Rosh Chodesh Tevet Torah Essay

The Root of Kedusha: Ascending in Holiness

Our beloved Matan teacher Chana Balinson of blessed memory, whose 32^nd yahrzeit will be marked on the 9^th of Tevet, shared a fascinating idea that appears throughout the writings of R. Zadok HaKohen of Lublin – whose writings she loved to teach. According to R. Zadok, the first appearance of a word in the Torah indicates the essence of the word and its deeper root (this is also true regarding the first appearance of a letter in the Torah). In his book Yisrael Kedoshim [7:1], R. Zadok applies this idea to the word kedushah (holiness). Instead of citing a source for this principle, he simply introduces it as something he ‘received:’

The first time the word kedusha (holiness) is mentioned in the Torah is in reference to the day of Shabbat, right at the creation of the world in the book of Genesis: ‘And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.’ And I received [a tradition] that in every matter and subject, the place where a word first appears in the Torah, there lies the root of the matter, and thus, the root of the sanctity that exists in the world is the holiness of the Sabbath day, which is a fixed and established holiness […] And this is the essence of holiness – to merit that God sanctifies them; but one’s preparation for sanctification is so important, and the extent to which one could sanctify oneself! Even this is only after God sanctified the Sabbath day and inserted holiness into time.

This idea reminded me of the dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, and made me wonder whether Beit Shammai similarly believes that the essence of the Chanukah miracle and the holiness of the holiday lies in the first day, when the miracle of victory and finding the oil flask first emerged. According to this, the holiness diminishes throughout the days of the festival, and by lighting candles we strive to elevate and kindle the sparks of holiness created in the first day. R. Zadok indeed writes the following about Chanukah (R. Zadok HaKohen of Lublin, Pri Zaddik, Genesis 36: Chanukah and Rosh Chodesh Tevet, 15):

Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagreed in the Gemara: Beit Shammai says one decreases [the lights] progressively, corresponding to the bulls of the festival [of Sukkot], while Beit Hillel says one increases progressively because we increase in matters of holiness (Shabbat 21b). And we have already said that both these and those are the words of the living God, and this follows that which is said (Isaiah 60:2) ‘For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, etc., but upon you God will shine.’ For when one decreases progressively, corresponding to the bulls of the festival, which alludes to the holy sparks that are extracted –through this the light increases progressively in Israel, because we increase in matters of holiness, as holiness is added each day in Israel, and vice versa.

In other words, the positions of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel express two movements in reality. From the perspective of the holiness expressed in the sacrificial bulls of Sukkot, the holiness is at its peak at the beginning of the festival, and the sparks of holiness that emerge from that initial light diminish over time; according to Beit Shammai, this phenomenon should be reflected in the lighting of Chanukah candles. According to Beit Hillel, since it is the People of Israel that gather these sparks of holiness and elevate them, indeed each day they “increase in holiness.” From this we may derive that while candle lighting was established because of a divine miracle, we light according to the order set by Beit Hillel which ‘increases holiness,’ to reflect the human efforts of Israel. It is with great effort that we gather the sparks of light and holiness within the dark world, and strive towards holiness; therefore we “increase in holiness” and add a candle each day.

A similar distinction regarding the order of the Talmudic tractates in Seder Nezikin was made by R. Kook in his introductory lecture to Bava Batra in 5789 (2028/29), summarized by R. Shalom Nathan Ra’anan.[1] Two famous questions are asked about this order: (1) Are the three Bavot (Bava Kamma, Bava Metziah, and Bava Batra) considered a single tractate, and (2) why were these tractates arranged in a ‘descending’ order in terms of their holiness – first Bava Kamma, which brings laws derived from Biblical verses, and only lastly Bava Batra, which is primarily based on human reasoning? Does the principle not state that “we ascend in holiness and do not descend,” as stated with regard to Chanukah candles?

1. Kook explains:

In the arrangement of sacred matters, there are two contradicting principles. There is the principle that whatever is more sacred comes first, and a second principle states that we ascend in holiness and do not descend. According to the first principle, precedence is given to the superior matter, and conversely, according to the second principle, precedence is given to the lesser matter. The explanation is that when arranging matters that are not connected to each other, such as with sacrifices […] where each sacrifice is a separate matter […] we give precedence to that which is more sacred, following the principle that whatever is more sacred comes first. However, in matters that are connected to each other, such as with Chanukah candles, we begin with the lesser and ascend, following the principle that we ascend in holiness and do not descend.

With regard to the order of the tractates in Nezikin, and the question what is more elevated: law derived from Biblical exegeses or from human intellect. R. Kook suggests: “anything that comes from within the Torah is more sacred than that which is revealed by human intellect.” However, R. Kook goes on to say that according to the position that views the three Bavot as one tractate, the principle of “ascending in holiness” applies – and thus Bava Batra, which is based primarily on human logic, is considered “ascending in holiness.” He then explains the connection between these matters:

And in the general and mystical perspective, one may argue the opposite – that the intellect has more dominion, and the advantage of wisdom is that it unifies and grasps the holiness of existence in its innermost being, its source and root, the universal point within holiness, and through this the intellect is elevated to deepen and grasp the depth of all matters of Torah. And according to the opinion that says it is one tractate, and the arrangement of its matters needs to be in ascending holiness, there is elevation in the inner perspective […] all that depends on reasoning is connected to the universal holiness, and because of this the beginning of Bava Kamma has explicit laws, and after it, Bava Metziah has less explicit laws, and finally Bava Batra, which is entirely tradition and matters left to human reasoning that were not explained in the Torah.

1. Kook surprisingly emphasizes the value of Torah study through reasoning and intellectual effort, and enhances the learning experience. This is reminiscent of R. Zadok’s teachings about Chanukah candles; perhaps we may extrapolate from R. Kook’s approach that according to R. Zadok since lighting Chanukah candles is one unified matter, the determining principle is that we ‘ascend in holiness.’ Setting the order of Chanukah candles in a sequence that ascends in holiness reflects not only the effort of a Jewish individual to elevate and gather the sparks of holiness, but also the internal perspective on human intellectual effort in a reality that is connected to universal holiness.

How is the toil of Torah study – especially the Oral Torah and the matter of lighting Chanukah candles – connected to Rosh Chodesh Tevet? R. Zadok teaches us (ibid., 19):

Rosh Chodesh Tevet falls during Chanukah, and Rosh Chodesh is the root of holiness for the entire month; as we said, this is the reason it is called the ‘Rosh’ (head) of the month [and not simply ‘beginning of month’ as explained elsewhere]. Certainly, the focus of this month has a connection to the holiness of Chanukah, whose purpose if to rectify the past and overcome the evil inclination going forward, and both occur through the light of Torah […] namely the Oral Torah, which is instilled in the heart of Israel through the Chanukah candles.

May we merit to ascent in holiness on these final days of Chanukah through our toil and logical pursuits of the words of the Torah, and the unique root of the month of Tevet, which is revealed on Rosh Chodesh. Chodesh Tov!

[1] A summary of the shiur is available here: https://asif.co.il/wpfb-file/02-pdf-93/.