Tehilim: Chanukah Special, Chanukah and the Black Abyss.
The Torah begins with:
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
When God began to create heaven and earth—the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the abyss and a wind from God sweeping over the water…
Chazal explain that the words וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹThe earth was unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the tahom- abyss are reference to the four exiles that will take place throughout the course of world history.
The last of the expressions is the word tahom, black abyss. Tahom means a never ending pit, something that is so long, so dark, that you can never reach the bottom of it.
Chazal continue to explain that tahom corresponds to the last galus, Edom, the exile in which we’re currently living. This galus has been longer and darker than all of the previous ones. It seems as if it has no end. We’ve been over 2,000 years without a Beis Hamikdash. No altar, no Kohanim, no menorah.
The amount of suffering on both national and individual levels has been immeasurable. Today it’s less about the physical persecution, but more about our mental, emotional, and spiritual suffering. Many people are riddled with anxiety, depression, marital issues, and just holding themselves together with a modicum of basic middos, trying to make an honest living and get through the day. Nothing ever seems to go as planned, and it often feels as if there’s no end to the amount of suffering one can experience.
It’s important to add that on Chanukah, the Greeks didn’t actually destroy the Beis Hamikdash. They just made everything in it tamai – ritually impure. They didn’t physically persecute us; it was primarily a war on our minds and souls, to weigh us down with emotional and spiritual grief. They wanted to destroy the Kedushas Yehudi – Purity of being a Jew!
This is the tahom – black abyss of Edom.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov explains that we have one main weapon that Hashem has given us to counteract the never-ending exile of Edom—hisbodedus,– personal prayer. There is no end to how much we can cry out, plead, and beg God for whatever it is we struggle. There is no end to how much we can speak to Hashem.
There is a finite amount of Torah that one can learn. It’s theoretically possible to learn the entire Tanach, Gemarah, Shulchan Aruch, Poskim, Medrash, Zohar, and Kisvey Arizal.
With personal prayer, however, there are no limits to how much we can express ourselves to God, the Source of all life. There is no end to how much we can ask for emunah, to feel strong, secure and confident, to beg God to draw us close and for Him to shine His Divine light on us, to pour out our hearts and express all of our desires, to beg for forgiveness and ask for help to end our suffering.
Through Tehilim we are privy to Dovid’s emotional world and life. This cannot be overstated: Dovid spoke to the Creator about everything in his personal life. Dovid wrote Tehilim to train and teach every single one of us how to gain a personal, intimate relationship with the Almighty God.
We need this daily time every day to counteract the tahom of Edom.
May we merit having deep emunah that galus Edom is winding down, that the power of our personal prayers counteracts its dark abyss. As we say in Maoz Tzur:
O mighty stronghold of my salvation, it’s so pleasant to praise You. Please, restore my House of Prayer and there we will bring a thanksgiving offering when You will have prepared the altar. Then I’ll finish my song to You at the inauguration of the 3rd Beis Hamikdash.
Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.
