The Ointment

We at Breslev Israel disdain politics. But, when our rights to our holy Land of Emuna are under attack by enemies and so-called friends, we must take up whatever weapons we have to defend ourselves, and – as the Maccabees did – combine prayer with our own warfare efforts.

Instead of the sword, I’m using the keyboard, and praying to Hashem that my words properly reflect His will. King David said, “For it is a time to act for Hashem” (Psalm 119), even if it means that we must depart from our norms, so here goes:

During Chanuka, historically, we are always pressured by our enemies (and so-called friends). Like everything else, this too is from Hashem, designed to bring us closer to Him. The Antiochus (King of Greece who tormented the Jews in the Land of Israel and triggered the Maccabean revolt that led to his downfall) Award of this year therefore goes to UN Resolution 2334, which denies our rights to Jerusalem and the Holy Temple. This is Antiochus completely revisited. In the words of Prime Minister Netanyahu, “The Obama administration not only failed to defend Israel from this harassment at the UN, it cooperated with it behind the scenes.” And during Chanuka, after defiantly lighting Chanuka candles at the holy Kotel, the Western Wall, the Prime Minister said, ‘From the information that we have, we have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed”. Therefore, we are enabling both the UN and outgoing (baruch shepatranu) President Obama to share this year’s Antiochus Award. Don’t forget that all of this is from Hashem, to bring us closer to Him and to help us remember rebuilt Jerusalem and the Holy Temple that we yearn for.

On the personal and individual level, there isn’t a single one of us who doesn’t have a problem that hurts – some have health problems, others have financial difficulties, many have marital issues, quite a few have grief from their children. Some couples don’t have children at all, and still others long to find their soulmate and are lonely in the meanwhile. If I haven’t alluded to your particular problem, simply fill in the blank. We all have our ills, whether physical, emotional, spiritual, or interpersonal.

Most of us think that an “ointment” of a raise in salary, a new toy, a night on the town or relief of our localized problem will end our ills. Wrong. The root of all our ills is Jerusalem – the lack of our Holy Temple and the Divine Presence within our midst.

We sorely need the tamidim, the daily sacrifices on the altar, and especially the monthly se’ir chata’at, the sin offering that atones for all of Israel. We don’t realize how badly are souls have withered, for we’ve never heard the sublime melodies (in this reincarnation) of 24-part Levite harmony or the magical strains of a Levite’s flute and harp – one song or prayer in the Beit HaMikdash would be enough to send our souls in orbit, leaving the disgust of the gross material world that so many of are attached to.

Like those born in caves that have never seen the light, we don’t know what we’re missing.

Since Jerusalem is the heart of the Jewish people, we have an acute national cardiac ailment. The root of the all our pain is in the heart of Judaism – Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple. Hashem wants us to wake up before Chanuka – the time of the year so conducive to sanctification and purification. Hashem wants us to ponder the meaning of the Holy Temple’s defilement by the Greeks and the Hellenists – those self-deprecating Jews among us who cast away Torah in favor Greek culture. Hashem also wants us to remember the courage of the few Maccabees, who against many, fought to repossess and purify our Holy Temple. Therefore, Chanuka is not merely a lesson from a historical perspective, but from a very pragmatic program for contemporary success as well. To become worthy of our third and final Holy Temple, we must eradicate the foreign influences that contaminate the Jewish soul. And, as Obama and the UN remind us, every year is the struggle against Antiochus all over again.

When we think about all that’s lacking in our lives as a Torah-observant people – High Priest, the sacrifices, the Levites, mitzvoth that can only be performed in the context of the Holy Temple, the Sanhedrin, true spiritual purity and true spirituality – only then can we celebrate the Maccabean victory with any semblance of sincerity. But today, rather than crying out to Hashem, we are tacitly agreeing to the dissection and ultimate surrender of Jerusalem, the heart of the Jewish people. Have we asked Hashem even once to prevent the dissection of Jerusalem? Or are we more concerned about our new ceramic floor in the bathroom? We want new furniture and a remodeled kitchen, but are we aware that Hashem’s Divine Presence is homeless? Isn’t it time we built a home for Hashem?

With the Divine Presence within our midst, there is a limitless blessing of abundance for health, happiness, and everything we need. Our sages say that if we don’t rebuild Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash in our generation, it’s as if we destroyed it, Heaven forbid. Raise your voice now – skyward. Hashem is listening. Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches us that Chanuka is a special time for thanksgiving. Hashem hears every word of our prayers. Redemption could be no more than a heartbeat away. Your prayers could tip the scales for Moshiach and the full redemption of our people, and maybe we’ll be fortunate enough to light Chanuka candles in the Holy Temple this year, amen.