By the Grace of G-d1st Day of Chanukah5712 Brooklyn, N.Y.

My dear Mr. Stulman:

The story of Chanukah is told in a few chosen sentences in the special prayer "In the Days of Mattathias" which we recite in our daily prayers and in Grace after Meals during the eight days of Chanukah.

Greek rule in those days strove "to make (our ancestors) forget Thy Torah, and transgress the decrees of Thy Will."

Greek culture was the product of the human intellect and based entirely on it.

Our Torah, on the other hand, is G-d’s Torah, and its laws are the statutes of His Will. They are accepted by us as the Wisdom and Will of the Infinite G-d, which are above and beyond the range of our finite reason and understanding. To be sure, in some aspects and to a certain limited degree, they come within the grasp of our limited intellectual capacities, but their acceptance by us is by no means conditional upon our understanding.

Hence, in the Torah and Mitzvoth Greek culture met a challenge which it could not overcome by intellectual means; only by the force of arms.

The uprising of our ancestors against the Greeks likewise was an act of pure faith, not based on mental calculations, and with self-sacrifice beyond reason. By the same token, the miracles of Chanukah were miraculous acts of G-d.

The victory of the forces of light over those of darkness through the self-sacrificing efforts of the faithful Hasmoneans was finally emphasized by the miracle of the "Cruse of Oil," when a little quantity of pure, untarnished olive oil miraculously burned for eight days instead of one, giving rise to the celebration of Chanukah through the kindling of the Chanukah lights.

Chanukah, therefore, reminds us that the foundation upon which the whole structure of Torah-true Judaism rests is our acceptance of the Torah and Mitzvoth as the Will and Wisdom of the Ungraspable G-d, although we are to strive to understand as much as our limited intellectual capacities permit us.

This is why it is so important to ensure that Jewish education be based on this profound and pure Jewish faith.

I trust all is well with you and yours, although I have not heard from you in a long time.

With Chanukah greetings and best wishes,

Cordially yours, 

M. Schneerson