The Fifth Night of Chanukah By Rabbi Moshe Greenwald
Permit me to share with your readers a story that happened to my father, of blessed memory. He always kept this story within the family, but now, after the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, I feel obligated to make it public. May the merit of our belief in Tzadikim bring us closer to the redemption.
In 1929, the Rebbe married Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, daughter of the previous Rebbe, on the fourteenth of Kislev, 1929. My father, Abraham Tzvi Greenwald, who was then 17, had the opportunity to meet the Rebbe at his hotel.
At one point the Rebbe turned to my father, and said:
"There are a few days left until Chanukah. Do you know why it is customary in Chassidic shuls to celebrate and make special parties on the "Finef'te Lichtel" (the fifth night of Chanukah)?"
The Rebbe continued: "It happens that the fifth day of Chanukah can never occur on Shabbat. This represents great darkness. The fifth Chanukah candle symbolizes that the light of Chanukah can illuminate even such intense darkness. This is the duty of every Jew, wherever he may find himself, be it in Warsaw or in London, to illuminate even the greatest darkness."
Years passed. The tragedy of the Holocaust hit Polish Jewry. My father went through its horrors, first in the ghetto and then in the death camps. His first wife and five children were killed in front of his eyes. At the end of the war, he was broken in body and spirit.
My father remained in the D.P. camps for two years, looking for surviving family members. All his sisters, brothers and family had been murdered. He emigrated to America in 1948, where his uncle helped him start a new life.
My father met my mother in Toronto and decided to marry. He needed encouragement and confidence for this second marriage, so he traveled to New York to receive the blessing of the Rebbe's father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneerson of righteous memory.
My father received a blessing to build a family and live a long life. Before leaving, my father mentioned that he had attended the Rebbe's wedding in Warsaw. Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneerson's eyes lit up, and he said: "Since you were at my son-in-law's wedding, it would be proper to stop in and visit him too."
My father went downstairs to the Rebbe's office. The Rebbe recognized my father from his visit in Warsaw twenty years earlier.
He then said: "Since my father-in-law told you to come to visit me, I must tell you a Torah concept. We are now in the month of Kislev, close to Chanukah. It happens that the fifth day of Chanukah can never occur on a Shabbos. This represents a great darkness. The fifth candle thus symbolizes the great light of Chanukah, which can illuminate even such an intense darkness. It is the duty of every Jew, wherever he may find himself, be it in New York or London, to illuminate even the greatest darkness."
My father was stunned. The exact same words came back to him, word for word, as the Rebbe had told it to him nearly 20 years ago in the Warsaw hotel.
After my sister and I were born, our family moved to Toronto. Before my marriage in 1969, my father said that although we were not Lubavitch Chassidim, he wanted me to receive the Rebbe's blessing before my wedding, just as he had done before his wedding.
It was not easy to schedule an audience with the Rebbe. My father pleaded with the Rebbe's secretary to allow me in for a blessing before the wedding. It was finally agreed to let us in, only for a blessing, but for no other discussion.
There were many people waiting for their turn with the Rebbe that evening, and we entered the Rebbe's room by early morning. It was the first time I saw the Rebbe and he made a deep impression on me. My father gave the Rebbe a note with our names, requesting that we merit to build a Jewish family.
The Rebbe looked up at my father and smiled. He said, "It is now more than 20 years since you came here before your wedding, especially since my father-in-law sent you to me..."
My father remained standing. The secretary was knocking on the door that we should hurry, but the Rebbe waved his hand to dismiss it.
The Rebbe opened the letter, and gave us his blessings to build a home, and he also blessed my father with a long, good life. The Rebbe said to my father: "Just as you attended my wedding, so may G-d give you strength to attend your grandchild's wedding."
My father was very moved. Before going out, my father dared to ask the Rebbe a question. "In Toronto, I hear complaints and criticism about Lubavitch outreach programs to the unaffiliated. How can you associate with people who are secular, irreligious and against the Torah? How can you put Tefillin on with people who are not observant? I do not mean to criticize, but I want to understand it and be able to explain it to others."
The Rebbe answered:
"Suppose the daughter of your very religious neighbor would abandon Judaism, G-d forbid? What would he do? Would he try to bring her back to Torah and Mitzvot, or would he say, 'She is irreligious, I will sever relations and never want to see her again.'?
The Rebbe continued: "Of course, his own daughter is different, as it says, 'Do not remain oblivious to the plight of your relatives.' However, in G-d's eyes, every Jew is as dear and precious as an only child. Every Jew is a relative who cannot be ignored."
The Rebbe then looked at me and my father and said:
"We will conclude with a blessing. It is known that Chassidim celebrate the 5th night of Chanukah. The reason is because the fifth day can never occur on a Shabbos. This represents a great darkness. The fifth candle thus symbolizes the great light of Chanukah, which can illuminate even such an intense darkness. This is the duty of every Jew, wherever he may find himself, be it in Toronto or London. Every Jew is a part of G-d above, His only child. When you illuminate his or her soul, then even the Jew furthest away, in the darkest place, can be awakened."
My father was taken aback. All the way back home he kept repeating to himself; "Amazing. Amazing."
Ten years passed. My younger brother got engaged to a girl from London in 1979 and our family was flying there for the wedding just before Chanukah. Minutes before leaving our house for the airport, our neighbor, a very respectable member of the Torah community, came in to talk with my father. He confided to him that his daughter had forsaken Judaism. Two weeks earlier, to their great embarrassment and dismay, she eloped with a non-Jewish boyfriend and fled to London. All their efforts to locate her were unsuccessful. The neighbor asked my father, since he was going to London, to try to find his daughter and save her.
We arrived in London and rejoiced at my brother's wedding. After the wedding my father told his mechutonim, his new in-laws, the story, and asked their advice.
The mechutan told my father, that he himself had no idea what to do, but he recommended a Lubavitch friend, Rabbi Avrohom Y. Gluck, who had helped many lost souls find their way back to Judaism.
They immediately called Rabbi Gluck who called the girl's parents in Toronto for information and clues on how to locate the girl. My parents were still in London during Chanukah when Rabbi Gluck called urgently, "I have a surprise for you."
My father hurried to Rabbi Gluck's house. When he arrived he saw a weeping girl sitting in the living room. Rabbi Gluck had located the girl and had convinced her to return to her family in Toronto.
As my father looked around the room, his eyes fell on the kindled Chanukah menorah. It had five burning candles... He almost fainted as he recalled the Rebbe's words to him fifty years earlier, thirty years earlier and ten years earlier.
"The fifth candle of Chanukah symbolizes the strength of the Menorah light... the role of every Jew to light up the darkest place, whether in Warsaw... in New York... in Toronto or in London."
"...If his daughter strays from Judaism... in G-d's eyes every Jew is an only child..."
The girl returned to her family and to Judaism. After returning home to Canada, my father wanted to visit the Rebbe and tell him what had happened.
In his characteristic humility the Rebbe commented: "My father-in-law had a lot of foresight."
My father passed away on the 14th day of Kislev 1989, after the wedding of my eldest daughter. This fulfilled the Rebbe's blessing to my father that he rejoice at the wedding of his grandchild. It was exactly 60 years to the day since the Rebbe's wedding in Warsaw. It had taken 60 years for the Rebbe's prophetic foresight to come full circle.
AFRELICHEN CHANUKA!
PRINT
EMAIL
COMMENT