Each of us, too, has a dark spot concealed from ourselves due to overwhelming pain and shame. How do we turn on the lights? Let us look for a moment at the miracle of Chanukah. Of course there was Divine intervention. The odds of one family, the Maccabees, successfully taking on the Syrian-Greek army, are infinitesimally small. Their victory was a great miracle. Yet the mitzvah that we perform on Chanukah, lighting the menorah, celebrates not the military triumph but the spiritual illumination that made it possible. A classic question asked about Chanukah is why we light candles for eight days? Shouldnt we light only seven days, since the oil they found lasted for one day even without miraculous intervention? One answer is that it is a miracle the Maccabees even began to look for pure oil. They had not despaired. When they searched the Temple for oil, they had to face the idols that were placed there not only by Greeks, but also by their fellow Jews. They had to clear the Temple Courtyard from the remains of the debris left by the young Kohanim who ran Olympic-style marathons naked in vain tribute to their own self-worship. They had to bring life where there was death. God responded. The days of Chanukah are called yimay ratzon -- days of Divine willingness for us to draw down some of His light into our own souls. When we do, we can once more merit the kind of miracles that God did for the Maccabees. After all it is He who said, Let there be light.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:20:00 +0000
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