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I had a question the other day while davening Al Hanissim.
I understand why we thank Hashem on the “nissim, v’niflaos, gevuros, nechomos, etc”, but why do we thank “al hamilchamos”? what is that referring to? (It can’t be the war of the Macabees vs Yevonim because this tefilla is also said by Purim…)
It can’t be we thank Hashem for our VICTORY, because we thanked him already for that before (i.e. al Hateshu’os)!? Why would we be thanking Hashem for a War??
Anyone with a solution/tirutz gets a virtual jelly donut…
🙂
Thanking Hashem for the milchamos against our yetzer hara that enabled us to be moser nefesh for Hashem against the Yvanim, Achashverush (and today).
There are many reasons. Here are 2 of them:
1. The war itself shows strength in not giving up. Fighting means there is still hope, that we’re still alive.
2. The war that led to victory was fought by whom?
It sounds like it is a general Hoda’a for the wars that HKBH fought for us, and is used as an introduction to the specific Ness of the day. However, we end off with, She’asisa La’avoseinu Bayamim Haheim Bizman Hazeh. So, perhaps on Purim it is referring to the uprising of the Jews against their enemies.
that’s an interesting ha’araa.
i was thinking along the lines that ‘just as one must thank Hashem for good, so must he thank Him for bad’ (mesechta brochos)
so, as much as we are grateful for all the open and obvious miracles, we must thank him as well for the bad, like for the terrible war we had in those days (where thousands of jews were sucked into the Greek’s Hellenistic ways lost forever.)
perhaps because ‘kol mah d’ovid rachmama l’tav ovid’, and all that ‘bad’ is really good, meaning, a process where good will eventually sprout forth. similar to the yidden going through the crucible of mitzrayim where they emerged as am echad
From a p’shat point of view, for all the milachamos past, present, and future that Hashem has Enabled us to win. And from the point of a drash, for helping us with Siyata D’Shmaya to fight our own internal milchamos against the Yetzer Hara.
Tzaddiq, I don’t think so. That wouldn’t be sheosiso “l’avoseinu”.
I think HaLeiVi’s correct.
i have another question. We say on Chanukah in Al Hanisim ‘Matisyohu BEN YOCHANAN’ what Shychus does Yochanan have here? He became a Apikores? theres no need to mention him?
(and also by Purim we say say ‘Mordechai v’esther’ and dont say who mordechai’s father was?)
Don’t confuse him for his grandson.
If you start to mention Tzaros in a time of praise you are probably a Kafoy Tova. When you Bentch Gomel, do you say, Hagomel Lachayavom Tovos Ulatzadikim Ra’os? Sure, Keshem Shemivarchin, at the right time for that.
Tshuos and Milchamos mean the same thing to you? What about Nissim and Niflaos? Hashem delivered us from our enemies and He also fought our wars. If you want to set it up with the details, Maase Yehudis was a Yeshua, getting rid of the yevanim was a Milchama, and the Ness of the Menora was a Nechama. All of these were Nissim, some of them Niflaos. When we thank Hashem we are Mefaret and expound on His praise. We don’t sum it up with, “Hey, thanks BTW.”
So Al Hamilchamos is the Milchemes Hayetzer. Ok. And Al Niflaos is the person and how amazing he is, as we say in Asher Yatzar, Umafli Laasos. Al Hapurkan is my personal salvation. Al Hagevuros is my inner strength, and Nechamos is the real me. I want to say this over at Popa’s Shabbos table.
Tshuos is the fact that we were spared. Milchamos is victory, that He fought our wars. We find these two by Bechoros as well. The Gur Arye explains that the Kedushas Bechorim is from being spared and the Pidyon is for the Bechorei Mitzriim.
The Ohr Hachayim Hakadosh says in Vayetzei that although Hashem pays back a person when an item was stolen and he didn’t deserve that, the pain of having been robbed remains. If the thief is caught then he is completely healed. This is what Yaakov Avinu asked for when he said Ve’asisa Imadi Chesed Va’emes. Emes is that he will have whatever is coming to him; Chesed is that he won’t have the pain of having been robbed.
The same applies here. By Chanukka and Purim the it was not a change of heart that stopped the Gezeira. We were Zoche to a real victory.
Baal Habooze, I just heard this kasha. I heard from a big tzadik a nice pshat. It refers to the difficulties in life. The only way we grow is through hardships and we have to thank Hashem for giving us these hardships which enable us to grow.
Or that nechomos relate to the losses from our side, and the losses of our own that had sided with the enemy and were obliterated with them. That is mashma in some of the x beyad y of al hanissim. In fact, the “celebration” was only instituted the following year, possibly to give time for healing.
HaLeiVi
Matisyahu (ben Yochanan of al hanissim) had a a son Yoachanan but he was not the yochanan kohen gadol who became a tzeduki. It is not clear who that yochanan was. According to Abaye in Brachos 29a it is Shimon (ben matisyahus) grandson. Either way it was definitely not Matisyahus father and almost definitely not his son.
Rabbi Berel Wein talks about this in his book about the history of that time period.
Some say it was Ben Matisyahu. I saw this today Beshem the Rambam. Either way, it was a grandson which is why I worded it the way I did.
Good question but just translate ?? ?????: We are thanking for, among other things, ??? ??????? ????? ???????? – for the battles which you carried out on behalf of our forefathers, where ‘? fought for us and helped us win many battles like it says ?’ ???? ???.
For some reason which I do not know (can someone help me out here?) there seems to be an ???? on ????? to mention other battles and ???? that befell ??? ????? and not only in ?? ?????.
I mean, if you look at the famous ????? song of ???? ??? carefully, it has no special connection with ????? more than ???? ??? ?????/ ???? ????? / ??? / ??? / ???? who are all also mentioned. The ????? are just one in a list of various troubles that we have endured. Why we only say it on ????? I do not know! Do you know?
It culminates in Chanukka so it makes less sense to sing it on Purim or Pesach.
Can I try to explain?
?????? is the general salvation. But ?????? is specifying the thanks of to the path that Hashem took, he took a stand as being ?? ??? ????? & not just that the Yehudim in that time should be saved from their enemy. In the days of ????? their ????? came as a plain salvation but not as a winner with strength & might. Here at the story of ????? Hashem should an additional greatness of ?????. As it says ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???. That’s a special specialty to be mighty winners.
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