As we know, there are three areas of our religion that were attacked by the Greeks: Shabbat and Brit Milah and Rosh Chodesh.
The Ben Ish Chai says the word משח, (MaShach) which means to annoint, hints to these three areas-
מילה, שבת ,ראש חדש
Milah, Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh
These letters מ ש ח also stand for מזמור Mizmor שיר Shir חנוכה Chanukah, which is the mizmor we sing for Chanukah. The word חשמונים Chashmonaim also have the letters, משח.
The Ben Ish Chai also says that there is a built- in remembrance of these three mitzvot on Chanukah. Chanukah is eight days, so of course Shabbat always falls out on Chanukah.
Secondly, there are eight days of Chanukah, just like a Brit Milah is on the eighth day, finally, every Chanukah has in it, Rosh Chodesh Tevet.
So, these three mitzvot are built into Chanukah. (You can have this in mind on Rosh Chodesh Tevet, which is tomorrow.)
So, the question is, what is the significance of these three mitzvot? Why would the Greeks attack these three mitzvot more than any other?
The answer is that these three mitzvot all have something in common, which is that with them, the Jewish people were partners in creation. How so?
In the Gemarah it says that whoever says Kiddush on Friday night becomes a partner of G-d in creation. There is a story told of a great rabbi who heard about a certain sick person in the middle of Shabbat. He said it was a shame- that they should’ve told him right before kiddush, which is an opportune time to pray and to change decrees. When asked why this was so, the rabbi explained that when you have a business, the partner has a say in the matter. Likewise, when he says Kiddush, he becomes a partner with G-d in creation, and therefore his opinion carries more weight.
But how can we become partners with G-d in creation, if the world was created so many years ago?
The answer is that G-d gave us a piece of the action. Rabbi Ades explained that Shabbat is the advertising department of G-d’s kingdom. He gives a mashal of three brothers in a business. One brother is involved in developing the product, the second brother is involved in selling the product, and the third brother is in charge of advertising. At the end of the year, they split the profits three ways. But after a few years, one of the brothers says, “Hold on! Why should Brother #3 get any money? He didn’t make the product; he didn’t develop the product… he’s just in advertising.” And the third brother answers that if there is no advertising, then there are no sales, and no company.
So too, Hashem made the world, but He needs us to advertise that the world was created in six days and that Hashem rested on the seventh- on Shabbat.
That is the first of the partnerships.
The second one is that of Berit Milah. The Sefer HaChinuch explains that when a baby is born, Hashem says that the product is not yet finished, and He wants us to finish it. How? With a Berit Milah. Again, Hashem is saying he likes the involvement of the Jewish people.
Lastly, Rosh Chodesh. We have a calendar. All calendars are set, but our calendar was not set- not while we had a Bet HaMikdash. The calendar was originally dependent on our involvement and our opinion in the matter.
We are partners.
But if you think about it, saying that we are partners with Hashem is like a large train pulling a tremendous amount of cars, which requires a tremendous amount of energy. Then a fly flies by the train and gives two flaps of his wings because he thinks it’s helping the train move. We are like that fly. And that is not even a good Mashal for what our input is, towards G-d‘s input in creation. And yet this is what Hashem wants from us, because, as we said yesterday, we are G-d’s children. And the son becomes a partner in the father’s business very easily.
This is what bothered the Greeks. The Greeks were very wise. They were philosophers. They were cultured. It disturbed them that the Jewish people were on a level above them. They might have had all the beauty (as it says, Noah blessed them with beauty), but where does G-d dwell? In the tents of Shem, which refers to the Jewish people (Shem is the Semites, Antisemites hate people from Shem)
G-d dwells by us. We are G-d’s partners. We have to appreciate what it means to be a partner. We are partners in creation.
Knowing this will give us more power when we pray. We are praying to Hashem because we are partners in the business. Therefore, our opinion carries weight.
B’ezrat Hashem we will all appreciate what it means to be a partner in creation.