The Rambam writes (Hilchot Chanukah 3:1):

In the times of the Second Temple, when Greece ruled, they issued decrees against Israel and abolished their religion. They did not allow them to practice Torah and mitzvot and took their property and their daughters. They entered the Sanctuary and made breaches in it, and defiled the taharot. Although the Rambam does not usually provide the historical background of the laws, he did so here to remain true to his stated aim of including all of the Oral Torah in his monumental work. Since the events of Chanukah are not mentioned in the Tanach, but only in the Gemara, he mentioned them. When describing the hardships endured by the Jews during the Hellenistic era, the Rambam seems to list the events in order of severity, which causes his final sentence, "[they] defiled the taharot," to seem out of place. Why is this action -- the defilement of purity -- considered to be the ultimate tragedy of the Jews during this time?

A similar idea is found in Yechezkel (4:13): "Hashem said, 'Thus will Bnei Yisrael eat their food: tameh, among the nations where I will banish them.'" One has trouble understanding why this idea, in comparison with the other dire prophecies of destruction and exile, remains so central?

The Rambam writes in the end of his introduction to Sefer Taharot: "When G-d asks the prophet to ask about this [i.e., the laws of tumah and tahara] He said to him, 'Ask the kohanim the Torah.' We see that the Torah is the discussion of tumah and tahara and knowledge of their laws. Chazal further said about tum'ot and taharot, 'They are the fundamentals of Torah.' And why not? They are the ladder to ruach hakodesh, as they said, 'Tahara leads to ruach hakodesh.'"

The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat (31a) explains the pasuk of "Vehaya emunat itecha, hosen yeshuot chochmat vada'at," that chochma -- knowledge -- refers to Seder Kodashim and da'at -- wisdom -- is a reference to Seder Taharot. Why is Taharot described as wisdom, and to what type of knowledge and wisdom is the pasuk alluding? Moreover, specifically the mitzvot related to Kodashim and Taharot are included in the chukim not meant for human comprehension to determine, so how can they be referred to as chochma and da'at?

In order to explain this issue, we will try to define the concept of da'at found in the Torah. Da'at is used to indicate complete logical understanding, as in "Ata hor'aita lada'at." It is also used in other ways, such as, "Adam yada His wife, Chava." What is the common thread of these usages? It would seem that da'at is the fusion of many parts to form a complete idea.

Chochma is knowledge of many facts: bina is the ability to analyze, to compare and contrast (from the word binyan); da'at is the summation and integration of all the forms of wisdom. When Chazal determined that neither a child nor one who is deaf or insane has da'at they did not mean that they lack intellectual capacity. Rather, they lack worldly experience and sufficient connection with others, which is essential for developing a proper perspective on the relative importance of the world's many components, and for reaching a fair and balanced judgment. (This is the basis of the expression shikul hada'at.) Similarly, the expression, "Women have a light da'at," is a reference to the tendency of women to change their minds or be influenced while making a decision. "Adam yada his wife, Chava," is, therefore, an expression of the complete connection between Adam and Chava.

Every aspect of learning includes gathering information (chochma), analysis and comparison (bina), and reaching conclusions (da'at). In any study of something worldly, a person reaches a level of understanding because the subject is given to human comprehension. However, one who studies Torah can only develop an understanding based on comparisons within the Torah itself, because his human mind cannot understand G-d's wisdom. Through this process a person forms a clear understanding, which is called da'at.

This definition clarifies the meaning of Rashi when describing Bezalel -- the one who built the Mishkan. Rashi comments (Shemot 31:3):

"with chochma" -- what a person hears; ..."and with t'vuna" -- he understands things on his own based on what he learned;"and with da'at" -- this is ruach hakodesh. The level of understanding known as ruach hakodesh, which is the internal clear perception that a person develops within himself, is called da'at, and it is only formed after one achieves chochma and bina.

Greek chochma is the knowledge of beauty, which is an external understanding of the world order. (Yefet, the ancestor of Yavan was blessed by Noach with beauty.) Because they were fixated on the external beauty and chochma the Greeks were unable to comprehend the concept of tahara, which is based on the inner, spiritual, understanding of Shem, which is primarily the Divine chukim of the Torah.

One who is thrown in jail loses his sensitivity by being covered in dirt and removed from social life. So too, Am Yisrael in galut is removed from the site of G-d's presence and, as a result, they lose the complete internal understanding and sensitivity to concepts of kedusha and tahara. This is the harsh rebuke of Yechezkel. Similarly, when the Greeks wanted to destroy the uniqueness of the Jews and the supremacy of Chochmat Yisrael, which flows from its Divine source, they accomplished this through defiling the taharot. Therefore, the peak of the Greek's assault on the Jews and the hardships endured was defined by this idea -- "They defiled the taharot."

May it be G-d's will that through learning Torah we will renew within ourselves knowledge and wisdom -- kedusha and tahara.