Born on the first night of Hanukkah in the year 1895 in Baghdad, a young man named Yitzhak was given the middle name Nissim - Miracles - by his parents, because of the miraculous holiday during which he was born. Upon his arrival to the Land of Israel in the year 1925, the young boy - by now a renowned rabbinic scholar - decided to turn his middle name into his last name, and thus he was known for the rest of his life as Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim.
One of the most creative and outstanding Sephardic leaders of the 20th century, Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim served as the Rishon L'Zion - the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel - from 1955-1973. He followed his mentor and teacher Rabbi Uziel in this prestigious position, and was considered one of the most active leaders in spreading the light of Torah to a wide variety of audiences. His teachings were inspirational, always with a unifying message, and filled with pride in the Jewish people and a deeply spiritual belief in God.
Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim did not believe in terms like "religious, secular, Haredi, Modern Orthodox, Reform". These divisive labels went against everything he believed, and he spent his entire career as seeking to inspire and unify the Jewish people. In fact, his first mission as Chief Rabbi was to develop a relationship with the leaders of the Kibbutz movement in Israel, most of whom considered themselves "secular." That was irrelevant to Rabbi Nissim, whose goal was not to "make them religious," but to enrich their Kibbutz lives with traditional Jewish customs, connect them to the Jewish traditions of their ancestors, and let them decide how all of this would fit into their Kibbutz life.
What follows below is my translation from Hebrew of a beautiful Hanukkah message Rabbi Nissim delivered in Israel, to a group of Jews who did not consider themselves "religious." He delivered it with love, because he loved every Jew:
Hanukkah represents our nation's historic desire for freedom and independence, both from a spiritual and national perspective. In every generation, enemies arose who sought to deny us these freedoms, and when the Hasmoneans decided to take up arms against the evil Greek rulers who denied our religious and national rights, they did so as a small band of freedom fighters who were numerically outnumbered by their enemies, yet the "few triumphed over the many." This victory was against all odds. What was the secret weapon that the Hasmoneans possessed that led to this unlikely victory over such a massive army?
From time immemorial, the Jewish people knew their identity, mission and purpose: to be a unique nation distinguished in their deep faith in God, and through observance of God's commandments, to be a light unto the nations and fill the world with positive light.
It is from this place of deep faith and purpose that the Hasmoneans took up arms. They knew what they were fighting for and why they were fighting. This was not a "war for the sake of warfare" or to assert military superiority, rather a war fought for the spiritual survival of a people, their ideas and their ideals. These were the true "secret weapons" of the Hasmoneans, and because of the purity of their motives, God helped them by showing them Divine wonders and miracles.
As it was with the Hasmoneans, so too is to today, in our State of Israel. These days of Hanukkah that we celebrate here together hold a deep and unique meaning for us. From the time when the miracle of Hanukkah miracle happened until today, our people endured a difficult and challenging diaspora, the "birth pangs of redemption." We stayed strong and maintained our faith in God, until with the grace of God we merited to see the restoration of a Jewish government in our land. Yet as it was with the Hasmoneans, so too it is today, that with our renewed independence in our sacred land, our enemies near and far continue to threaten to destroy us.
With deep faith in God, and in our mission as a Jewish nation, our modern army - the "great-grandchildren of the Hasmoneans" - went to battle and faced our enemies who sought our destruction. Their determination, along with God's help, brought about the victories we merited to see in our days, that helped reestablish and secure our nation's independence in our ancient homeland. We were all witness to the renewed miracle of Hanukkah in our days, and it is now upon us to be worthy of that miracle by carrying out our higher mission and purpose in the world.
My dear brothers and sisters, you saw first hand the miracles that God brought for us against enemies much greater in number than us. You merited to witness the Hanukkah story again, in our generation. Use this as an opportunity to strengthen your spiritual connection to God and the beautiful traditions of the Torah. Doing so will give our victories here a deeper meaning and bigger purpose, to bring light into the world. That is our legacy, and that is our future -- all of us, together.
Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim was born on Hanukkah in 1895 in Baghdad, and died on Tisha B'Av in 1981 in Jerusalem. Tisha B'Av is the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, but our tradition teaches that it is also the day upon which the Mashiach (Messiah) will be born. From darkness and destruction, says the Talmud, light and salvation will emerge.
Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim's journey on earth began on the day when the Hasmoneans rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem, and ended on the day when that Temple was destroyed - but also the day when its redeemer will rebuild it. How symbolic that - in the spirit of both days - he spent his entire life helping to "rebuild the Temple" - the modern-day Temple called the State of Israel. He did so by bringing the light of Torah to multitudes of Jews from various backgrounds and walks of life, inspiring them to connect to their heritage, to one another, and to God.
Per the middle name that became his last name - Nissim - his life as a Jew who came from Baghdad to Jerusalem, and persevered under difficult circumstances to teach Torah to so many Jews in the small, new, socially struggling and embattled Jewish state - was indeed miraculous.
On this Hanukkah, we remember with love Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim, a brilliant Sephardic leader and Chief Rabbi. We pray that the light of his teachings continue to illuminate our journey today, and for generations to come.
Shabbat Shalom, Hodesh Tov and Hanukkah Sameach.