We Have Them Surrounded

There’s quite an advantage to saying al hanissim at least 29 times over a span of 8 days: Eventually one begins to actually focus on the words and gain new insight into them. In extolling the Ribono shel Olam for making us victorious in our battles we say “masarta giborim b’yad chalashim v’rabim b’yad me’atim [You gave over the mighty into the hands of the weak and the many into the hands of the few].” And in purely physical terms the Jews certainly were the weak and the few.

But is that to say we regard weakness per se as a virtue? Surely not. Rather the mishnah in Avos (4:1) teaches us that gevurah — strength or fortitude — is praiseworthy and an important goal to strive for but the nature of true gevurah is the conquest of self. Vanquishing others however is a bogus form of might that only masks the weakness and inadequacy lurking underneath — it is bravado not bravery.

The same can be said it would seem of the accompanying reference in this prayer to the Jews as me’atim — small in number. Again in the simple numerical terms in which limited human beings are accustomed to thinking we were and are the few ranged against the many and that makes our victories miraculous. “Lo mei’rubchem me’kol ha’amim choshak Hashem bachem … ki atem hame’at me’kol ha’amim [Hashem did not desire you because you were more numerous than the other nations … for you are the fewest among  the nations] said Moshe Rabbeinu (Devarim 7:7) long ago and nothing has changed in the intervening millennia.

And to be sure the fact that we as Hashem’s Chosen Nation are a small select cadre of Divine ambassadors is a distinction we bear proudly as can be. That’s true by the way of any group that has a mission that they and they alone are specially equipped to fulfill. Just think of the Marines’ motto: The Few. The Proud.…