{"id":14845,"date":"2026-01-12T15:54:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T15:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.kabbalah.info\/?post_type=book&#038;p=14845"},"modified":"2026-01-12T15:54:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T15:54:54","slug":"what-is-hanukkah","status":"publish","type":"book","link":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/","title":{"rendered":"897. What Is Hanukkah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hanukkah,&nbsp;<em>Kislev<\/em>, December 1960<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our sages said, \u201cWhat is Hanukkah? Our sages said, \u2018On the twenty-fifth of&nbsp;<em>Kislev<\/em>, the days of Hanukkah,\u2019\u201d etc. (Shabbat [Sabbath] 21a). That is,&nbsp;<em>Hanu-Koh<\/em>&nbsp;[parked here], for on the twenty-fifth, they parked from the war. We should understand that parking means specifically in the middle of the work. We stand and rest in order to regain strength so we can keep walking and win the war until it is finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We should understand what is this parking. Our sages said that at that time, the Greeks sentenced Israel not to engage in Torah. That is, the miracle was only on the redemption of spirituality, which is the needs of the soul. Conversely, on Purim, there was the redemption of the bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this reason, on Hanukkah, we were given the recognition of the miracle through praise and gratitude, whereas on Purim, it is written, \u201ca feast and merriment,\u201d since the miracle was on the bodies. Hence, there must be recognition of the miracle through to the body, meaning with feast and merriment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To understand all the above in the work and in ethics, we must understand what our sages said, \u201cYou shall love the Lord with all your heart\u2014with both your inclinations, the good inclination and the evil inclination\u201d (<em>Berachot<\/em>&nbsp;54). We should serve the Creator with the good inclination, meaning engage in Torah and&nbsp;<em>Mitzvot<\/em>&nbsp;[commandments] to bestow contentment upon our Maker. But what is the meaning of the evil inclination? It is known that the evil inclination is the will to receive in us. We should understand how the will to receive can serve the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to what is explained in the&nbsp;<em>Sulam<\/em>&nbsp;[Ladder commentary on&nbsp;<em>The Zohar<\/em>], when a person engages in reception of pleasures in order to bestow, there is no evil in the will to receive, as it is written, \u201cI have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice,\u201d for through the Torah, the evil inclination is sweetened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The miracle of Hanukkah was only with the good inclination. This is why it is merely called \u201cparking,\u201d since the work has not been completed, meaning that there are still more corrections on the evil inclination, which is called \u201cbody.\u201d This was only the miracle of Purim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the meaning of \u201cobserved and received,\u201d thus far by force, since the evil inclination has not agreed to the work because it was still not corrected, and now that the miracle was in the redemption of the bodies, \u201cwith all your heart\u2014with both your inclinations\u201d comes true. This is why it is called \u201cwillingly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hence, on Hanukkah, there is recognition of the miracle only in praise and gratitude, which is only the needs of the soul, while on Purim, we recognize the miracle in feast and merriment, which touches through to the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGreeks gathered around me, then in the days of the Hasmoneans, and broke the walls of my towers and defiled all the oils.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGreeks\u201d refers to a philosophy, when one wants to understand everything with the external mind. \u201cThen in the days of the Hasmoneans\u201d means that specifically when there are Hasmoneans, meaning servants of the Creator, we see that the Greeks have control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Homot<\/em>&nbsp;[walls] has the letters of&nbsp;<em>Techum<\/em>&nbsp;[zone\/area] (as explained in the writings of the ARI). This means that a person limits his thought from wanting to understand the work with the external mind, but rather with faith, and faith is a wall against the external ones. \u201cMy towers\u201d means \u201ca tower filled with abundance.\u201d \u201cOils\u201d are clarity\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hanukkah,&nbsp;Kislev, December 1960 Our sages said, \u201cWhat is Hanukkah? Our sages said, \u2018On the twenty-fifth of&nbsp;Kislev, the days of Hanukkah,\u2019\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6246,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[26],"class_list":["post-14845","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kabbalah | 897. What Is Hanukkah<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;What Is Hanukkah&quot; explains that Hanukkah as a time for reflection and rest amidst spiritual battles.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kabbalah | 897. What Is Hanukkah\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&quot;What Is Hanukkah&quot; explains that Hanukkah as a time for reflection and rest amidst spiritual battles.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kabbalah\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kabbalahinfo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kabbalah-rep.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@kabbalahinfo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/\",\"name\":\"Kabbalah | 897. What Is Hanukkah\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-12T15:54:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"\\\"What Is Hanukkah\\\" explains that Hanukkah as a time for reflection and rest amidst spiritual battles.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Books\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/book\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Assorted Notes\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/rabash-assorted-notes\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"897. What Is Hanukkah\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Kabbalah\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Kabbalah\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/favicon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/favicon.png\",\"width\":49,\"height\":48,\"caption\":\"Kabbalah\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kabbalahinfo\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/kabbalahinfo\",\"http:\/\/youtube.com\/@kabbalahinfo\",\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/kabbalah.info\",\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/kabbalahedu\",\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thehiddenreality\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kabbalah | 897. What Is Hanukkah","description":"\"What Is Hanukkah\" explains that Hanukkah as a time for reflection and rest amidst spiritual battles.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kabbalah | 897. What Is Hanukkah","og_description":"\"What Is Hanukkah\" explains that Hanukkah as a time for reflection and rest amidst spiritual battles.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/","og_site_name":"Kabbalah","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kabbalahinfo","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2026\/04\/kabbalah-rep.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@kabbalahinfo","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/","name":"Kabbalah | 897. What Is Hanukkah","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-01-12T15:54:54+00:00","description":"\"What Is Hanukkah\" explains that Hanukkah as a time for reflection and rest amidst spiritual battles.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/what-is-hanukkah\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Books","item":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/book\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Assorted Notes","item":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/rabash-assorted-notes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"897. What Is Hanukkah"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/","name":"Kabbalah","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#organization","name":"Kabbalah","url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/favicon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/app\/uploads\/2024\/12\/favicon.png","width":49,"height":48,"caption":"Kabbalah"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kabbalahinfo","https:\/\/x.com\/kabbalahinfo","http:\/\/youtube.com\/@kabbalahinfo","http:\/\/instagram.com\/kabbalah.info","http:\/\/pinterest.com\/kabbalahedu","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thehiddenreality"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book\/14845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/book"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book\/6246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=14845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}