In the battle of Yaakov and the angel of Aisav, the Torah relates that the angel injured Yaakov in the “kaf hayareich” the thigh. It is explained that this injury signified the failure of Yaakov to honor his parents during the 20 years he spent with Lavan. The gemarrah in Megillah 16b supports this view by stating that for the 14 years that he spent learning in Shem Vaeiver he was not punished. Rather only because of the 20 years that he spent in Lavan’s house in which he did not contact his parents, was he punished for. Midah keneged midah was the reason why Yosef was out of contact with his father Yaakov for exactly the same amount of years. The TargumYonasan 32,8 supports this as well as he translates the passuk vayeerah Yaakov me’od and Yaakov was afraid of Eisav because of his failure for those 20 years to honor his father. Due to this shortcoming, the angel of Eisav was successful in injuring him in the “kaf” which is gematriah 20 symbolizing his shortcoming in those 20 years by Lavan.
This guiltiness of Yaakov can be further seen by the fact that the angel of Eisav tried to throw sand in Yaakov’s eyes as explained by the Keli Yakar. The malach of Eisav is named “Semol” which are the identical letters of the word “lesamai” to blind. The Torah describes their battle as “vayeiavaik” they wrestled but also from the lashon of dust. That the malach of Eisav tried to blind Yaakov by throwing dirt in his eyes and hence disable him from defending himself and thereby ensuring the malach’s victory. However, we can add to the Keli Yakar another motive behind the “dirt throwing” of Eisav. The Zohar says that each limb in a person nurtures itself from a particular mitzvah of the 248. The mitzvah of honoring one’s parents corresponds to the eyes. Eisav’s honor of his parents was so exemplary that Raban Shimon ben Gamliel said that his entire life he served his father and it was not even one hundredth of the fashion in the way that Eisav served his father. Eisav’s malach had the power to blind Yaakov for Yaakov’s failure was in his “eyes” of not honoring his parents. The entire name of Eisav’s malach Semaol which are the letters of “lesamai” testifies to this unique superior virtue of his which is the only one up over Yaakov Avinu. Yet it was enough of a claim to successfully injure Yaakov in the “kaf” which hints to this shortcoming.
A further hinting to Yaakov’s vulnerability to the injury of Esav’s malach due to the lack of honoring his parents is from the interpretation that the reason why Am Yisrael were forbidden to eat the sciatic nerve [gid hanashe] was because they caused his harm by not accompanying him in the night to retrieve the forgotten flasks. In other words it was their lack of kovod towards their father that allowed the Sar of Eisav to overpower him and bring about his injury.The repercussion of this blow that Yaakov received on his kaf emerged during the time of Galus Yavon and the story of Chanukah. In the words of the Medrash, during the time of “shemad” when the first national conducted project of Jewish assimilation to become Hellenists occurred.
Let us continue after we have just explained the relationship between honoring one’s parents or the lack of it, and the injury of Yaakov which led to the Yom Tov of Chanukah and Galus Yavon. The sefarim explain that the first Beis Hamikdash primarily corresponded to the Torah shebichsav while the second Beis Hamikdash corresponded to the Torah shebe’al peh. The Oral Law was initially transmitted from father to son in each generation until the institution of yeshivos. In order for that mesorah to be in tact and complete there had to exist the fulfillment of the mitzvah of honoring one’s father. For if there was a lack in this mitzvah, then there would be a break in the Torah Shebe’al peh. A son’s respect for his father is obligatory in order to believe in and receive the Torah from him.
We can now have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the gemarrah in Gittin describing the destruction of the second Beis Hamikdash caused by an episode with Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. A close friend of Kamtza while making a party, mistakenly invited Bar Kamtza his enemy. Upon seeing his enemy there he threw him out embarrassing him to the point where he then went to the Roman authorities claiming that the Jews were rebelling against them, subsequently bringing the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. What were the identities of these two people, the enemy and friend who shared similar names? Secondly, why is Kamtza blamed for he destruction of the Beis Hamikdash when he wasn’t involved at all in the picture? The Maharsha learns that these two people were a father and his son. According to his interpretation one must ask the question how could a close friend of the father be an ardent enemy of his son enough to shame him publicly? The answer is that the relationship between Kamtza and his son simply did not exist thereby creating no problem in their relationship if he would publicly degrade his son.
In other words, the underlying cause of the churban Beis Hamikdash was because of the lack of kibud av. We have to believe that this was not an isolated incident but rather a symptom of the generation. This once again teaches us that a gap in the relationship between parent and child hinders the transmitting of the mesorah, hence the second Beis Hamikdash’s foundations were shaken until it was destroyed.
