The story of Chanukah is made up of two radically different components. One is the war, the battles of the Hasmoneans…

The wonderfully joyous holiday of Chanukah occurs this month. Chanukah, in its essence, represents the ability to withstand oppression and evil, coercion and bigotry, and to believe in the improbable miracles that have always marked Jewish history and advanced the cause of all human civilization.

The story of Chanukah is made up of two radically different components. One is the war, the battles of the Hasmoneans, the blood spilled and the casualties sustained, the human sacrifice and tragedy that always accompanies the struggle for Jewish survival and a better world for all humankind.

The other is the miraculous, supernatural event of the small pitcher of oil that supplied oil for eight days while physically holding oil only for one night. Chanukah is thus the culmination of man and God in the joint effort to improve our world and society. There is no message that could be more fitting for us this Chanukah season than this one.

The other is the miraculous, supernatural event of the small pitcher of oil that supplied oil for eight days while physically holding oil only for one night.

In our current struggle here in Israel we face a foe (just as the ancient Syrians of Mattisyahu’s time) that has yet not reconciled to our right to exist in our homeland and be different than our neighbors. It requires of us these same two elements that make up the Chanukah story. There are no cheap victories in the cause of human progress and freedom. “According to the effort and the pain is the reward,” was one of the favorite aphorisms of the rabbis of the Mishnah. We, the Jewish people, out of all nations should realize by our history how costly the battle for good and fairness and tolerance and independence truly is.

Assimilation, ignorance of Jewish values, fear of losses, fright as to being a minority, are all eventually to be cowardice in the Jewish view of things. Risk, sacrifice, devotion, integrity and tenacity are the weapons of the success of the Chanukah story. They are our weapons of success today as well in our war against terrorism inIsraeland worldwide.

Light in the world cannot be judged as being man-made alone. We do not have enough fuel by ourselves to light eternal lights that burn on for centuries and millennia. Chanukah took place more than 2,100 years ago. That is a pretty long time to keep a flame going. But since this flame is inspired by faith in the Creator and by loyalty to His value system and lifestyle, and is not merely the product of another good human idea, its eternity is guaranteed. It is the miraculous, the unexpected, that makes for the natural continuity ofIsraeland goodness in the world.

So, as we light and view the flames of Chanukah in this troubled year, literally in the winter of our current discontent, we should take heart and hope about the eventual triumph of good over evil, of holiness over profanity, of the few over the mighty many, of the original story of Chanukah repeating itself “in our time as in those days.” So, may I wish you, my friends, a happy, joyous, meaningful, memorable, and latke/doughnut filled Chanukah.

The Sanhedrin, or the Great Court, originated in biblical times and existed until the 5th century of the Common Era when it was disbanded due primarily to severe persecution at the hands of the nascent Christians. This court decided all matters of Jewish law, set the calendar and was the central body of authority of Jewish life. In the 1500s there was a serious attempt to reconstitute it.

When the Jews were driven from Spain in 1492 the effect on Jewish morale was so devastating that many rabbis looked for a method by which the Jewish people could be strengthened. It was not in the hands of the Jewish people to improve their material lot, so the rabbis concentrated on how the Jewish people could be strengthened spiritually. One of the ideas floated then that the time was now propitious for the reestablishment of the Sanhedrin, the Great Court of Judaism originating in biblical times that existed until the 5^th century of the Common Era. This court decided all matters of Jewish law, set the calendar and was the central body of authority of Jewish life.

The reasons this seemed like a propitious time was because a) it would give a boost to the collective Jewish ego and b) for the first time in almost 1,000 years a sizable Jewish settlement existed in the Land of Israel, including leading Jewish scholars of great note. Consequently, one great scholar named Rabbi Jacob Beirav (also spelled Yakov Berav, Berab or Bei Rav) felt it was the right time to reformulate the Sanhedrin. However, his first hurdle was Jewish law.

A member of the Sanhedrin required a special level of ordination (semichah) and the only way to obtain it was to be given it by someone who himself had been so ordained. In other words, the first conferring of this ordination was Moses to the 70 elders who constituted the first Sanhedrin, as recounted in the Bible. Then they had the right to ordain their students and so on throughout the generations.

