The battle of Chanukah although blessed with temporary victory in the days of the Chashmonaim, never really ended – it continues to this very day. It was essentially a struggle against the forces that had set as their goal to assimilate the Jewish masses by subturfuge and internal subversion. Thus, we find no specific command of ‘Simcha’ on Chanukah since this battle to confuse and betray true Yiddishkeit still rages in our times, and while engulfed in the smoke of battle one does not pause to rejoice. In such a continuing crisis, one must concentrate with greater vigor towards the Geulah goal: total Torah commitment must replace tokenism; complete consecration must replace crippling compromise.
– Rabbi Moshe Sherer zt”l (Former President of Agudas Yisroel)