{"id":57054,"date":"2024-12-27T17:10:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T17:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/?p=57054"},"modified":"2025-12-22T23:26:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T23:26:27","slug":"chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/","title":{"rendered":"Chanukah: A Celebration of the Power of Torah"},"content":{"rendered":"

The key takeaways from this lecture, which focuses on the spiritual and historical themes of Chanukah<\/a>, particularly the concept of gevurah<\/i> (strength or heroism), are centered on the centrality and dedication required for the Oral Torah (Torah sheb’al peh<\/i>).<\/p>\n

Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n

1. The True Heroism (Gevurah<\/i>) of Chanukah<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
  • \n
      \n
    • \n

      The lecture proposes a type of <\/span>gevurah<\/span><\/i> (heroism) connected to Chanukah that is often overlooked: the <\/span>discipline of creating and sustaining the Oral Law<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      It rejects the false dichotomy, often found in modern Israeli culture, that seeks to break away from <\/span>gevurot Hashem<\/span><\/i> (God’s heroic deeds) to focus only on <\/span>gevurot Yisrael<\/span><\/i> (Israel’s heroic deeds)<\/span>. Both strengths\u2014Divine and human\u2014go together, as the Maccabees fought for both <\/span>“our lives and our Torah”<\/span> (<\/span>Chayenu V’Toratenu<\/span><\/i>)<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      2. The Hellenist Goal: Forgetting (Shikchah<\/i>) the Oral Torah<\/h2>\n
        \n
      • \n
          \n
        • \n

          The primary aim of the wicked Greek nation (<\/span>malchut Yavan<\/span><\/i>) was not merely physical destruction, but to cause <\/span>forgetting<\/span> (<\/span>shikchah<\/span><\/i>) of the Torah and non-observance of <\/span>mitzvot<\/span><\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          This “forgetting” was primarily a threat to the <\/span>Oral Torah<\/span> (<\/span>Torah sheb’al peh<\/span><\/i>), which can be lost, unlike the Written Torah, which remains on a parchment<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          3. The Oral Torah as the Ultimate Bond<\/h2>\n
            \n
          • \n
              \n
            • \n

              The Oral Torah is fundamentally different from the Written Torah because it is not detached and “written on a parchment in the corner”<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              It is meant to be <\/span>“embedded within the psyche and within the mind of the person itself.”<\/span>\u00a0It is “in your mouth, it’s in your mind,” reflecting the billions of neurons actively engaging with it<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              The Maharal’s view is cited that the Oral Law is the <\/span>ultimate covenant (<\/span>brit<\/span><\/i>)<\/span> between God and the Jewish people because it resides within the person<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              4. Dedication (Gevurah<\/i>) is Required for Torah Life<\/h2>\n
                \n
              • \n
                  \n
                • \n

                  A life devoted to and dedicated to the Oral Torah is not for the faint-hearted and requires great strength (<\/span>gevurah<\/span><\/i>)<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                • \n

                  The first word of the <\/span>Shulchan Aruch<\/span><\/i> (Code of Jewish Law) is <\/span>Yitgaber<\/span><\/i> (he should strengthen himself\/be a hero), instructing every Jew to wake up like a hero and a lion for the service of God (<\/span>Avodat Hashem<\/span><\/i>)<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                • \n

                  This dedication to learning and devotion to God applies <\/span>equally to men and women<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                • \n

                  The danger of forgetting the Oral Torah is so profound that one who forgets a single thing from their <\/span>Mishnah<\/span><\/i> is considered “liable… for their life.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  5. Chanukah<\/span><\/span> and the End of Prophecy<\/h2>\n
                    \n
                  • \n
                      \n
                    • \n

                      The Chanukah<\/span> period represents the <\/span>transition from prophecy (<\/span>nevuah<\/span><\/i>) to the formal system of Oral Law<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                    • \n