The Sanhedrin was disbanded in the 5^th century due primarily to severe persecution at the hands of the nascent Christians. Those who had the ordination were not able to pass it on any longer. Once it died with them there was no way of apparently ever restoring it. Because of that, Jewish tradition and the Jewish masses believed that the Sanhedrin would only be restored at the time of the Messianic Era.

Nevertheless, Maimonides – based on a tradition he had in his family and from his teachers – believed that the Sanhedrin will not necessarily be renewed miraculously by the Messiah. He wrote that if the sages of Israel who lived in the Land of Israel will gather together and choose one among them as worthy of ordination then he would be considered to have been ordained with the original ordination. He, in turn, could ordain 69 or 70 men until the entire Sanhedrin was reconstituted.

That is what happened in the 1500s, almost four centuries after Maimonides. There never was such a bold attempt to change the course of Jewish history and life. Rabbi Jacob Beirav, who was recognized as the leading authority of his time, was the mentor of Rabbi Joseph Caro. He called a convocation in the Land of Israel of the great scholars regarding this matter. They voted unanimously to entrust the ordination to Rabbi Jacob Beirav, who now in effect had the ordination necessary to ordinate other worthy scholars as members of the reconstituted Sanhedrin.

In order to do so, he sent letters of ordination to other great scholars of the time living in the Land of Israel. One of those was Rabbi Joseph Caro. Another was Rabbi Moses Alshich, the famous preacher in Safed. Yet another letter he sent out was to the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Levi ibn Habib, who not only refused to accept the ordination for himself but opposed the entire idea. He said that he was not certain that Maimonides was correct, and even if he was, now was not the right time and the pool of candidates were not the right people.

This opened a very bitter and protracted dispute. Most of the great rabbis outside of Israel opposed it. Rabbi Jacob Beirav said it made no difference what rabbis outside of Israel thought, because they had no voice in the matter. Maimonides only required those living inside the Land of Israel, and since the majority of those were in favor of it he was willing to defend what he had done.

Nevertheless, the Sanhedrin can only have authority if the people are willing to accept what it says. The Jewish people did not possess an army or police force, or any means of enforcing any decision. If the public was not willing to grant the decision-makers the authority to establish the law, then in effect any chance for acceptance of the idea was nullified. That is what happened. Rabbi Levi Habib was too formidable a scholar, and his opposition too vociferous. Instead of becoming a positive, unifying force, the attempt to reinstate the Great Sanhedrin became terribly divisive.

From some of his writings, it seems clear that Rabbi Joseph Caro considered the ordination valid. However, it is equally clear that he was not willing to wage what would have been enormously divisive battle to have it enforced. Consequently, this special ordination was not passed on; it ended with those who were granted it by Rabbi Jacob Beirav. The great project to reinstate the original ordination died.

Gutenberg’s bible was published in 1454 a new world opened. In effect, the world of the Middle Ages was ending and the modern world was being ushered in. Among the changes wrought by the printing press was that it created a new area of Jewish law: copyright

Until modern technology, the printing press was the single, greatest discovery in the history of the Western world. Its impact cannot be underestimated. It changed civilization. When Gutenberg’s bible was published in 1454 a new world opened. In effect, the world of the Middle Ages was ending and the modern world was being ushered in.

Among the changes wrought by the printing press was that it created a new area of Jewish law: copyright.

Until that time, there was no money to be made from a book. The number of copies created was always relatively small. However, the advent of the printing press necessitated questions about copyright, because the business owner who prepared the plates had a significant monetary interest in the endeavor. A book made in the hundreds or even thousands required the investment in paper (which still was not cheap in Europe) and binding. The publication of a major work required a major investment. And a printer would not undertake such an investment unless he was somehow guaranteed that he would have no competition in the sale of that item. That opened a new area in Jewish law: copyright law.

Interestingly, copyright law in Judaism predates copyright law in the Western world by a number of centuries. The first reference to it is in the early 1500s by the Maharam of Padua, Rabbi Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen (1482–1565). There was a study that perhaps two out of every three Ashkenazic Jews are descended from him. There are many Katzenellenbogens in Israel and the United States today. Rabbi Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen was an East European Jew who moved to Italy and became the Chief Rabbi of Padua. He was going to publish a corrected and annotated edition of the Mishnah Torah by Maimonides, which he had worked on for more than a decade. When he had it ready for print he made the best arrangement he could with one of the printers. The printer said, however, that he would not publish it unless the Maharam of Padua obtained for him exclusive rights.

