The Battle of Chanukah Then and Now - Rabbi Yitzchak Botton

I would like to share with you a story while back when I was still a student I remember coming to a shul you know in America and this particular shoe was having a lot of problems with its neighbors they were complaining they had taken it to court there was a real fight going on between between them the non-jews and this Jewish community in America and so what they tried to do was they tried to make an open day where everyone from the community could come and join them in some festivities they made a barbecue and you know it was a nice idea you know Shalom peace and around everybody the different people from different religions it's a nice idea oh there was one part of that story that bothered me then you'll tell you that what happened now and we'll see how it connects very much with the or going to talk about today the idea of Hanukkah so part of what the rabbi decided to do and might have a lot of decisions to make it sometimes I know sometimes I don't always make the right decision in this case my opinion is of course that he did not make the right decision they decided to show a football game yeah you might think you know rabbi what so did what so you know terrible on a football game so nothing so terrible about a particular you know that I give a football game but it's the manner in which they showed the football game they brought a TV into the synagogue into the bed Knesset put it in front of the shoe really almost in the place of where the iron kodesh is in front of the iron code there's blocking their uncle dish from behind and aired the football game there now what's football it's obviously coming from you know the idea of the either the roman times in the Colosseum so obviously there's a connection there but more than that we know that when in the middle of the football game there's different commercials there's the cheerleaders there's a lot of things that were being presented that was not really fitting in a sanctuary in a holy place a bet kanessa where the rabbi's tell us that the presence of Hashem resides in that bit Knesset in the shul is the presence of Hashem that the one place we have now in this time of exile just after the destruction of the base and make that Sheriff says I will be with you a Mick dash may act in all of the small places where you're going to sit together and pray and learn or together in the bed Knesset in the bed Minaj that's why sham has to be with us and no else today unfortunately so how do you bring the TV into that place and show a football game which has these negative things together with it the the immorality involved in showing cheerleaders this is the opposite of what or stands for you know so in this battle in America trying to stay pure and not become overwhelmed by the overwhelming majority of you know non-jews that have a different way of life in a different set of values that they follow you know that I felt was a tremendous compromise and a mistake and interestingly enough there was another student there at the same day that I was there who was the Russia Shiva's son very gifted student today he's probably a huge rabbi somewhere he went in to watch the game also and as soon as I walked in to see what was going on I at that time felt it wasn't appropriate to watch the game he saw me felt bad about being in there watching the game and he got up and left to show you that you know you see it's not the place for it in the end of the day anyway that was what happened to me once and you'll see how it connects very much with the with the konica story we are told about what happened during konica and for the most part we were taught about a war you know life and death people were killed and were abused in very very harsh ways and that's you know very very you know hard for us to relate to especially in America in a peacetime we don't fight anymore physically certainly not any wars but you know that was only one aspect of the Battle of hanukkah ultimately the Battle of konica was deeper than just a physical battle what the Greeks were really trying to uproot from the Jewish people was their belief and that was what was they were against and what was it about the Jewish believed that they were so against so they were against the idea of the divinity of Torah that the Torah was from Hashem they accepted the Torah as a book of nice ideas are the result of being smart they didn't mind that Jews would be smart because they were they loved intellectual pursuit but that it's a divine Torah that transcends the logic of you of human beings that they against that's one thing the other thing was there were against the concept of purity and impurity and they were against that idea which we know that we have to maintain a level of spiritual purity and we have to go to a mikvah to if we become impure ified and they were against that as well and of course brit milah and other things now what is that pointing at you know the essence of the jewish nation as the scripture states is an alma leave a baggage gone vago avoid kashyap we are not counted amongst the going we are separate we are a nation set aside separate the idea of Kadosh is set aside when you make something sanctify to the mick dodge it set aside from regular use you can't use it it's only reserved to be used for the bigness we are a nation that is in essence Kadosh we have been set aside for to represent a sham and to serve Hashem and to be a light unto the nations and to show what truth in life is really all about which is really harsh ends way the Greeks and all the others that come and follow in their ways have decided that man is the ultimate and in being the ultimate we are the deciders we decide what life is about in which direction we want to travel and that in essence is rebellion it's a battle against Hashem the Greek philosophy is battling a Shem they used us we're just a pawn in it we are some people so they fought us but they're really battling a Shem and that battle is a compromise in purity and sanctity we are here in this world representing her shamon battling for Hashem how we gotta pick up a knife and a gun today we don't I mean for self-defense of course but not it's not this holy war is not a war like unfortunately some people out there they're crazy blowing themselves up the holy war that we're fighting today is standing up for truth sanctity and purity by living the life of a Jew amongst the nation's like in America in France and other places that's what the battle is all about and the battle of Hanukkah is maintaining that purity that sanctuary we without the protagonist without making our home pure and shielded from the negative elements around us then we sink and become consumed and we lose that battle so today's battle of hanukkah is standing up against you know status quo politically correctness we're not forced to agree with everything that any person decides is is correct we have a Torah that tells us what is correct and our fight is to stand up for that by living by example by keeping the home pure and the bet Knesset pure from all of these outside influences the secular influences and raising our children on purity and sanctity that's the essence of our battle and that's how we win the fight and we should be Sokka through that fight in the difficulties of exile we should be Sokka that I shame over his back home where a miserable returned to being in airg sorella holy land with a sham with us and will be the holy nation doing our job properly as a light on to all of the other nations with machetes in kano