בהעלותך

In the narrative, the Kohen (Priest) Aaron was angered, as explained by Ramban (Nachmanides) whom we have just mentioned. The lighting of the Menorahs is always directed towards the face, and indeed this is the essence of the words of our Sages. However, the understanding is that the Menorahs are drawn from the aspect of the light of the Menorahs, which was after the salvation of the Hasmoneans, who darkened the kingdom of Greece, the kingdom of darkness, and illuminated the eyes and hearts of Israel.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, saw in his dream a vision that hinted explicitly at all four exiles. He revealed his secret to Daniel, the beloved man, as it is written in his book:

"I was watching" (Daniel 2:31) - "And behold, a great image" - "This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you" - "And its appearance was terrifying" - "The head of this image was of fine gold" - "Its chest and arms of silver" - "Its belly and thighs of bronze" - "Its legs of iron" - "Its feet partly of iron and partly of clay."

Daniel explains the interpretation of the dream, which recounts all the exiles that Israel will undergo until they reach complete rectification (Tikkun) in the final redemption through the righteous Messiah.

"The God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory" - "And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours" - "And another third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth" (Daniel 2:37-39).

It appears that the kingdom of Greece corresponds to the Sefirah of Tiferet, which is the main body. The writings of the Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria) explain that the kingdom of Babylon is the head, the kingdom of Media and Persia are the two arms, the kingdom of Greece is the body, and the kingdom of Edom and Ishmael are the two thighs.

In truth, if the revelation of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) had been established in Greece, it would have been in the aspect of Tiferet as it is in its rectified state, which is secondary to Israel, as it is written, "May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem" (Genesis 9:27). The Sages expounded: "Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said: They permitted only the writing of books in Greek. Rabbi Abahu said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: The law is according to Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel. And Rabbi Yochanan said: What is the reason of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel? The verse says, 'May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem' - the beauty of Japheth shall be in the tents of Shem" (Megillah 9b).

Therefore, the Torah of Israel, which is in the tents of Shem, should have been adorned by the beauty of Greece. However, since they made themselves the primary and sought to subordinate Israel and their Torah to their own matters, to elevate and glorify materialism and physicality, they became the aspect of the "shell of Tiferet."

In the writings of the Ari, it is explained that during the breaking of the vessels, the seven kings who ruled and died correspond to the seven lower Sefirot. The king Hadad ben Bedad corresponds to the Sefirah of Tiferet.

As it is written in Genesis: "The earth was unformed and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). The Ari writes in Likutei Torah, Parashat Bereishit: "This is the secret of the clarification of the kings who died, for in every world there was the aspect of the kings who died. This is the earth that became unformed and void, which is the breaking of the vessels, and the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters is the light that hovers over them, which is the letters that the vessels could not receive."

The Sages expounded on this verse with hints about the exiles, as it is stated in Midrash Rabbah: "Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish interpreted the verse regarding the exiles: 'The earth was unformed' - this is the Babylonian exile, as it is written (Jeremiah 4:23), 'I looked at the earth, and it was unformed.' 'And void' - this is the Median exile, as it is written (Esther 6:14), 'And they hastened to bring Haman.' 'And darkness' - this is the Greek exile, which darkened the eyes of Israel with their decrees, saying to them, 'Write on the horn of an ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel.' 'Over the face of the deep' - this is the exile of the wicked kingdom, which is as deep as the deep, as it is written (Isaiah 63:16), 'For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us.' 'And the Spirit of God' - this is the spirit of the Messiah, as it is written (Isaiah 11:2), 'And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.'"

Thus, you see a hint in this that the kingdom of Greece corresponds to Hadad ben Bedad, which is aligned with the Sefirah of Tiferet. The numerical value of "Hadad ben Bedad" is the same as "Greece," indicating its connection to the Tiferet. In the days of Mattathias ben Yochanan, the High Priest, the kingdom of Greece and its king Antiochus the Wicked sought to oppress the priests. The main miracle was performed to remove the grasp of Greece from the Tiferet, as explained in the writings.