In Jewish books today, especially in matters of Jewish law, there is something called a haskama, an approbation, i.e. a great rabbi has given his approval that the work contains worthwhile ideas. Many such approbations contain wording to the effect that since this book was published at such expense no one has the right to republish this book for “x” number of years without the permission of the author or printer. It usually was for seven years.

In the 18^th century, one of the classic disputes between Jewish groups (the Hassidim and Mitnagdim) was over which Babylonian Talmud edition had the right to be published in Eastern Europe. Families would not marry into each other if they had the “unaccepted” Talmud in their houses.

The main vehicle of enforcing such a law in the Jewish world was through censure or even excommunication and/or having the author’s books banned. The threat of economic sanctions served as the main weapon against copyright infringement.

Today, copyright law has new variables such as printers on other sides of the world (international copyright law), which not only clouds the issue but makes it even harder to enforce. There always were people who violated it anyway with underground presses. Nevertheless, generally speaking that was how the law was enforced.

Chariots in those days attacked in squadrons of three and charged in the formation of a triangle, one on the point and two on the flanks. Three charging chariots could break through any line of infantry. Chariots in the ancient world were the tanks of today. The Jews had no defense against chariots.

The Ten Plagues, according to tradition, covered a ten-month period of time. In that relatively short time frame the once great empire of Egypt was shattered. The streets were strewn with the dead of their firstborn. Their economy was in ruins. Most of all, the collective psyche of ancient Egypt was obliterated.

The Jews did not sneak out like prisoners in a prison break. They left as victors. They left “with an upraised hand” (Exodus 14:8).

God marched the Jews along a route that took them to the desert of Sinai. He did not lead them along the road which led directly to the land of Israel (Exodus 13:17-18), which would be the Via Maris or “Way of the Sea” (see Isaiah 9:1). This was the northern road stretching from what would one day be Alexandria up the coast into Gaza, which was the main road used in the ancient world to travel from Egypt to the lands of the north. It was one of the most ancient roads in the world.

The Jewish people, in their moaning and troubles, experienced a salvation so unexpected that a song of spontaneous joy collectively burst forth from them

They came to the Sea of Reeds, which is hard to identify. Perhaps it is in what is today the Gulf of Suez or the Bitter Lakes. In any event, as they encamped by the sea, Pharaoh suddenly had a change of heart. After contemplating the matter he realized that the Jewish people were in a terrible logistical situation. They had nothing to eat, nowhere to go and were trapped against the sea, a position no General would allow his army to find itself in.

Pharaoh could not resist the temptation. He gathered what was left of the Egyptian army, 600 chariots. Chariots in those days attacked in squadrons of three and charged in the formation of a triangle, one on the point and two on the flanks. The chariots also had knives and sharp instruments on their sides. The result was that three charging chariots could break through any line of infantry. Chariots in the ancient world were the tanks of today.

The Jews had no defense against chariots. They were an untrained rabble and the few arms they had were no match for the mighty Egyptian army. Suddenly, they saw Pharaoh’s army approaching and found themselves in a situation in which there was no exit and no hope of victory. It was their most desperate hour. They were on the brink of disaster. The people were too immersed in the moment to realize that their highly compromised situation was the precise means by which they would achieve total victory. Had Pharaoh not thought they were vulnerable he would not have attacked and his army would not have been destroyed. The threat of Egypt might have continued.

Their own desperate situation duped Pharaoh into throwing everything into the fray in the hope of a final kill. In his headlong rush to victory he guaranteed his defeat.

The Jewish people, in their moaning and troubles, experienced a salvation so unexpected that a song of spontaneous joy collectively burst forth from them. All sorts of feelings of faith and emotion and hope for the future erupted from their hearts, their mouths and their limbs.

The same is true in the life of the individual. No one likes to be challenged and have troubles. However, the truth is that troubles are usually opportunities for growth and achievement more than one could have before. Many a successful person went on to success because he got fired from his job. He was forced to go out on his own and achieved unprecedented success.

