“Thanks but no thanks!” It’s an expression we might say when receiving a gift that was no gift at all, but instead resulted in hardship, challenge and frustration. While perhaps not the nicest of reactions, frankly, it’s perfectly logical. What sane person thanks someone for causing more difficulty?

This same phrase comes to mind when we examine the text of Al Hanisim:

על הנסים ועל הפרקן ועל הגבורות ועל התשועות ועל המלחמות שעשית לאבותינו בימים ההם בזמן הזה.

For the miracles, and for the salvation, and for the mighty deeds, and for the victories, and for the battles which you have performed for our forefathers in those days at this time.

We thank Hashem for a variety of items, from miracles to salvation to redemption. However, buried in the list is one seemingly peculiar term: milchamot, battles. While it is easy to understand why we would thank Hashem for salvation and victory, why would we include battles as a source of gratitude? Wars by any measure are not traditionally a reason for praise and thanksgiving to Hashem! As we all know too well, wars yield terrible consequences: shattered economies, depletion of resources, physical and emotional trauma, and worst of all, unbearable loss of life. Why would we include the milchamot in our gratitude within Al Hanisim?

On the most basic level, possibly the “pshat” (simple) understanding is that we are simply thanking HaKadosh Baruch Hu for fighting the wars on our behalf and for the resulting salvation. As we continue within Al Hanisim, in the case of the military victory of Chanuka, מסרת גבורים ביד חלשים ורבים ביד מעטים — we thank Hashem for delivering our enemies into our hands, despite Bnei Yisrael being severely outmatched in terms of numbers, weapons, even physical prowess. In other words, from this perspective, the war itself is not a reason for thanksgiving. Quite simply, when we thank Hashem, the gratitude is for the salvation from the war.

In addressing this question, Rav Soloveitchik zt”l (cited in Harerei Kedem 1:179) offers a different perspective. He notes that salvations, teshuot, would not be possible without the milchamot, the battles. In employing halakhic terminology, he depicts the milchamot as a hechsher, or a prerequisite, to the teshuot. In other words, the teshuot would never have come about without the wars. The Rav quotes the Beis HaLevi in developing this idea. When Bnei Yisrael sang to Hashem in praise right after the splitting of the Sea, they were clearly thanking Hashem for the miraculous salvation from the persecution of Mitzrayim. Yet, the shirah was not only for the miracles, but, in fact, for the slavery itself. The Beis HaLevi comments that there was a requirement of shirah, of praise, not only for the yeshuah, the salvation, but for the tzarah (struggle)! Shibud Mitzrayim (slavery in Egypt) was necessary for the growth and development of Bnei Yisrael as a nation. In considering this nuanced point, we realize that were it not for the challenge and the adversity, we would not have grown, persevered, and even thrived. The battles that we thank Hashem for are not necessarily merely physical, they are figurative, and can lead us to a better place than we were before. 

Ramban highlights the significance of the concept of a nisayon, a test, in his explanation of Akedat Yitzchak (Bereishit 22:1). In commenting on the phrase V’haElokim nisa et Avraham — Hashem tested Avraham — Ramban develops the idea that a nisayon should be understood from the perspective of the person being tested. When Hashem tests a person, the intention is not for Him to see if the person can withstand the test. HaKadosh Baruch Hu, in His infinite wisdom and knowledge, surely knows the outcome of the challenge. Rather, the goal of the test is for the benefit of the one being tested. Ramban explains the complex idea that the nisayon enables us to actualize the potential that exists dormant within us. Since we are in control of our actions, how we respond to a challenge is completely up to us. We alone can choose whether to rise to the occasion. Hashem seeks to reward us not merely for a positive idea in our heart, but for an action, a good deed. Actualizing our potential can yield significant growth. 

The milchamot we thank Hashem for in Al Hanisim remind us that challenge can be an impetus for growth and gratitude. It is not merely a cliche to realize that growth is not always achieved at a mountain’s peak or summit but is often realized down in the valley. That is not to say that we look at suffering superficially through naïve, rose-colored lenses, but we acknowledge that there is genuine growth through hardship.

These past number of months have been, needless to say, challenging not only for the Jewish people, but for the global community at large. As we grapple with medical problems, economic fall-out, constant disruptions to schooling and schedules, and tragic losses, we are reminded through the words of Al Hanisim that even the most difficult challenges are opportunities for growth and connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.