The Light of Chanukah will Triumph over the Forces of Darkness

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

Maccabees

For an entire generation, the ancient Judeans waged a struggle for freedom, which, in terms of intensity, has almost no parallel in human history. It was among the first recorded wars of liberation and it laid a model for nearly every revolution that followed. With an unbreakable faith and willingness to sacrifice, a handful of valiant Hebrew fighters forged the eternal covenant that resistance to tyranny is the highest and truest service to HaShem.

In those years, the cultural imperialism to which the Seleucid Empire aspired was at its peak. Hellenist values and practices were imposed on the native Hebrews by means of harsh edicts and the swords of foreign soldiers. The victimization of the weak, rampant debauchery and the desecration of the Temple were pinnacles of the Greek culture bestowed upon Judea. In Jerusalem, the urban upper class yearned to be citizens of Antioch and to transform their ancient city into an “enlightened” Greek Polis.

Rav Kaplan: Redemption of the Land

by Rav Moshe Kaplan, meirtv.com/en

Rav Moshe Kaplan discusses how the Land of Israel remains desolate until "its chicks," i.e., the Jewish people, come back to it as has been prophesied and promised by Hashem thousands of years ago.

[5-minute video]

Parshat Miketz: Mashiach ben Yosef

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

Israeli Flag

“Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.” (B’reishit 42:8)

On this verse, the Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna explains:

“This is one of Yosef’s attributes. Not just in his generation but in every generation, Mashiaḥ ben Yosef recognizes his brothers and they do not recognize him. It is an act of Satan, which conceals Mashiaḥ ben Yosef’s attributes such that the Jews unfortunately do not recognize his footsteps and in fact even scoff at them… If not for this, our troubles would already be over. If Israel recognized Yosef, Mashiaḥ ben Yosef’s footsteps comprising the ingathering of the exiles, etc., we would already be completely redeemed” (Kol HaTor 2:39).

Rav Kaplan: Restoring the Sanhedrin

by Rav Moshe Kaplan, meirtv.com/en

Rav Moshe Kaplan discusses how the return of the Jewish people to Israel will ultimately reveal the supernal, divine, transcending aspect of Hashem being one in His land, and that this is what will bring the restoration of the Sanhedrin (the Great Assembly of 71 sages).

[10-minute video]

Parshat Vayeishev: How the Story of Yehuda & Tamar Sheds Light on the Ultimate Redemption

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

Yehuda and Tamar

Our Sages explain human history to be characterized by the incessant struggle between good and evil. The Kadosh Barukh Hu places forces of darkness into our world as an essential ingredient to enable free will and human growth. This evil has been Divinely tasked with attempting to prevent the Children of Israel from fulfilling our national mission of bringing mankind to the awareness of HaShem as the timeless ultimate Reality without end that creates all, sustains all, empowers all and loves all.

As any good story requires a formidable antagonist, these forces of darkness are placed into the system of Creation in order to ultimately be defeated by Israel, who must struggle to overcome the earthly manifestations of this evil – whether in the form of enemy nations or in the form of our own destructive inclinations – on the path to revealing HaShem’s Oneness to humankind.