That is an important subtext to the story of the Exodus. The troubles that befall the Jewish people as a whole offer a ray of opportunity. That does make it easier for those suffering from the troubles. Nevertheless, things are usually never as black as they look. One never knows how things will turn out. And then we look back in hindsight and say it was not so bad because out of the very trouble came these good things. Being human, of course, and by definition limited in our vision, it is very hard to be calm and philosophical about the event as it occurs.

It is hard to imagine a less probable heroine than Esther.

On the surface, the Book of Esther is just another story of political intrigue in the palace. Ahasuerus was married to Queen Vashti, descendant of the king of the Babylonian dynasty, Belshazzar. To him it was a marriage of convenience, because he saw in her a chance to cement his claim to the Persian throne. He was not of royal blood, but his wife was.

However, she was a very independent woman who despised him and publicly treated him in a demeaning and insulting fashion. When she did so at the banquet, he had her executed.

On the surface, this was just one of a long string of events that happen in royal courts. Ahasuerus was Henry VIII some 1,500 years earlier. He was just another Oriental potentate with a harem full of woman, and apparently one more or one less made no difference to him. However, when fitted into the story that developed later we see how important this event was. The downfall of Vashti was the opening to the rise of Esther, and the salvation of the Jewish people.

Many times in life God prepares a person for one event. When that event arrives, suddenly, the questions of what am I and what I am I doing here and what does God want from me come to resolution.

It is hard to imagine a less probable heroine than Esther. Her rise was one of the most unlikely stories possible. She was a young woman of great modesty and piety. All of a sudden, she was conscripted against her will to join an international beauty contest. Esther was not a raving beauty. Her complexion was not perfect, the Talmud says (Megillah 13a). Nevertheless, she had a great deal of charm; a thread of grace adorned her (ibid.).

Still, it was unlikely that she should have been taken, and even more unlikely that she should have reached the “finals.” Most unlikely of all is that the king should have chosen her, fallen in love with her and made her his queen.

Yet, that is what happened.

Ahasuerus was a drunkard with a violent streak. What were the odds of someone like him marrying someone like Esther, who was the complete opposite of him? Poor, gentle, sweet Esther – the most pious of women. Therein, lays one of the great ironies of the story.

Just as things were looking most grim, she revealed her Jewish identity to the king and accused Haman of trying to murder her and her people.

All of us are set aside by God for a purpose, but generally it is hard to read God’s mind and we do not know what the purpose is. We do not see what God intends for us. Nevertheless, many times in life God prepares a person for one event. When that event arrives, and we react to it accordingly and properly, then a glimmer of understanding comes to us. Suddenly, the questions of what am I and what I am I doing here and what does God want from me come to resolution.

That is what happened to Esther. At great risk to her own life, just as things were looking most grim, she revealed her Jewish identity to the king and accused Haman of trying to murder her and her people. Ahasuerus responded by hanging Haman, who was now finally undone by his own ambition and cruelty.

He also hanged Haman’s ten sons, as well as gave the Jewish people permission to defend themselves against their enemies from the earlier decree of extermination (which had not been – and could not be – rescinded). In short, the Jewish people were saved due to the seemingly impossible circumstances of the unlikeliest heroine.

When God told Moses to build a Tabernacle (shown), it was the culmination of everything the Jewish people had longed for, because now the Divine Presence was in their midst in a uniquely tangible way. When the Temple was destroyed many centuries later it looked like the end of the Jewish people, but in that destruction they rediscovered the true meaning of that first desert sanctuary.

Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. (Exodus 25:8)

The exact year of the destruction of the Temple is somewhat up to debate, but most historians agree that it took place in 586 BCE. In the spring of that year, Nebuchadnezzar came from the north and invaded the outskirts of Judea. By the early part of the summer his army had encamped around Jerusalem.

Within a month they had destroyed all pockets of Judean resistance. Tens of thousands died in the siege, which brought on famine and pestilence, and then by sword and fire. Those who could do so fled. However, the Babylonians had anticipated that and were expert at herding escapees into giant slave camps, from where they were transported into exile in Babylon.

At sunset at the beginning of the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av the Babylonians set fire to the Temple, which was made primarily of stone, marble and similar substances, and should not have burned easily. Apparently, the accelerant used to set the fire made the stone so hot that even it burned. The building collapsed in the fire and burned the entire day of the ninth as well.

The destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE was, to that point, the most traumatic event in Jewish history. Accompanied with the destruction of the Jewish commonwealth, it looked like the end of the Jewish people (at least to outsiders).

Despite that, even in the land of their enemies the Jewish people were able to realize that the Temple could be rebuilt — if not in brick and stone, then in a spiritual sense through spiritual work.

Even though the Temple was destroyed, God could find a place in their synagogues, in their houses of study, in their behavior, in their hearts. They would be able to build a Temple of the spirit… until the time would come when God, in His own fashion, would rebuild a physical Temple.

Building a Temple of the spirit is much harder to do and a much greater accomplishment. It is much easier to build a building than what is inside the building. The modern world has some of the finest school buildings ever to exist, with all the modern accoutrements to educate the masses, but it is very hard to produce one human being. There are beautiful houses of worship all over the world that are glorious to behold, but it is hard to build a place where God is really welcomed and would want to be found, so to speak.

The Jewish people, to their everlasting credit, have been able to build miniature sanctuaries (Ezekiel 11:16) in different communities over the centuries in different continents. Although the physical Temple was destroyed the central idea behind it remained and took on greater meaning. It gave the Jewish people strength, courage and purpose. It spelled the difference between general history and Jewish history. No other people have sustained such a blow and not only survived to tell about it but have been able to carry on with their mission.

That is why the destruction of the First Temple has to be seen as the watershed in Jewish history. Nothing was the same afterwards. On the other hand, it created new opportunities to work on the inner dimension that had been neglected by so many. They took the lessons to heart, rolled up their sleeves and got down to the business of self-improvement and rebuilding from the inside out.

In the final analysis, the way the Jewish people ultimately reacted to the tragedy represented a triumph of the spirit. The outer loss created inner opportunities that they took advantage of to guarantee not only their survival and continuity, but their eternity.

The Via Maris was the northern road stretching from what would one day be Alexandria up the coast into Gaza, which was the main road used in the ancient world to travel from Egypt to the lands of the north. It was one of the most ancient roads in the world.

Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer, for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.” So God led the people roundabout, by way of the wilderness at the Sea of Reeds. (Exodus 13:17-18)

God marched the Jews along a route that took them to the Sinai desert. He did not lead them along the road which led directly to the land of Israel, which would be the Via Maris or “Way of the Sea” (see Isaiah 9:1). This was the northern road stretching from what would one day be Alexandria up the coast into Gaza, which was the main road used in the ancient world to travel from Egypt to the lands of the north. It was one of the most ancient roads in the world.

God, however, plunged the Jewish people into the heart of the desert. They came to the Sea of Reeds, which is hard to identify. Perhaps it is in what is today the Gulf of Suez or the Bitter Lakes. In any event, as they encamped by the sea, Pharaoh suddenly had a change of heart. After contemplating the matter he realized that the Jewish people were in a terrible logistical situation. They had nothing to eat, nowhere to go and were trapped against the sea, a position no General would allow his army to find itself in.

Pharoh and his troops drown at the Red Sea. Chariots attacked in squadrons of three and charged in the formation of a triangle, one on the point and two on the flanks. They had knives and sharp instruments on their sides. Three charging chariots could break through any line of infantry. Chariots in the ancient world were the tanks of today.

Pharaoh could not resist the temptation. He gathered what was left of the Egyptian army, 600 chariots. Chariots in those days attacked in squadrons of three and charged in the formation of a triangle, one on the point and two on the flanks. The chariots also had knives and sharp instruments on their sides. The result was that three charging chariots could break through any line of infantry. Chariots in the ancient world were the tanks of today.

The Jews had no defense against chariots. They were an untrained rabble and the few arms they had were no match for the mighty Egyptian army. Suddenly, they saw Pharaoh’s army approaching and found themselves in a situation in which there was no exit and no hope of victory. They were on the brink of disaster. The people were too immersed in the moment to realize that their highly compromised situation was the precise means by which they would achieve total victory. Had Pharaoh not thought they were vulnerable he would not have attacked and his army would not have been destroyed. The threat of Egypt might have continued.

Their own desperate situation duped Pharaoh into throwing everything into the fray in the hope of a final kill. In his headlong rush to victory he guaranteed his defeat.

