḥanukka? Our Rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Ḥanukka…. A miracle occurred thereon…. The next year they permanently instituted them as holidays with praise1“Hallel” means “praise” and also refers to the series of psalms recited on Ḥanukka and other Jewish holidays. and thanksgiving.” See further there.
We must understand why they did not institute feasting, as on Purim. After all, here, too, there was a miracle involving the body, as the liturgy states: “You delivered the mighty [to the weak]…the many [to the few]….”2From the Al HaNissim (“For the miracles”) prayer inserted into the Amida prayer and Birkat HaMazon during Ḥanukka.
הָעִנְיָן יֵשׁ לְהַסְבִּיר בְּהֶקְדֵּם מַאֲמָרָם זַ"ל בַּגְּמָרָא מוֹעֵד קָטָן דַּף כ"ה, מִפְּנֵי מָה בָּנָיו וּבְנוֹתָיו שֶׁל אָדָם מֵתִין כְּשֶׁהֵן קְטַנִּים כוּ'. מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא בָּכָה וְהִתְאַבֵּל עַל אָדָם כָּשֵׁר כוּ'. וְיֵשׁ לְהַסְבִיר הַמִּדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה, בְּהֶקְדֵּם מַאֲמָר בְּיַלְקוּט תְּהִלִּים תש"י.
[To understand] this matter, we must first explain [the Sages’] statement in Moed Katan 25a: “Why do a person’s sons and daughters die young…? Because he did not weep and mourn at the death of a worthy person.”3The passage continues: “For whoever weeps and mourns over a worthy person is forgiven all his sins, due to the honor he showed the deceased.” We can explain how this is quid pro quo by first citing a statement from Yalkut [Shimoni], Psalms, 710:
כְּשֶׁנָּתַן הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא תּוֹרָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה קוֹלוֹ הוֹלֵךְ כוּ' וְכָל מַלְכֵי הָעוֹלָם כוּ' נִתְקַבְּצוּ אֵצֶל בִּלְעָם אָמְרוּ לוֹ מַה קּוֹל הֶהָמוֹן הַזֶּה שֶׁשָּׁמַעְנוּ כוּ' אָמַר לָהֶם כוּ' אֶלָּא חֶמְדָה טוֹבָה יֵשׁ לוֹ בְּבֵית גְּנָזָיו כו' וְנוֹתְנָה לְעַמּוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ד' עֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן. עָנוּ כֻּלָּם וְאָמְרוּ ד' עֹז כוּ' ד' יְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ בַּשָּׁלוֹם. לְהַסְבִּיר הַדָּבָר נַקְדִּים מַה שֶׁבְּפָרָשַׁת רְאֵה בְּחַג הַשָּׁבוּעוֹת מְסַיֵּם וְזָכַרְתָּ כוּ' אֶת הַחֻקִּים הָאֵלֶּה, וְלֹא בְּפֶסַח וְסֻכּוֹת:
When the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Torah to Israel, His voice went forth…and all the kings of the world…gathered around Balaam and asked: What is this mighty noise we have heard…? He said to them…He has a wondrous delight in His treasure house…and He is giving it to His people, as it says: “God will give strength to His people” (Ps. 29:11). Then they all replied and said: “God will give strength [to His people], God will bless His people with peace.”