Another reference to the relationship between the second Beis Hamikdash and the mitzvah of kibud av can be gleaned from the gemarrah in Kiddushin where the gemarrah learns the incredible excellence of a goy’s performance in the mitzvah kibud av. Dama ben Nesina sacrificed an enormous amount of money at the expense of not waking up his father who was sleeping on the key of the chest where a precious jewel lay which. the Rabbanan were seeking to replace in the breastplate of the Kohen Gadol. The jewel the Yashphe stone, corresponded to the tribe of Binyamin. The Meshech Chachmah explains that Binyamin was not involved in the selling of Yosef to Mitzrayim. By his absence to Yosef being sold, he alone was outstanding in honoring his father in contrast to all his brothers. Losing the Yashfe stone during the second Beis Hamikdash was an indication that the generation wasn’t fulfilling this particular mitzvah of kibud av properly. Dama the goy paralleled Aisav by accentuating that the Yidden and not them who are short of the fulfillment of this mitzvah. That is the reason why we find that during the second Beis Hamikdash the Tzedukim movement which did not believe in the Torah Shebe’al peh took hold. For without this partnership of the proper relationship and kibud between father and son the Oral Law is at danger of being disputed and distorted.
This brings us to Chanukah and the ‘kaf” of Yaakov which was injured. The lack of kavod that the Shevatim displayed for their father by not accompanying him, coupled with the fact that Yaakov was vulnerable because he himself did not fulfill this mitzvah for twenty years, allowed the Malach of Eisav to injure Yaakov in the “kaf” and cause the same ripple effect in the Galus of Yavon and the period of Chanukah. We must remember that the Greek nation’s origin is found in Yefes the son of Noach who honored his father by covering over his nakedness. Chazal say that Yefes in this story was only a duplicator of Shem who initiated this act of honor but nevertheless it was virtuous. Since Yefes also had this mitzvah they felt that they possessed the necessary ingredient that would make them successful in totally eradicating the Torah Shebe’al peh symbolized by the menorah. Since the Oral Law can only be transmitted through this mitzvah of honoring one’s father they were able to get a grasp on it enough to then eradicate it altogether and replace it with secular wisdom.
The victory of Chanukah was one of Torah Shebeal peh and the reinstating of the mesorah transmitted from father to son. This is stressed in the al hanisim praise of Chanukah where we begin with the words in the days of Mattisyahu and his sons. The victory of Torah over the Greek wisdom was made possible through this rededication of the bond between fathers and sons so the mesorah of Torah Shebeal peh will flow undistorted. Our Chachamim established that when seeing the lights of Chanukah one can recite the sheasa nisim beracha which we don’t find applicable by other mitzvos. However according to our mamar we can now understand the special relationship between the eyes and the Chanukah lights. The eyes as we mentioned above symbolize the parents. It is the parent’s role to ensure that the mesorah of Torah Shebeal peh symbolized by the menorah is transmitted.
The gemarrah in the sugya of Chanukah asks how can one recite the beracha of vetzivanu to kindle the light of Chanukah for where do we find that we were commanded by Hashem to do so? One answer the gemarrah gives is from the passuk sheal avicha veyagaidcha - ask your father and he will tell you. This answer is clearly relating to us that the Yidden defeated the Greeks because the bond of the Torah Shebeal peh was strengthened between avos and banim.
In this battle of the Malach of Eisav and Yaakov Avinu, the Malach is described as “eesh” a man. If he was truly a malach then why describe him incorrectly? I would like to suggest that eesh is gematriah mesorah 311. Eisav’s malach’s intention at this particular time and place, when we find that the mitzvah of kibud av was weakened by the Shevatim thereby arousing a claim against Yaakov for his own lack of kovod to this parents, was to completely knock out the mesorah which is dependent upon this mitzvah. However the injured “kaf” of Yaakov transformed on Chanukah into the letters of “pach” referring to the jar of oil from which the miracle of Chanukah occurred. This Yom Tov was a tikkun on both fronts. Because of the necessity to have the promulgation of the Oral Law during the second Beis Hamikdash, the mitzvah of kibud av and the bonding of father to son were dually strengthened.
The Chanukah festival is replete with special foods such as latkes and sufganiyos, special activities such as lighting the menorah and playing dreidel, and special tefillos such as the al hanisim and hallel. This mamar tells us that the “avos and banim” learning, when a father learns with his son whether it be on Shabbos, on Motzaei Shabbos or during the week, is an integral part of this Yom Tov. I dare say that it might even play a more essential role in connecting to the true spirit of Chanukah even a tad more than those indescribably delicious latkes that Bubbie makes for the Chanukah family get together.
Gut Shabbos
Rav Brazil
What? You haven’t yet purchased my new sefer Bishvili Nivrah Haolam? Treat yourself for Chanukah and let yourself be lit up and inspired!
