Shabbos Chanukah 5781
חֲנֹךְ לַנַּעַר עַל־פִּי דַרְכּוֹ גַּם כִּי־יַזְקִין לֹא־יָסוּר מִמֶּנָּה׃
משלי כב:ו
Educate a child according to his way; even when he is older he will not turn from it.
Mishlei 22:6
To understand Chanukah, we must understand chinuch. Though we may never have considered it, the two words are etymologically linked and reflect meaningfully upon one another. In Parshas Lech-Lecha, Rashi (14:14) notes that the term chinuch, which we usually translate as “education,” would be more accurately defined as “dedication,” quoting both the pasuk above as well as references to the dedication (chanukah) of the Mizbei’ach and Bais HaMikdash. The two notions are linked as follows: when we educate children, we are actually inducting them into a particular lifestyle. To be mechanech is to dedicate to a given purpose more than it is to teach, not unlike the process of sanctifying a building.
On this wavelength, Chanukah is a time when we commemorate the rededication of the Bais HaMikdash from its misuse as a pagan temple, to its renewed sanctity of Hashem’s Palace. Certainly, we would reflect on this theme on a personal level and consider ways in which we could rededicate ourselves to the higher calling of avodas Hashem.
But I believe there’s more.
Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch suggests an alternative to the classical interpretation of the pasuk above. When the pasuk states that if the child is educated—dedicated—properly, he will not turn from that education when he grows older, for it will have become ingrained to the point of being second nature. Rav Hirsch suggests, however, that perhaps the pasuk is referring not to the education received, but his natural derech, his natural way. “Educate a child according to his way, because even when he grown older, he will not turn from that way.”
Children are born with certain traits and predilections that will be theirs for the rest of their lives. In educating them, we must be sensitive to this reality. Education is not a comprehensive rewiring so that a child fits a particular mold, it’s finding a way to rewrite the program so that it runs on the hardware they have now and will continue to have. Much of what we see in children, cautions Rav Hirsch, is what they will continue to be in the future. Educate them—dedicate them—accordingly, and those lessons will be with them forever.
Education, when viewed through this prism, throws the usual process into reverse. Rather than creating an educational program to transform a student into someone else entirely, we take stock of the implicit limits on who he or she can become, and work backwards to make important decisions in the educational process. A child can’t become everything, so tradeoffs are necessary. Recognizing the limitations, sacrifices are an obvious part of maximizing potential.
This approach helps rewrite not only chinuch, but Chanukah as well. The attempt to be both Greek and Jewish is impossible. Infatuated though we may be with Greek culture, beauty, and wisdom, there are limits on what anyone has the time or resources to become. One cannot be fully engaged in both culture and Torah. There is a derech that every person has, one that will perpetuate throughout his life, and it is a rather narrow one, all things considered. It is impossible to spend all your free time on both hobbies and Torah study. 12 hour work days do not allow for tefilah b’tzibur. An obsession with sports and entertainment leaves us drained of emotional capital to spend in other areas.
With the call of “Mi LaHashem Ailai—Whoever is for Hashem, be with me” Matisyahu served his countrymen with a reality check. This was not a call to throw another value on the pile: “If you’re enjoying a Greek entree, why not consider a side order of Judaism?” It is a statement of an axiomatic principle of human existence: we cannot do it all, so what will it be? A person’s derech is far too limited to be everything or become everything, so choices must be made.
Chanukah becomes an excellent time of year to recalibrate, to revisit some of the goals and aspirations we had a few months ago as the year began. Are we en route towards fulfilling those goals? Or have other things gotten in the way? We can get back on track, but only in a manner consistent with our true nature. Accomplishing more is not always a matter of doing more. It may well be a matter of recognizing that the width of our derech is fixed, and there may just not be room for it all. What will stay and what will go?