וְיֵשׁ לְבָאֵר הָעִנְיָן כִּי נוֹדַע הַפְּלוּגְתָא בְּעֵרוּבִין דַּף י"ג שֶׁבֵּין בֵּית שַׁמַּאי וּבֵית הִלֵּל. אִם נוֹחַ לוֹ לָאָדָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא יוֹתֵר מִשֶּׁלֹּא נִבְרָא. נִמְנוּ וְגָמְרוּ נוֹחַ לוֹ לָאָדָם שֶׁלֹּא נִבְרָא יוֹתֵר מִשֶּׁנִּבְרָא כוּ'. כִּי הֲגַם שֶׁבִּבְרִיאַת הָאָדָם יֵשׁ רֶוַח הַרְבֵּה אִם מַצְדִּיק מַעֲשָׂיו. אָכֵן הַהֶזֵּק מָצוּי לִמְאֹד כַּאֲשֶׁר עֵינֵינוּ רוֹאוֹת כִּי הָרֹב נִכְשָׁלִים בַּעֲבֵרוֹת, וְלָזֹאת לְפִי שֶׁכָּל הָאָדָם נוֹחַ לוֹ לָאָדָם שֶׁלֹּא נִבְרָא כוּ', כֵּן בְּמַתַּן תּוֹרָה הָיָה בְּרִיאָה חֲדָשָׁה, לְקַיֵּם תַּרְיַ"ג מִצְוֹת אֲשֶׁר אֵין עֲרֹךְ לְמַתַּן שְׂכָרָן. אָכֵן לְעֻמַּת זֶה בְּקַבָּלַת הַתּוֹרָה הַהֶזֵּק מָצוּי, לְהֵעָנֵשׁ עַל תּוֹרָה גְּדוֹלָה כָּזֹאת, לָזֹאת הָעוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים לֹא רָצוּ לְהִכָּנֵס בְּסַכָּנָה, וְרַק יִשְׂרָאֵל הָלְכוּ בְּתֹם, (עַיֵּן שַׁבָּת דַּף פ"ח תֻּמַּת גוֹ'), לְקַיֵּם רְצוֹן הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָיָה רְצוֹנוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ בִּבְרִיאַת הָאָדָם שֶׁהוּא נֶגֶד שִׂכְלֵנוּ כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל:
To explain this matter, we must preface it with by noting that in the Torah portion of Re’eh, [the section dealing] with the festival of Shavuot concludes: “And you shall remember [that you were slaves in the land of Egypt]…[and you shall keep] these statutes” (Deut. 16:12) – whereas [the sections about] Passover and Sukkot do not [conclude thus].
We can now propose the following idea. There is a well-known argument, in Eiruvin 13b, between the Schools of Shammai and Hillel, about whether a person is better off being created. “They voted and concluded: A person is better off having not been created than having been created….” For although a person stands to gain a great deal if he is righteous in his actions, loss is nevertheless all too common, for, as we see, most people succumb to sin. Thus, human reason dictates that a person is better off not having been created….
Thus, the giving of the Torah was a new creation – [a new opportunity] to uphold 613 mitzvot, whose reward is immeasurable. On the other hand, with receipt of the Torah comes the prevalence of loss and punishment for [violating] this great Torah. Therefore, the idolaters did not want to take on the risk. Only the people of Israel followed with guileless integrity (see Shabbat 88b, “The guileless integrity [of the upright] shall guide them” [Prov. 11:3]), to fulfill the will of God, blessed be He – just as His will to create man contravenes human reason, as noted.
וְהִנֵּה הָעֳנָשִׁים הֵמָּה בָּעוֹלָם הַנִּצְחִי וְגַם בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, אֶלָּא שֶׁלְּעָנְשֵׁי עוֹלָם הַזֶּה יֵשׁ תַּקָּנָה כְּמַאֲמָרָם זַ"ל בִּפְסָחִים וּבְיַלְקוּט הוֹשֵׁעַ ב' תק"כ. גָּדוֹל הַשָּׁלוֹם כוּ' אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לִשְׁלֹט בָּהֶם כוּ'. וְהָעִקָּר מַה שֶּׁפָּחֲדוּ הָעוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים הוּא מִפֻּרְעָנוּת הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, כִּי עוֹלָם הַבָּא אֵינוֹ נִכְנָס בַּלֵּב בִּמְהֵרָה, לָזֹאת כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁמְעוּ שֶׁקִּבְּלוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, עָנוּ כֻּלָּם ד' יְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ בַּשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁיִּנָּצְלוּ מִפֻּרְעָנוּת הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה:
Now, there are punishments in the eternal world and in this world, except that the punishments of this world can rectified, as they, of blessed memory, said in Pesaḥim and in the Yalkut [Shimoni], Hosea, 2:520: “Great is peace, [for as long as the people of Israel are at peace with each other,] [the enemy] cannot rule over them….” The main thing the idolaters feared was [divine] retribution in this world, because the next world does not enter the heart easily. Therefore, when they heard that Israel accepted the Torah, they all said: “May God bless His people with peace,” so that they are saved from retribution in this world.
