Living Inspired in the Warm Glow of Kislev and the Chanukah Lights
By Rabbi Raichik
The month of Kislev has many Chassidic Yomim Tovim and ends with Chanukah. Chassidus brings warmth and light into Judaism. The Previous Rebbe would say that “We must listen carefully to what the Chanukah lights are saying”. Lingering near the lights gives us time to hear their message and let the warmth and light into our hearts.
Another thing that brings warmth and simcha into the life of a Jew is a Chassidishe fabrengen. While learning is an intellectual activity a fabrengen with others is not a lecture with some food thrown in. It’s a time when we get together and leave our worries and concerns behind. We escape back to ourselves. A fabrengen brings out the inner simcha and glow of the neshama.
In 5724-1963 Eli Weisel wrote an article about his experience attending a Yud Tes Kislev fabrengen. He drew a picture with his words, describing the people, seeing them completely oblivious of the outside world, far from the burdens of their difficult lives listening to the Torah of the Rebbe, making l’chaim and absorbed with all their vitality in the nigunim. He said that he couldn't have imagined seeing such a thing after after the Holocaust, that such a thing could still exist as it was in his childhood. He experienced first hand what a true fabrengen is all about. In the difficult times in Russia it was the fabrengen that kept Chassidim alive and together, giving strength, providing a time and place to support each other and give each other hope that they would ultimately get out from behind the Iron Curtain.
This is similar to the lights of Chanukah in the times of galus. We look at the lights of the candles and hope with sincerity and simcha that these candles will be a precursor to the lights of Moshiach.
The word Chanukah comes from the word chinuch, as in the rededication of the Beis HaMikdash as well as chinuch, the education of our children. Chanukah is a time that we rededicate ourselves to the education that we give our children and our grandchildren, an education filled with warmth, feeling, yiras Shomayim and a Jewish values and good character traits. It is these feelings of warmth inspiration hope and education that our children look back upon and gain strength from throughout their lives especially difficult and pivotal moments to make the right choices.
In the recently printed book Shadar there is a story about my mother. When the Second World War broke out she was ten years old. Her father passed away soon after the beginning of the war. After living through the horrors of the war, first in hiding in Poland and then escaping, she arrived in the United States in 5707-1947 at the age of 18. She worked during the days and at night she attended Bais Yaakov in Williamsburg where she continued to get a Jewish Education that had been interrupted by the Nazis eight years before.
Several family members urged lit her to marry a student from the Mir Yeshiva who’s future would be in the business world. They felt she needed someone who would support her respectfully, but my mother did not like this idea. She said that she recalled her father who was a Gerrer Chosid and wealthy man and he would want she said that I should marry a Chassidishe Bachur with a full beard. This memory of her father and the warmth of her childhood home and her education is what made her choose my father, a Chassidishe Bachur who had a full beard, wore a long coat, didn’t speak english and was not a businessman.
May we take inspiration and warmth in life from the month of Kislev observing the Chassidishe Yomim Tovim and Chanukah and Chassidishe fabrengens. And may we instill within our children many experiences of inspiration hope and warmth that they look back upon throughout their life to gain strength and guidance. May we merit this year rekindling of the Menorah in the Third Beis HaMikdash with Moshiach now.
A Good Shabbos a Good Chodesh and a Freilichen Chanukah