A Collection of Chanukah Thoughts

Click on the appropriate link below to go straight to that article. Chag Chanukah Sameach.
B'ahavat Yisrael,
K'Cholmim


Minor Holiday, Major Issueby Rav Yehoshua Friedman
The Chanukah Lightby Rav Kook
Chanukah - Where are the Giborim?by Rav Yehuda Kroizer
Take Your Own Destiny In Your Own Handsby Rav Binyamin Zeev Kahane hy"d
What is a Hellenist? by Binyamin Zev Kahane hy"d
The Hellenists and the Pig Law by Harav Meir Kahane
Chanuka and Yom Ha'atzmaut: A land that the L-rd your G-d seeks out by Rav Moshe Lichtman
Chanukah - The Power of the Few by Rav Binyamin Zev Kahane hy"d

Minor Holiday, Major Issue

by Rav Yehoshua Friedman

Americans expect Hanukkah in Israel to be a major holiday like their commercial holiday season. They are surprised to hear that it isn't a big deal here. The inflation that Hanukkah gets in America is because of non-Jewish celebration in the streets and department stores. Jews in America are in exile and someone else sets the agenda.

Despite the low-key nature of Hanukkah, there are major issues involved. The Greeks were a young nation, a people of Yefet lacking the teachings of Shem, the eldest son of Noah. The Greeks tried to make the world intelligible with unaided human intellect. We can't help but admire the watchword of the Greek philosopher Socrates, "an unexamined life is not worth living". He was a man of integrity who was willing to die for his ideals, a rare man in any age. He gave his teachings to the world through his student, Plato, who believed in Ideas.

Plato's major student, Aristotle, was universally studied by medieval Jewish, Christian and Islamic philosophy. Aristotle, unlike Plato, believed that "ideas" were mere abstractions. Experience of physical objects is "real". The Rambam respected Aristotle's systematic use of the intellect. But the Ramban in his commentary on the Torah (Vayikra 16:8), calling him simply "the Philosopher", blames him for the materialistic approach that afflicts philosophy and science in the Western world to this day. I highly recommend the book The Jewish Self by Rabbi Jeremy Kagan (Targum Press), which brought this point to my attention.

Philosophy in Greek means love of wisdom. But the wisdom which the Greeks honored was a mere extension of themselves. The Greek king ordered the Torah translated into Greek, reducing it to the level of all other wisdom. At first this warranted a public fast, but later events dwarfed this calamity. Greek wisdom was only started the trouble in our Hanukkah story. Greek action was yet to follow.

Plato had a Great Idea of the philosopher-king. Alexander the Great, student of Aristotle, tried to unite power and wisdom and failed. He conquered the world, met and honored Shimon HaTzadik in Jerusalem, but died at 33 leaving a divided empire. The immorality of the Greeks was no accident but was a direct result of an ethic based solely on human intellect. Today's Western society is in a similar condition, being based on human rights and freedom without obligations. The Greeks, and their Jewish collaborators intoxicated with Hellenist Great Ideas, opposed the Torah's higher ethic.

The Jewish battle with G-dless wisdom has continued to this day. Many more Great Ideas have physically and spiritually endangered the Jew. Today adherents of Holy Wisdom from Sinai are fighting a battle on every front, for Biblical morality in the world, for the rights of Am Yisrael to Eretz Yisrael and for truth and life against lies and death set to popular music. We here in Eretz Yisrael are on the forefront of that battle, but the war is now everywhere and every Jew, every human being who supports the values of the Torah, is part of that struggle.