וְלָזֹאת לְפִי שֵׂכֶל הָאָדָם. אֵין מָקוֹם לִשְׂמֹחַ בְּשָׁבוּעוֹת עַל קַבָּלַת הַתּוֹרָה, וְרַק הוּא חֹק, לָכֵן כְּתִיב בָּהּ וְשָׁמַרְתָּ וְעָשִׂיתָ אֵת הַחֻקִּים כוּ' מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בְּפֶסַח וְסֻכּוֹת הַשֵּׂכֶל נוֹתֵן לִשְׂמֹחַ עַל הַנֵּס — וּבָזֹאת מַה שֶּׁהָאָדָם רוֹצֶה לִחְיוֹת הִיא רַק תַּאֲוָה גּוּפָנִית, כִּי לְפִי שֵׂכֶל הָאֲמִתִּי נוֹחַ לוֹ לָאָדָם שֶׁלֹּא נִבְרָא, וְיוֹתֵר טוֹב לָמוּת חַס וְשָׁלוֹם לְמַעַן לֹא יְקֻלְקַל עוֹד בַּעֲבֵרוֹת, אָכֵן יֵשׁ מָקוֹם גַּם בַּשֵּׂכֶל לִרְצוֹן הַחַיִּים. לְתַקֵּן הֶעָבָר אֲשֶׁר אֵין זְמַנָּהּ רַק בַּחַיִּים. אָכֵן בְּאָדָם כָּשֵׁר שֶׁלֹּא נִכְשַׁל בַּעֲבֵרוֹת, וְכֵן בִּקְטַנִּים הַמָּוֶת חַס וְחָלִילָה יוֹתֵר טוֹב לְפִי שֵׂכֶל הָאֱנוֹשִׁי.
Thus, according to human reason, it does not make sense to rejoice on Shavuot for receiving the Torah; rather, it is a statute (“ḥok”),4Beginning in the early medieval era, Jewish thinkers have differentiated between “ḥukkim” and “mishpatim.” The former term refers to commandments whose rationales are inaccessible and that seem arbitrary, whereas the latter comports with conventional notions of natural reason, justice, and morality. Here, R. Salanter is categorizing rejoicing on the festival of Shavuot as a ḥok, asserting that it is unreasonable to celebrate the giving of the Torah, as most people will fail to live up to its standards, thus incurring divine punishment. and hence it is written with regard to it: “And you shall keep these statutes.” In contrast, reason dictates that we rejoice over the miracles associated with Passover and Sukkot.5On these two festivals, the joy over the miracle of liberation from Egypt is unalloyed by anxiety about new responsibilities and the punishments for failure to meet them.
The desire to live is only a bodily instinct, for according to true reason, it would have been better for man to have not been created. It is better to die, God forbid, rather than being further ruined by sin. To be sure, even according to reason [and not only bodily instinct], it can make sense to want to live in order to rectify the past, which can only be done in [this] life. But for a worthy man who never succumbed to sin, and for children,6Who are innocent. death (God forbid) is better – according to human logic.