Then, in the midst of their moaning and troubles, they experienced a salvation so unexpected that a song of spontaneous joy collectively burst forth from them…

The same is true in the life of the individual. No one likes to be challenged and have troubles. However, the truth is that troubles are usually opportunities for growth and achievement more than one could have before. Many a successful person went on to success because he got fired from his job. He was forced to go out on his own and achieved unprecedented success.

That is an important subtext to the story of the Exodus. The troubles that befall the Jewish people as a whole offer a ray of opportunity. That does make it easier for those suffering from the troubles. Nevertheless, things are usually never as black as they look. One never knows how things will turn out. And then we look back in hindsight and say it was not so bad because out of the very trouble came these good things. Being human, of course, and by definition limited in our vision, it is very hard to be calm and philosophical about the event as it occurs.

Pharoh and His Dead Son . Painting by Tissot, Jewish Museum. Don’t you know that Egypt is lost?” (Exodus 10:7), Pharaoh’s advisors told him.

The Egyptian masses were ready to let the Jews go after the third Plague. “Don’t you know that Egypt is lost?” (Exodus 10:7), Pharaoh’s advisors told him.

However, the megalomania of a dictator makes it impossible for him to give in. According to Maimonides, wherever it says that God strengthened the heart of Pharaoh it does not mean that He took away his free will, but rather He gave him the stamina to live up to what he wanted to do! Many times we want to do something but are too weak. We buckle under the pressure. Pharaoh, too, would have buckled. However, by hardening his heart God allowed him to do what he pleased.

The masses almost always buckle before the leadership. The leader’s insanity forces the situation. Hitler led Nazi Germany to the precipice of world domination… and then down an irreversible path to its own destruction, even long after the people and most of his advisors knew it was insane to continue.

Hitler led Nazi Germany to the precipice of world domination… and then down an irreversible path to its own destruction, even long after the people and most of his advisors knew it was insane to continue.

The people in Pharaoh’s time were willing to admit defeat. They saw that the events were not just natural phenomena. However, like all leaders safely ensconced in their palaces and fortresses, Pharaoh was the last to admit defeat even as the rest of the nation was suffering and facing utter destruction.

And then came the last, great plague. There was no house that did not have some dead. Death was literally at the door.

The slaying of the firstborn was the plague that finally broke the back of Pharaoh. He admitted defeat only by force in a plague that strikes home to him personally – his first born child is killed and his life is also in danger. It is not the miracle of the first-born killings that impresses him. It is the fear for his own safety that the miracle engendered that causes him to free the Jews, a decision that he almost immediately regrets. Even he realized that there was no further gain for Egypt in this contest with Moses and his God.

By then, however, it was too late.

The Plague of Flies, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot at the Jewish Museum, New York. People harbor the naïve belief that if God will perform miracles then everyone would become believers and all problems would disappear. Miracles are not the basis of religion. Rather, true religion requires an inner commitment and inner strength not built on miracles. Study, education, loyalty, and family are the keys to faith.

From the time Moses first reappeared in Egypt until the time the Jewish people left Egypt was less than two years. In that relatively short period of time the Egyptian nation suffered all sorts of “natural” disasters.

The thing about natural disasters is that they can be seen as natural or unnatural. Secular historians interpret history as a series of unconnected happenings that are to be judged as random events. Others see the hand of God, so to speak, in everything that transpires. It is the same thing with the Plagues that occurred to the Egyptians.

Pharaoh himself declared that he also had magicians and wise men that could make Plagues. “It is no trick to turn the Nile into blood,” he said. “We have done that before. It is no trick to create swarming frogs. We have done that before. We can bring lice, etc. Therefore, nothing you did is anything special,” Pharaoh insisted.

When the Bible says that Pharaoh’s heart is hard, one way of understanding it is that he could interpret all of these matters, if he wished to, as natural happenings and accidents.

The component that limits that claim, of course, is that Moses predicts them all. It is one thing to experience ten natural disasters. It is another thing to have them all predicted precisely – when they will begin and end, exactly where they will happen and why they are happening. That adds a new dimension to the entire matter. Indeed, Moses’ mission was not to make the disaster happen but to describe it in advance, to put Pharaoh on notice.

