By: Rabbi Azriel Mantsur

“The goal of the evil Greek kingdom was to make your people Israel forget Your Torah and to remove them from the laws of Your will.”

The separation of the people of Israel from the nations of the world is expressed through two central things that are fundamental components of the people of Israel: the study of Torah and the observance of commandments. Without these, Israel is not a nation, and it would be a tragedy if it were to appear that way to one of the nations. These are the elements that illustrate their separation from the nations: the study of Torah and the observance of commandments. This issue was at the forefront of the minds of the Greeks and their sages, which is why their struggle was against these two fundamental aspects, as we find in the title of the prayer for Hanukkah, which states, “When the wicked kingdom of Greece stood against Your people Israel to make them forget Your Torah and to remove them from the laws of Your will.”

When one reflects on this title, they see the objective that was before the Greeks: initially, to bring about a reality where the Torah would be forgotten by the people of Israel. Not only was it their aspiration that from the forgetting of the Torah, they would naturally lead them to a reality of non-observance of the commandments, but also, through action, their goal was to nullify the very existence of the commandments themselves. For the Greeks knew that even in circumstances of lacking knowledge of the Torah, there still exists some practical awareness of the observance of the commandments.

It is clear that the Greek nation, which was very wise, understood that merely closing Jewish schools and preventing them from observing the commandments would not yield the desired result of making the Jews forget their Torah, their teachings, and their actions. Rather, they needed to be cunning in how to act against the Torah of Moshe and Judaism. This would take place on two levels: one is to bring about a reality of forgetting the Torah, whether by instilling Greek wisdom, teachings, and sciences that the philosophers among them spread to Israel, in combination with the demands of the authorities for the people to engage in the words of their sages. As a result of this initiative to introduce studies and occupations with a new culture that they would instill in the people—where they would invest their energies—this would lead the people to a lack of knowledge of the Torah of Moses, due to the act of acquiring new studies and values. Thus, the simple outcome would be the forgetting of the Torah from Israel.

Not only did the Greeks aim for the forgetting of the Torah and, consequently, the non-observance of the commandments, but even the observance of the commandments that are performed out of mere habit, rather than from knowledge of the Torah, was also their goal to suppress. Ultimately, when there is no reality of a five-year-old for basic Torah reading, a ten-year-old for Mishnah, a fifteen-year-old for Talmud, etc., and instead, there are the sciences and other wisdoms, then this people cannot exist or continue.

Blessed be HaShem who saved Israel, for the Torah has not been forgotten from them, and their aspiration has not succeeded. Not only they, but also those who came after them throughout the generations until our days have not fully succeeded in bringing about a reality of forgetting the Torah and nullifying the observance of the commandments. Blessed be HaShem forever, who promised us, “For it will not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed.”

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and Chanuka Sameach, may the light of Chanuka illuminate your homes with blessings and peace.. Amen