Rabbi Yehoshua Friedman

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The Hanukkah Light

by Rav Kook

To light the lamp of Hanukkah [from the blessing over the Hanukkah candles]. Hanukkah, which is influenced by most elevated future. As is elaborated by the connotation of Hanukkah (dedication), parallel to the connotation of hinuch (education or childhood training), Hanukkah evokes all of the luminaries which need to shine in the Jewish people, the light of Torah, the light of prophecy, the light of wisdom, the light of justice, the light of bravery, the light of joy, the light of kindness, the light of love and so forth. But before the highest purpose of life is recognized, all these many lights appear in their individuality as if they were separate entities, and sometimes they need to be standing in their separateness in order that the form of each not be blotted out by their assimilation together. And sometimes the separations also cause conflicts of opinion. There is one person more inclined towards one of these luminaries, to whom it seems that those who incline toward the other lights are lessening the shine of his beloved luminary, whose glory he most perceives. However as each distinguishes himself to strengthen and empower the good side to which his soul inclines, the community is enhanced, and the improvements increase. But the separations also will not exist forever, for indeed, as long as there are differences of opinions, holiness will not be established in the world, and the essential blessing is the blessing of peace [tr.: allusion to the final blessing of the Amida], and it will exist in the future with the recognition clear to all, that all the luminaries in all their details are all but one lamp. Therefore the word "lights" is not said in the blessing of Hanukkah, which elevates the consciousness to the utmost hight, unto the highest and most adored future full of the divine might, but "light" of Hanukkah.

--- Rav Kook, Olat R'eiyah on the Siddur

(Your editor humbly begs the reader's pardon for having attempted the near-impossible and somewhat foolish task of rendering these sublime words into English. It is our fervent wish that the inadequacy of the translation will lead those of you to learn the original Hebrew.)

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Chanukah - Where are the Giborim?

by Rav Yehuda Kroizer, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hara'ayon Hayehudi

As Rav Kahane used to say: Everyone loves Chanukah. And why not? We sit around and eat sufganiyot - those wonderful Chanukah donuts - play dreidel, eat latkes and light our chanukiyas. And as one looks on and sees 250,000 Arabs ascending the Temple Mount on this, the very first day of Chanukah, one wonders that just maybe something is missing from our traditional Chanukah. Where is our desire to come up to the Holy Mountain? Why do we not have thousands of Jews requesting to open the gates of the Temple Mount, which have now been closed for more than two years to any Jew?

Truth be told, today we love our comfortable Chanukah. After all, are we all not 'Maccabees'? For who today does not identify with the Maccabees? We swell up with pride as we hear of the few who took on the many, the righteous against the wicked, and the holy against the impure. Yes, if we were there at that time we definitely would be with the uprising. That's easy to say - after the fact.

Funny, though, we find in this uprising against the Greeks that it was the few who took up arms to fight them. A family of Kohanim, a tribe numbering maybe a few hundred. The great majority of the Jews at that time did not participate in the war. A large number stood by and did nothing, while many were outright against the whole idea. Ponder for a moment the great responsibility that the Maccabees took upon themselves. A few poorly equipped guerilla fighters going against the world's most powerful army at the time. Surely the cry came out that these few fanatic extremists are endangering the whole nation. What right do they have to do this? We have seen in history that when Bar-Kochva's revolt failed against the Romans, it ended in a bloodbath for the Jews. How was it that the Maccabees, few in number, could have taken upon themselves this responsibility?

The miracle of the jar of oil gives us the answer. This farcical debate among the Jews over the revolt of the Maccabees continued for some time and did not stop until the miracle of the jar of oil came. For we know that Hashem does not perform a miracle for His people unless there is a great need. In the case of the oil, there really was no need for the oil in the small jar to last for 8 days, for even if the small jar of lit oil were to go out in its natural time, the Jews at the time could have used unclean oil to light the Temple Menorah until new oil was produced. Why, then, did Hashem perform the "unnecessary" miracle and have it last for 8 days?

The answer is that Hashem was giving a sign from Heaven that the revolt was just and that the Maccabees, even though they were the minority of the nation and most were against them, were in the right. The great responsibility which they took upon themselves was shown from Shamayim to be the right course of action.

We find also with Purim - another holiday which we all love so - that Mordechai HaYehudi endangered all of the Jewish people by not bowing down to Haman the wicked. How was he able to endanger the nation by his deeds? Once again we see that Mordechai, although alone, against the will and fears of the nation, was in the right.

Today also, we have many fears we buckle under. The pressures from the West, mostly from the US, even at the cost of Jewish lives. We do not retaliate against the daily terror, do not see fit to open the gates of the Temple Mount to Jews. Do not throw out the Arab enemy from the land - all because of our fear of what the gentile will say and do. Where are our Giborim from times gone by, that today we all look up to? Where are the ones that will take responsibility for the Nation and do what must be done to save the Jewish State from destruction? Where are the Giborim who will rise up?