Yet, Pharaoh’s heart remained hard through it all.

In truth, miracles, no matter how spectacular, do not make a long lasting impression. Human nature is such that last week’s miracle, no matter how impressive, does not help one this week. That is why the foundation of faith has to be based on more than miracles. Miracles alone will not do it.

People harbor the naïve belief that if God will perform miracles then everyone would become believers and all problems would disappear. All of history tells us that that is not true. Miracles do not make a lasting impression… certainly not on the Jewish people, a stiff-necked and stubborn people, i.e. a people who are not easily influenced by outside phenomena.

In the desert, bread rained down from heaven. It could taste like anything they wanted (even bagels, which were no doubt first discovered in the desert). Their water supply in the desert was miraculous, the “Well of Miriam.” They were led by a miraculous “Pillar of Fire” by night and “Pillar of Cloud” by day. And yet the people said, “Where is God? What does He have to do with this?”

This teaches us an important lesson that this is not how the Jewish people are going to be built. In reality, thousands of years of Jewish history reinforce this point. We are not easily impressed. We are driven by an inner conviction, by a belief not dependent upon external events or miraculous occurrences.

Miracles are great, but not the basis of religion. Rather, true religion requires an inner commitment and inner strength not built on miracles. Study, education, loyalty, and family are the keys to faith. At times miracles are necessary for the physical survival of the Jewish people. However, the spiritual survival of Jews is wholly dependent upon Jews themselves.

Burial place of Simon ben Yaakov. Simon was a “man of war,” but his father’s wisdom turned into a selfless servant of his people.

Simon, Jacob’s the second son, was born and died on the 21^st day of the Hebrew month, Tevet. He is seen as the “man of war.” There is no question that the Jewish people need a strong army. If not for Simon, and his brother Levi, the brothers probably would not have rescued their sister, Dinah, from Shechem (Genesis 34). On the other hand, Jacob criticizes them very strongly for their act on his deathbed (Genesis 49:5-7).

Indeed, Jacob acted to mitigate their power. If they lived as one concentrated unit, they would be impossible to contend with. They would be a militaristic, Sparta-like state. Jacob, therefore, scattered them throughout the Jewish people (ibid. v. 7).

Simon was absorbed by the tribe of Judah, which was situated in the south near Hebron. They also had some property in the north near the Sea of Galilee. Their territory was split up and they has difficultly conquering the enemies in their land. Simon was also the smallest of the tribes (Numbers 26). Instead of the most feared warrior in Israel, he becomes the weakest.

Furthermore, Jacob made Simon teachers. Teaching was never the most well-paying profession in the history of the world. The rabbis in the Talmud quote Ezra saying that the scribes, i.e. teachers, would always barely eke out a living. In biblical times the teachers traveled to the students (unlike today when students come to the school). It was spiritually rewarding work, but humbling and not monetarily rewarding. As such, it was a profession that helped curb the tribe’s aggressive tendencies.

If Simon stood for education, then Levi was the public servant. He was not given land of his own, but lived off public funds. If you are dependent upon public good will you tend to develop a pleasant personality. You learn to take a lot of criticism without responding in kind. That was Levi.

Depending upon the support of the public is not pleasant. Everyone wishes he was independently wealthy, including rabbis. It would give the position a different stature. Nevertheless, that is not the reality. The community is dependent upon its rabbis and the rabbis are dependent upon the generosity of the community.

Levi was the public servant, dependent upon the good will of people; dependent upon the donations of others.

Jacob’s strategy worked. He broke up these two extremely strong-minded, strong-willed sons. Simon became the teachers and Levi became the priests. Aaron, the High Priest, descended from Levi. He embodies the idea of peace, tranquility, compromise and serving God. This represented a complete turnaround from Levi’s original personality.

Besides Aaron, Levi of course also produced Moses, as well as Miriam. Levi is the civil servant of the Jewish people, if we can use that term. They are singularly devoted to the welfare of the people. They were set aside, different and apart. That is why they did not take part in the episode of the Golden Calf, or any form of idol worship — whether in Egypt of the Desert — according to Jewish Tradition.

In short, Jacob’s blessing transformed both Simon and Levi’s strong personalities into strong, selfless servants of the people.