אָכֵן הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ רוֹצֶה בַּחַיִּים כְּמוֹ שֶׁבָּרָא הָאָדָם, הֲגַם כִּי נוֹחַ לוֹ שֶׁלֹּא נִבְרָא, וְלָזֹאת הַמִּצְוָה לִבְכּוֹת עַל אָדָם כָּשֵׁר, וְזֶהוּ הַמִּדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה, כְּשֶׁלֹּא בָּכָה עַל אָדָם כָּשֵׁר, וְהָלַךְ אַחַר שֵׂכֶל הָאֱנוֹשִׁי, בָּנָיו מֵתִים חַס וְחָלִילָה כְּשֶׁהֵם קְטַנִּים לְטוֹב לָהֶם לְפִי שֵׂכֶל הָאֱנוֹשִׁי:
However, God, blessed be He, wants life – indeed, He created man even though it is better for man not to have been created. This is why there is a mitzva to weep for a worthy person.7I.e., when we weep for a worthy person, we show that we are looking at the world from God’s view, as it were; from a human standpoint, we should rejoice at the death of the worthy, as the deceased person has successfully navigated this world’s minefield of temptation and will now reap eternal reward. However, God created man for life in this world, and from that perspective, the loss of a worthy human life is indeed cause for mourning. And when one does not weep for a worthy person, he shows that he follows human reason [according to which the worthy person is better off dead], and quid pro quo, his children die young, God forbid, which, according to human reason, is better for them.
וְהִנֵּה יִסּוּרִים גַּם לְפִי שֵׂכֶל הָאֱנוֹשִׁי אֵינֶנָּה טוֹבָה, כִּי הָאָדָם מְחֻיָּב גַּם בְּיִסּוּרִין עַל שְׁמִירַת הַתּוֹרָה, וְהַנִּסָּיוֹן רַבָּה זֶהוּ מַאֲמָרָם זַ"ל בָּבָא בַּתְרָא דַּף ח' רָעָב כוּ' שֶׁבִי כוּ' קָשֶׁה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וְלָזֹאת בְּפוּרִים הַנֵּס לְנַפְשֵׁי לְהַמְדַבֵּק שִׂכְלוֹ בְּד' יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ, כִּי רְצוֹנוֹ בְּחַיֵּי הָאָדָם, אוֹ הִדָּבֵק בַּגּוּפָנִי, כִּי תַּאֲוַת הַחַיִּים גָּדְלָה לִמְאֹד, אֲבָל לְהַמְמֻצָּע לֹא הָוֵי נֵס כָּל כָּךְ, זֶהוּ שַׂק וָאֵפֶר יֻצַּע לָרַבִּים דַּיְקָא, לֹא לְכֻלָּם, וְלָזֹאת בְּפוּרִים הַמִּצְוָה בִּמְגִלָּה הִיא נַפְשִׁי, וּבְמִשְׁתֶּה הִיא גּוּפָנִי. אֲבָל בַּחֲנֻכָּה רַק לְהַלֵּל, הִיא נַפְשִׁי, כִּי הָיוּ כּוֹבְשִׁים אוֹתָם לַעֲבָדִים כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל:
Suffering, [as opposed to death,] is not good even according to human reason, for a person is obligated to keep the Torah even when suffering. This is a terrible trial, as [the Sages] say in Bava Batra 8b:
“[Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for famine, to] famine; [and such as are for captivity, to] captivity” [(Jer. 15:2). And R. Yoḥanan says: The later [a punishment appears] in this verse, the more] severe.
So on Purim, the miracle [was deeply experienced by] the spiritual [person], whose reason adheres to God, blessed be His name, in that he wants humans to live; and by the person who clings to bodily existence, for his yearning for life is very great. But for the average person it was not such a miracle.8I.e., the average person, who clings to life neither out of identification with God’s will nor from the survival instinct, was not desperate for a miracle. This is the meaning of “Sackcloth and ashes were put on for the many”9Esther 4:3. – “for the many” but not for all. So on Purim, the mitzva [to read] the scroll [of Esther] is spiritual, and the feast is physical, but on Ḥanukka we have only Hallel, the spiritual, for they would have been enslaved [but not killed].10On Ḥanukka, there is no commemoration of a bodily miracle because our lives were not threatened. However, even for the average person, there was a spiritual threat of enslavement, and so Hallel is recited to mark the miraculous spiritual salvation.