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Take Your Own Destiny In Your Own Hands

Binyamin Kahane's parting message was for the settlers to take matters into their own hands. The daily murder of Jews coupled with the futility of the IDF caused Binyamin to come to the conclusion that the settlers will inevitably have to fend for themselves - and that's a good thing.

Binyamin had already met with key people in the Samarian area ("Gav HaHar" - which includes the settlements Tapuach, Yizhar, Ittemar, Har HaBracha, Elon More) to help implement his plan - he felt that these settlements were more apt to agree with his approach, more willing to cut the IDF umbilical cord. He had just begun a "speaking tour" at various settlements to bring this idea over. The fact that he started going "public" after so many years of spreading ideas "quietly" is proof of how much he believed in this idea. In his last "shiurim", in his parasha sheets and during his speaking tour in the States, he also emphasized this message, tying it in with Hanukah: "The miracle of Hanukah was that Jews were ready to fight".

Below is the letter he planned to circulate among the settlers. It was read at his funeral by Rabbi Yehuda Richter:

To my dear brothers and friends living in the mountains of Judaea and Samaria:

The situation currently facing us demands that we courageously re-assess all that we have believed until now. The issue before us is no longer just the fundamental problem of Chillul HaShem and Jewish humiliation; more, it is now a simple issue of straightforward security that involves each and every one of us.

Living in the mountains of Judea and Samaria, we are truly fortunate in that we comprise a community that, for the overwhelming majority, fears its God, loves its nation unstintingly, and is prepared for self-sacrifice. At this time of unrelenting strife, violence and an all but declared war, this faith grants us an insuperable advantage over those who live in ostensibly safer areas.

The capitulation of Joseph's Tomb - on Shabbat T'shuva, the Sabbath of Penitence (!) - shocked us all to the very depths of our souls. But, truth to tell, few if any of us were really surprised, particularly after the IDF gave the broadest possible hints of their intentions just a few days earlier.

The situation today is difficult and complex. On the one hand, we are fully prepared - physically, emotionally, and spiritually - to retain Jewish control over the Jewish homeland, maybe more prepared than any other sector in Israeli society. On the other hand, the IDF is being exposed - with all the good-will - as a confused body, lacking direction and ideology and, above all, with no faith in God.

Additionally, we daily witness Jews throughout the land rising spontaneously, the plain meaning of which is that they are sick of the current government and the situation that it has wrought, and that they yearn for a determined leader who will steer the state along a truly Jewish path. Together with this, simple actions of individual Jews from all the settlements (such as blocking roads to Arab vehicles) are more successful in casting fear over the Arabs than the IDF with all its APC's, jeeps, bullet-proof vests, inconsequential patrols, and bewildered commanders. And in the light of all these facts and their implications, we the inhabitants are determined to remain; we refuse to surrender our hold over our land, even as we refuse to acquiesce in the continuing humiliation of the Nation of Israel and the desecration of the Name of God.

My suggestion is as follows: Based upon the facts that I have outlined above, all the settlements on the mountain-ridge running north-south along the length of Judea and Samaria must conjoin with each other, forming a united leadership. This will immediately broadcast an unequivocal message to the IDF: "Just as you abandoned the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem - so, too, please abandon us. Abandon the entire mountain range whereon we live". This must be stated politely, calmly and rationally. "Clearly, you do not want to be here. You obviously do not understand what you are doing here. You have no overall aims whatsoever, beyond the idiotic aim of 'enforcing order'. There is no purpose at all, under these circumstances, in forcing you to remain here. We who live here are ready and willing to take full responsibility for this area upon ourselves. Just allow us this responsibility. As we all know, the government fully intended in any event to abandon virtually all this region to the Arabs, if only Arafat would have deigned to agree to their designs. So please, hand over this land to us. By the grace of God, here in these mountains we have wonderful youth and highly-trained military personnel whose morale is high; they will gladly accept this responsibility upon themselves. Ultimately they will take to their duties enthusiastically and, what is more important, with the faith in the God Who gave us this land. Just leave us the arms (and even if not, we will nevertheless succeed...), and HaShem will be our strength".

