Is contemplating and proclaiming
Ein Od Milvado merely an
exercise in repetition? Erroneous!
Chanukah is a Moiridigeh Zach! One familiar with the Early Shabbos Band might even say, it’s ah Meshunedigeh Zach! And that is because Chanukah contains a particular heiligicity and dare I say, “fire sauce!” that can only be unlocked and accessed by the neiros Chanukah. Let’s unpack precisely what that fire is, and the unique avodah of pursuing it experientially through the mitzvah of lighting the menorah.
Stated generally and somewhat abstractly, the neiros Chanukah contain an immeasurable capacity to unleash a radiant flow of Divine intimacy (i.e. “shefa shel Kirvas Elokim”) as well as a glorious revelation of the absolute and singular truth: Ein Od Milvado; that Hashem encompasses all of reality and that there is no existence devoid of Hashem.
Now, if you read the Nekuda Tova — which at this point, evidently you do — then you might know that this is a recurring theme. Somehow we are so often prompted to contemplate Hashem’s Oneness and engage in the avodah of being m’yached Hashem. So, it begs the question — what’s the avodah of doing this over and over? And while we know that chazarah never killed anybody — is contemplating and proclaiming Ein Od Milvado merely an exercise in repetition? Could it be that we are doing the same thing over and over again?
But to think that we are monotonously replicating and duplicating this avodah would be entirely erroneous!
In reality, the avodah of being m’yached Hashem and achieving a “ha’saga” (realization) in Ein Od Milvado is a life’s work. It is not merely a thought exercise that we can behold for some time and accomplish; it is, rather, a lifelong pursuit of deflating the ego and negating our “ego-neous” sense of self, such that we can recognize and acknowledge our ultimate and intimate Oneness with our Creator; with our Source; and with Hashem’s Infinitude. Our ha’saga in Ein Od Milvado is always and ever able to be enhanced and enriched. As we hopefully hear and say so often, Hashem is Infinite!
And that, by definition, means that there is an endless voyage of delving deeper into the infinite dimensions of Hashem’s Oneness. So with every Shabbos and every Yom Tov, and frankly — with every day and every moment — we are able to further enhance and eternally enrich our ha’saga in Ein Od Milvado! Now that iz duch ah Moiridigeh Zach!
That being said, the Torah Ha’Kedosha, and specifically the seforim ha’kedoshim of pnimiyus HaTorah, reveal to us the cosmic construct of how to navigate the various spiritual realms and chambers of our soul. Naturally, this employs a parallel construct, such that we can utilize distinct elements of our soul to traverse the various spiritual realms and draw down particular Divine energies. The avodah of being m’yached Hashem can be done through a lens with innumerable prisms, and indeed, the emphasis and energy of each Yom Tov is unequivocally distinct.
To bring that further down to earth, and by way of example, the Arizal, and further developed by the Rashash, clearly characterize the Divine Light and spiritual energy of Chanukah as rooted in the middah of Hod. And as we are taught by our Tzadikim, the faculty of our soul that we utilize to engage the middah of Hod is acknowledging the truth that everything is Hashem and thanking Hashem for everything! In that sense, Hod is really the intersection of recognition and appreciation. When we recognize that all of reality is an emanation of Hashem, we can more naturally express gratitude and genuinely thank Hashem for everything in our reality!
Getting even more granular, the Tzadikim instruct us to light the menorah as a means by which to ignite the luminous fire blazing in our soul. Our Tzadikim provided vivid visibility into the spiritual mechanics of neiros Chanukah — and we wholeheartedly believe, b’emunah sh’laima, that when we light the menorah, we are therein igniting, refining, and elevating our neshama. And we are virtuously enabling our neshama to achieve an even loftier ha’saga in Ein Od Milvado than we ever could have fathomed.
Lighting the menorah propels and catapults our neshama to levels and madragos that were previously beyond our capacity. It is no wonder that so many Jews, from all so-called “walks of life,” seem to be drawn to the light of the menorah. The neshama inherently craves and yearns for that elevation. A Yid may not be able to consciously articulate what that magnetic force field is, pulling him or her towards the menorah. That magnetic pull is the unrelenting potency of the strongest force on earth. The force of a Yiddishe neshama, longing to fulfill the very purpose of creation and to become One with its Source, One with its Creator.
To maximize and optimize the opportunity of neiros Chanukah, this avodah demands mindfulness and deliberate intentionality. One practical method to pursue this growth is to take some time after lighting the menorah, to simply stare at the neiros. And in deeply gazing into, and almost through, the fire, our neshama is activated and energized to influence and develop a perspective of ourselves as a unique ray of Divine radiance: a cheilek Elokai mima’al mamish. We enrich our awareness of Ein Od Milvado, and that experience is nothing short of sublime. Enjoy it chevra — it’s fiiiiire!
However, it is important to emphasize that, in order to maintain free will, the Sitra Achra presents a potential pitfall to seeing all of reality as an emanation of G-dliness. And that is, one can dangerously and recklessly say to one’s self: “If everything is Hashem, then what does it matter what I do? It’s all good, and it’s all G-d … So I may as well turn over or stay on the couch.”
Chas V’shalom! To this we say — erroneous! And instead, immediately after lighting the menorah and recognizing that all of reality is a revelation of Hashem’s Light, we specifically say אין לנו רשות להשתמש בהם אלא לראותם בלבד — meaning, we do not have a license to utilize this reality as an excuse, but rather to be aware of it and to see it for what it is. And to embrace that each and every one of us has a unique and exclusive way of revealing G-dliness in Hashem’s universe. G’valt! Let’s light the menorah this year with an extra dose of fire sauce and an elevated awareness of Hashem’s Omnipresence, igniting our neshamos to soar at levels it has never experienced to date. We’ll thank ourselves for doing it. And ultimately thank Hashem that we’re able to.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 62 Chanukah.