                      The Prophets (<\/span>Nevi’im<\/span><\/i>) were the original source of the non-written divine word to be listened to, but following their era, the Oral Law became the vehicle for Jewish continuity and tradition<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      The key takeaways from this lecture, which focuses on the spiritual and historical themes of Chanukah, particularly the concept of gevurah (strength or heroism), are centered on the centrality and dedication required for the Oral Torah (Torah sheb’al peh). Key Takeaways 1. The True Heroism (Gevurah) of Chanukah The lecture proposes a type of gevurah […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133486,"featured_media":57056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[344],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chanukah","post_format-post-format-video"],"yoast_head":"\nChanukah: A Celebration of the Power of Torah - Jewish Holidays<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the true Gevurah (heroism) of Chanukah. The lecture highlights why the Greeks targeted the Oral Torah and how dedication to it forms the ultimate, inseparable covenant.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chanukah: A Celebration of the Power of Torah - Jewish Holidays\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the true Gevurah (heroism) of Chanukah. The lecture highlights why the Greeks targeted the Oral Torah and how dedication to it forms the ultimate, inseparable covenant.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jewish Holidays\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrthodoxUnion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-27T17:10:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-22T23:26:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/AdobeStock_885395580-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1435\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rabbi Anthony Manning\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rabbi Anthony Manning\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/\",\"name\":\"Chanukah: A Celebration of the Power of Torah - Jewish Holidays\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/AdobeStock_885395580-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-27T17:10:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-22T23:26:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#\/schema\/person\/a08dd795b1462936e3b4cb18e3dc6a0d\"},\"description\":\"Discover the true Gevurah (heroism) of Chanukah. The lecture highlights why the Greeks targeted the Oral Torah and how dedication to it forms the ultimate, inseparable covenant.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/AdobeStock_885395580-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/AdobeStock_885395580-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1435},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chanukah: A Celebration of the Power of Torah\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/\",\"name\":\"Jewish Holidays\",\"description\":\"Learn about Jewish holidays\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#\/schema\/person\/a08dd795b1462936e3b4cb18e3dc6a0d\",\"name\":\"Rabbi Anthony Manning\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/torah\/files\/Rabbi-Anthony-Manning_avatar_1529257463-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/torah\/files\/Rabbi-Anthony-Manning_avatar_1529257463-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Rabbi Anthony Manning\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/author\/rabbi-anthony-manning\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chanukah: A Celebration of the Power of Torah - Jewish Holidays","description":"Discover the true Gevurah (heroism) of Chanukah. The lecture highlights why the Greeks targeted the Oral Torah and how dedication to it forms the ultimate, inseparable covenant.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chanukah: A Celebration of the Power of Torah - Jewish Holidays","og_description":"Discover the true Gevurah (heroism) of Chanukah. The lecture highlights why the Greeks targeted the Oral Torah and how dedication to it forms the ultimate, inseparable covenant.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/","og_site_name":"Jewish Holidays","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrthodoxUnion","article_published_time":"2024-12-27T17:10:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-22T23:26:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1435,"url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/AdobeStock_885395580-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rabbi Anthony Manning","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rabbi Anthony Manning","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/","name":"Chanukah: A Celebration of the Power of Torah - Jewish Holidays","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/AdobeStock_885395580-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-12-27T17:10:57+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-22T23:26:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#\/schema\/person\/a08dd795b1462936e3b4cb18e3dc6a0d"},"description":"Discover the true Gevurah (heroism) of Chanukah. The lecture highlights why the Greeks targeted the Oral Torah and how dedication to it forms the ultimate, inseparable covenant.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/AdobeStock_885395580-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/files\/AdobeStock_885395580-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":1435},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/chanukah-a-celebration-of-the-power-of-torah\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chanukah: A Celebration of the Power of Torah"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/","name":"Jewish Holidays","description":"Learn about Jewish holidays","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#\/schema\/person\/a08dd795b1462936e3b4cb18e3dc6a0d","name":"Rabbi Anthony Manning","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/torah\/files\/Rabbi-Anthony-Manning_avatar_1529257463-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/torah\/files\/Rabbi-Anthony-Manning_avatar_1529257463-96x96.jpg","caption":"Rabbi Anthony Manning"},"url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/author\/rabbi-anthony-manning\/"}]}},"acf":[],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133486"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57054"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58511,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57054\/revisions\/58511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}