Without the slightest doubt, the Arab denizens will be terrified merely at hearing this news: authority here will no longer rest with the shackled Army which has for so long been the punching-bag of Arab hooligans. Rather, those "monstrous settlers" (and, thank God, the Arab media portray us as the devil incarnate, if not worse) will now take charge.

Without the slightest shadow of doubt, such a step would clear the air here. There will be a complete about-face: this news will, for the first time in too many years, attract youths in their hundreds - at least! - who would come here to help. At long last there will be genuine yishuv ha-aretz (settling of the Land of Israel) and the beginning of Jewish sovereignty over the Land of Israel. This will put an end to the confused stammering and steadfast search for ways of handing over the land to the enemies of God, which have been the greatest obstacles to the Mitzvah which we are fulfilling here with our very being. Can we even begin to imagine the inspiration that this earth-shaking news would give to so many Jews, both 'secular' and 'religious', in Israel and abroad? It has been far too long since we experienced that deep and stirring feeling of Jewish national pride.

This is truly revolutionary! But it is far less revolutionary than the changes that have been wrought in the reality of Israel in the past few weeks, and we have nothing to lose. Even if the IDF does not accept this proposal - as can be expected, at least in the initial stage - then, at the very least, the military command and the government will realize that there is an additional and serious force on the ground, a force which they ignore at their peril.

Furthermore, for reasons of its own security, the IDF will want to prove that it can protect civilians; consequently, it will act more determinedly - at least, so far as it is capable within the limitations imposed by fear of the gentiles and of the Left which shackles it.

None of this entails separating ourselves from society. To the contrary, we will remain part of Israeli society, willing at a moment's notice to re-join, by agreement, that state which has, until now, refused for 33 years to annex us. We speak here not of separation, but of additional Jewish sovereignty over a part of the Land of Israel which has been too long abandoned. We act for the good of the Nation of Israel, for the good of the State of Israel, for the sake of our families' safety. Above all, we act for the sake of Kiddush HaShem, the sanctification of the Name of God, and eradicating its desecration until the hour of Final Redemption comes.

With grave concern and Ahavat Yisrael,
Binyamin Kahane

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What is a Hellenist?

by Binyamin Zev Kahane, H"yd

The largest Israeli newspaper, "Yediot Achronot" boasted the following headline: "30% of high school students define themselves as racists". The fact is, no one actually defined himself in such a way. Then where did they get their "scoop"? A survey that was conducted amongst the youth provided the following results: 72% were for preventing Arabs from being Knesset members, for fear that it will harm the Jewish character or the security of the state; 50% do not agree that Arabs should have equal rights; and more. For most Jews, this is sanity, but for the Israeli newspaper "Yediot Achronot", this is "racism".

In the aftermath of the above survey, "Yideot Achronot" provided a "questionnaire" for all it's readers, in which one can check himself to see if he is a "racist". The multiple choice questions took the form of a scale which rose in its degree of "racist" tendencies. Among the yardsticks to measure "racism", you were asked what your reaction would be if your daughter brought home a Thailand worker or an Arab doctor, and introduced him as her future husband . If you would protest against such a marriage, you are described as a "racist" of the highest degree (on the scale, it is written, "you are dangerous!"); In contrast, the "anti-racist" sits next to the "suitor", puts his hand on his shoulder and has a heart to heart chat with him... So goes this questionairre.

What does all this have to do with Chanukah? It must be remembered that the circumstances for the Macabee's war 2500 years ago were less severe than they are today. 2500 years ago, there arose amongst the Jewish people Hellenists. Hellenists are not people who for one reason or another find it difficult to fulfill mitzvot. Hellenists are those who want to be like the goyim. There is a difference. It is not just a matter of casting off the yoke of Heaven out of weakness or overrding lust. Hellenism is an "ideal" in itself - to bring down the needless barriers between Jews and gentiles, which, in the hellenist mind, is the cause of all problems. Hellenism is first and foremost, the claim that there is nothing special or chosen about the Jewish People, and all people are equal.

