What is the true miracle of Hannukah?
Some teach that Hannukah celebrates the miraculous military victory of a small band of poorly armed soldiers (the Maccabees) who overcame all odds and beat the Syrian Greeks. In this case Hannukah celebrates Jewish strength!
Some teach that Hannukah celebrates the first recorded case of a group of people standing up for the freedom to practice their religion. The Syrian Greeks desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem and the Maccabees miraculously fought and succeeded to rededicate the Temple and offer sacrifices on the altar. In this case Hannukah celebrates Religious Freedom.
Some teach that Hannukah celebrates the miracle of a small cruse of oil lasting for eight nights. At a dark time in our history, after the ancient Temple had been defiled, the Maccabees were able, with God’s miraculous power to light the lamps and return Jewish celebrations to the Temple. In this case Hannukah celebrates a holy miracle.
As we enter Hannukah this year, during a dark time in our history and our lives, I wonder if we might see the miracle of Hannukah differently this year.
One of the teachers who most influenced my life was Rabbi David Hartman z”l. Years ago, I remember sitting in a class when he began to argue that the miracle of Hanukkah wasn’t one of military victory, or of a battle for religious freedom, or even a miracle wrought by God. No, I still remember that Rabbi Hartman taught that the true miracle of Hannukah is the miracle of optimism and resilience in a time of great of uncertainty. He wrote:
“The miracle of the first day was expressed in the community’s willingness to light a small cruse of oil without reasonable assurance that their efforts would be sufficient to complete the rededication of the Temple…The ‘miracle’ of Jewish spiritual survival throughout history...may best be described by our people’s strength to live without guarantees of success and to focus on how to begin a process without knowledge of how it would end.”
The last year has been dark. Despite technology and the wonder of Zoom, we’ve been cut off from family, from friends, from loved ones. We’ve lost the ability to reach out and really connect to those about whom we truly care through outreached arms and warm hugs. And yet, despite it all, we wake up each morning and look forward to the day ahead. Despite it all, we’ve celebrated our Holy Days together and we join together each week for Shabbat. Like the Maccabees, we continue to kindle light in our lives and our world without knowing how things will end. This week, for eight nights we will light our Hannukiyot and bring light into our world. That is a miracle worth celebrating!
Rabbi Donald Goor