Victory of Light: Mitzvat Ner Chanukah 5738

An exposition on the deeper significance of Chanukah, viewed through the lens of Chabad-Chasidism.& ; & ; Here, the Rebbe explains that the war of the Greeks was a spiritual one, aimed at eradicating the notion that Torah and mitzvot are holy, G-d given and Divine. The hellenistic Greeks wished to secularize Judaism, to turn it from a supra-rational "faith" into a very rational system of philosophy and moral conduct. And in this sense the Greek Empire is very much alive: there still exist forces- from both without and within -that wish us to forget that Judaism is G-dly.& ; & ; The victory of the Jews over the Greeks represents the vistory of the supra-rational over the rational, the G-dly over the secular. We therfore immortalize Chanukah by lighting fiery lamps against the darkness of night, to celebrate the Victory of Light.