This being the case, we find that today we are in a much more "progressive" stage than we were then. The "value" which overrides everything else in the state of Israel today is "democracy" and "equality", and any opposition to this concept is considered the most severe of crimes. This is the true significance of the "war against racism" which has been taking place over the past decade. We are speaking about a war against the uniqueness of the Jewish Nation. In truth, the hellenists of today are not a large group. But their power and influence is immense, concentrated mainly in the judiciary and mass media. No government has dared to stand against them. Any attempt to do so is immediately put to rest through media incitement, and when necessary, judiciary action. These two functionaries, the media and judiciary, do not act out of personal interests, so to speak, but rather in the name of the ultimate value: Democracy. Therefore, there is no politician who dares to seriously oppose this "hallowed" value.

It is critical to emphasize: Not all secular Jews are hellenists. The opposite is true: Now that we have defined what a "hellenist" is, it is clear that only a very small group (even if they hold influence) enter this category. Most secular Jews, despite the fact that they do not fulfill mitzvot (for historical and objective reasons), identify with their Jewishness, and are not ready to tear down the barriers between them and the gentile. They are still "gut Jews". Without a doubt, in the aforementioned survey, most secular Jews in Israel would receive high marks as "racists", which are great marks as Jews! And so, despite the severe spiritual problem plaguing the Jewish nation, they at least cling to their identity: We are Jews! We are special!

All that is lacking is the war against the hellenists. Unfortunately, out of a need to placate the hellenists, many distort the concept of "Love of Jews" (Ahavat Yisrael), thereby preventing confrontation with them. But the message of Chanukah is this: As much as it may hurt, in order to save the Jewish People, out of a love of Jews, it is an obligation to fight that small band of hellenists who grip the Jewish nation by the throat, and do not permit them to fulfill their internal and true aspiration - to be Jews and not hellenists!



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The Hellenists and the Pig Law

The following are excerpts from a speech by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the Knesset in 1985, in response to the leftist parties attempt to pass a bill in the Knesset allowing the selling of pork in Israel:

Knesset Chairman and honorable Knesset. The real struggle today is not the JewishArab one, but rather of the Jews versus the Hellenists. We are in the modern stage of this millenia-old struggle. The most famous stage, of course, was during the holiday of Chanukah. The bitter war more than 2,000 years ago was between Jews who wanted to create a true Jewish society and culture, versus those who aspired to be like the Greeks, both in their thinking and in their outward appearance.

The first person killed by the Maccabees was a Jew who wanted to eat pig. In this Knesset hall, we see that history is repeating itself: The pigs are defending the pig.

Jews, understand why I present it this way. We must stop placating these leftists, stop worrying about what they will say. We must tell them, that concerning us, Am Yisrael, the Holy Nation, the Nation of God, there is no such concept as "Live and Let Live". Because the Almighty will not let us live will reckless abandon, as we wish to. "If you walk in my statutes… I will bring peace to the land", and if you reject my statutes, terror and tragedy will befall you. That is the cast-iron law of Judaism. If there is no Torah, there will be no peace, no tranquility, and no rest. The pig will overtake the country, and the pigs will rule the land.

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Chanuka and Yom Ha'atzmaut: A land that the L-rd your G-d seeks out

by Rav Moshe Lichtman

The Talmud (Arachin 10a-b) discusses the reasons why we recite Hallel on certain holidays as opposed to others. We say it on Chanukah, of course, because of the miracles that occurred in the days of the Hasmoneans. Why, then, asks the gemara, do we omit Hallel on Purim? After all, miracles occurred then, too!

The Talmud offers three answers to this question, all of which have important ramifications for our own times.

(1) R. Yitzchak says, "[Hallel is omitted on Purim] because we do not sing praise for a miracle that occurred outside the Land." The gemara goes on to explain that the Exodus from Egypt was an exception to this rule because it occurred before the Jews entered Eretz Yisrael. After they entered the Land, however, Hallel is no longer said on miracles that take place in Chutz LaAretz.

Why is this so? Why should it make a difference where the miracle occurred? Do we have less of an obligation to thank G-d for the miracles He performs in Chutz LaAretz? The Maharsha provides a beautiful answer, but first a word of introduction.

