Chanukah 5770/2009 - Jewish Infertility

SHAAREI TIKVAH/ CHANUKAH 2009
37
my husband melodiously sings, not just the tunes, but
their words brings warmth, comfort, belief and hope. On
the first night there is also the extra bracha that I love,
‏.שהחינו וקימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה
•••
On a freezing night in Bergen-Belsen, a small group of
starved, beaten prisoners gathered around the Bluzhever
Rebbe. It was the first night of Chanuka and they had
secretly assembled to see their beloved Rebbe perform
the mitzva of lighting the menorah. There was obviously
not even a tiny tin menorah, and there was certainly no
olive oil. The prisoners wore wooden clogs that were
dyed black. They took one of these
clogs and used it as there menorah.
Some flammable wax dye that had
been smuggled out of the camp
factory served in place of the oil. They
lacked only a wick, but that was easily
obtained. Every prisoner longed to be
the one to pull threads from his
already threadbare clothing to provide
a wick for the menorah. They all knew
the danger of being discovered, but
this did not deter them. The group
huddled together nervously as the
Rebbe swayed with a small flame in his
hand. He joyfully recited the brachos
לאבותינו and ‏.להדליק נר של חנוכה
He then briefly ‏.שעשה ניסים
hesitated and looked around before
‏.שהחינו reciting the final bracha of
There in the camps in the valley of death a menorah was
lit. A flame was ignited and flickered, shedding light on
the darkest of nights.
After the lighting, while they stood there mesmerized
by the pure glow of the flickering flame, someone
approached the Bluzhever Rebbe with a question. "I
understand that you wanted to perform this mitzvah
and felt compelled to light a menorah despite the
hazards involved. I can comprehend that you could say
the first two brachos, but how could you bring yourself
I love the brachos
that my husband
melodiously sings,
not just the tunes,
but their words
bring warmth,
comfort, belief
and hope.
to utter the bracha of ‏?שהחינו There are dead bodies
lying all around. Death is staring us in the face daily. How
could you praise Hashem for allowing us to live through
this terrible time of death and torture and starvation?"
The Bluzhever Rebbe put his arm around this
disheartened, shattered Yid and admitted that he had
wondered the same thing, and therefore hesitated before
saying ‏.שהחינו He then explained, "In that moment of
hesitation, I looked around and I saw not death and
destruction, but something entirely different and quite
remarkable. I saw a crowd of Jews who have every right
to give up hope, but instead they were waiting
enthusiastically to perform the mitzva. It is for that sight,
for that privilege to be alive and see the strength,
greatness and courage of our people, that I can bless
Hashem. He has kept us alive, given
us the strength to endure and has
sustained us."
In our daily tefillos every
morning, we say Pesuke D'zimra,
sing Hashem's praises, and focus on
how His glory can be seen in the
magnificent world that He created.
It is interesting to note that between
the very first words of praise in the
first lines of Baruch She'amar we say
‏.ברוך גוזר ומקיים the words
Wouldn't it be more of an
appropriate praise to say that He
annuls decrees, rather than He
sustains and fulfills the decrees. In
these words,though, we are actually
proclaiming great praise of Hashem.
While at times He issues decrees, He
always gives us the strength and wherewithal to endure.
We laud Hashem that even in the face of hardship, He
sustains us. He gives us the courage for the most trying
and difficult of circumstances. We praise Him for keeping
us alive and sustaining us just as we do in the bracha of
No matter what the circumstances may be, even ‏.שהחינו
when He issues a גוזר ומקיים-‏decree ‏.ברוך He grants us
the ability to stand and withstand even under the
crushing burdens of our troubles and challenges.