Why is Eretz Yisrael so special? Why do our Sages lavish so much praise on the Land and ascribe to it so many special qualities? Many Rishonim and Acharonim answer this question based on a verse in Devarim (11:12): A land that the L-rd your G-d seeks out; the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. That is, HaShem is directly involved in the affairs of Eretz Yisrael. He oversees everything that goes on here and provides its inhabitants with an extra measure of Hashgachah P'ratit (Personal Providence). In Chutz LaAretz, however, G-d appoints angelic ministers to supervise matters and care for the needs of its inhabitants. Therefore, Jews who live in G-d's special Land are said to be in the Palace of the King, and they enjoy a closer relationship with HaShem.

The Maharsha uses this concept to explain the difference between Chanukah and Purim. The miracles of Chanukah were a direct result of God's intervention, because they occurred on "His turf," so to say. The miracles of Purim, however, were accomplished through messengers, angelic intermediaries sent by God. And it is fitting to say Hallel only on miracles that G-d Himself performed.

The Minchat Chinuch (Kometz Minchah on Mitzvah 284) gives a different answer. He claims that Jews living in the Diaspora are considered individuals, no matter how great their numbers. Only the Jewish community in Eretz Yisrael has the full status of Klal Yisrael. We say Hallel on Chanukah and not on Purim because Hallel is recited only on miracles that occur to Am Yisrael as a whole.

(2) R. Nachman says, "The reading [of the Megillah] is its Hallel." That is, we really do say Hallel on Purim, just in a different form. Instead of reading chapters from Psalms, we read Megillat Esther.

As is well known, the miracles of Purim - as opposed to those of Chanukah - were hidden ones. HaShem did not alter any rules of nature at that time; He simply arranged events in such a way that the Jews were saved from imminent destruction. R. Nachman teaches us that such "miracles," as well, deserve some expression of Hallel.

(3) Rava explains that we do not say Hallel on Purim because the salvation was incomplete. After the Exodus from Egypt and the victory of the Macabees, we could truly proclaim, Give praise, O' servants of the Lord (the first words of Hallel), because we were no longer servants of Pharaoh or Antiyochus. We had achieved full sovereignty and complete freedom to serve God. After the downfall of Haman, however, we were still subjugated to Achashveirosh.

It is important to note that the 200-year period of Jewish sovereignty following the Chanukah episode was not Israel's most glorious era. Many of the Hasmonean kings were corrupt, murderous, and completely irreligious. Nonetheless, we say Hallel until this very day because the Jewish people gained sovereignty over their Land, and kept it for over two hundred years (see Rambam, Hilchot Chanukah 3:1).

Fifty-six years ago, a third of our nation was wiped out in the concentration camps of Europe. Three years later, HaShem (not an angel) arranged events (no, He did not perform any manifest miracles, just the hidden kinds) in such a way that we regained sovereignty over our historic homeland, after nearly 2,000 years of exile. Based on the above, is there any doubt that we have an absolute obligation to thank HaShem for all that He has done for us?

Obviously, the preceding ideas have important ramifications on how we conduct ourselves on Yom HaAtzma'ut and Yom Yerushalayim. However, I believe there is a much more important lesson to be learned. We all know that actions are the best way to show thanks to someone who has done us a favor. Words can be cheap, but actions show that we really mean it. The same is true with respect to G-d. Although it is important to express our thanks to Him through the recitation of Hallel and the like, it is more important to show Him that we really mean it through concrete actions. If we really appreciate G-d's gift of Eretz Yisrael and Medinat Yisrael, we must accept the gift before saying "thank you" for it.

Chanukah Samei'ach

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The Power of the Few

by Rav Binyamin Zeev Kahane hy"d

What was miraculous about the victory of Chanukah? Any child in kindergarten knows that the miracle was the shorthanded, weaker Jews defeating the numerous and powerful Greeks. Indeed, it is an historical fact that cannot be denied. But our teacher and rabbi, Rabbi Meir Kahane, z"tl, sought to delve a notch deeper into the miraculous victory of the few against the many, and by doing so, resolve a famous question regarding Chanukah.

Rabbi Kahane would say: Remember, before the victory of the Macabees over the Greeks and hellenists took place, there was the actual war itself. When the Macabees went out to battle, they had no feasible chance of winning. Not only were the Jews fewer and weaker than the well-oiled Syrian Greek war machine, but amongst the Jews themselves, only a sparse few went out to battle under the command of Yehuda Macabee and his brothers. And so, to enable such an inconceivable victory to occur, there had to be, first of all, a few "crazies" who dared to rise up in arms against this invincible empire! Here, Rabbi Kahane would say that the essential miracle of Chanukah was not the war victory, but rather the very fact that a few Jews realized that "things just cannot go on this way", arose, and with immense faith in the Almighty, declared war on the superpower of their day. For given the fact that they were able to miraculously overcome their awesome enemies, prior to that miracle they surely did not know that the Almighty would perform the miracle for them. Nevertheless, they went out. That in itself, the Rav would say, was an act of immense courage, "the miracle within the miracle."

But where does the "miracle of the oil" come into play? Let us ask the question differently: There is some confusion concerning the reason we celebrate Chanukah. Do we celebrate Chanukah to commemorate the oil that was sufficient for only one day, and continued to burn through eight days, or are we celebrating the war victory? It is clear that the essential miracle of Chanukah, its real central theme, is not the miracle of the oil. Indeed, the special Chanukah prayer, "Al Hanisim", coined by the rabbis, does not even mention the miracle of the oil. The theme and heart of Chanukah is the concept mentioned in "Al Hanisim", of "rabim b'yad m'atim", "the many ("Syrian Greeks) who fell into the hands of the few (Jews)." And the very miracle of the oil represents that concept, i.e., the little oil able to "overcome" the many days and continue to burn. The miracle of the oil symbolizes how God controls the laws of nature: Just as oil sufficient for one day can burn for eight, if He wills it; so, too, are numbers irrelevant when Am Yisrael goes out to war. By the same token, just as we said that the miracle of the war victory was the very fact that Jews went out to battle in the first place, so, too, the oil symbolizes "the miracle within the miracle". After all, in order for the meager quantity of oil to last for eight days, there had to be Jews who lit it in the first place - Jews who were not discouraged from the outset; Jews who did not say: why bother lighting the candles of the Temple if they are going to go out anyway…? No. You do your part, with the means available to you, and Hashem will do His part. "Open for me an opening like the point of a needle, and I will open for you gates like the gates of the sanctuary."

Now we can ask the question posed by the Bet Yosef (Yosef Karo): There is a source which says that the length of the holiday of Chanukah is eight days because oil that was sufficient for only one day, lasted eight. The Bet Yosef asks: Why eight days? Since the oil was naturally sufficient in itself to burn for one day, the miracle was actually only in the additional seven days that it continued to burn. In reality, therefore, in order to commemorate the "miracle", the rabbis should have established a holiday of seven days. Various and varied reasons are given. Rav Kahane says: Indeed, we celebrate eight days because the first day was a miracle as well. It commemorates the very fact that they dared to go out to battle! The very fact that they dared to "light the candle". That's also a miracle, "the miracle within the miracle".

Chanukah is not a children's holiday of "dreidels" and donuts. It is a holiday that is meant to rekindle our trust in the Almighty, to reinforce the understanding that when Jews go out to battle in an obligatory war with faith in God, they come out victorious, even if they are the underdog.

Chanukah is the holiday for these days. Days when masses of Arabs arise against us, and Hashem stands at our side. But what happens when the official Jewish leadership from left to right is overcome with fear, crippled by lack of faith and thereby incapable of action? Then the torch is passed on to the few. It is passed unto those who are ready to cling onto Eretz Yisrael at any price. And then the day comes in which they are told by the non-believers: "If you are not ready to pull out, that's your choice. But deal with the enemy by yourselves. Because we are afraid, we have no faith. You claim that you have faith?! Fine - let's see what you can do." And those precious few, inspired by a pristine faith in the Almighty, will arise to repel the enemy.

Those with Jewish vision foresee the Macabean war in our generation. In this war, at least at the outset, only a few will take part. Those Jews of rock-solid faith in the God of Israel, who sincerely believe that God is a loyal defender of His people Israel - they will be an example to the multitudes who will eventually follow. "In those days, at this time".