The holiday of Chanukah is in commemoration of two miraculous events: the miracle of one jug of oil lasting eight nights and the great victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks. One might suggest that we do two things to commemorate these two events; that we light the menorah to commemorate the miracle of the oil and we recite hallel on each day of Chanukah to show gratitude for the miraculous victory of war.
But is this really true? Are these two events so distinct? Are these two commemorations so distinctly applied to each event?
The famous Gemara in Shabbat (21) asks מאי חנוכה?, “What was the miracle of Chanukah?” It then proceeds to tell the story of the oil, but concludes by saying the Jews at the time made this into a Yom Tov, and said Hallel. This implies that Hallel is to be thankful for the miracle of the oil? We could similarly ask from the text we recite while lighting the menorah, הנרות הללו..., which primarily describes the miracle of the oil, but it also mentions the victory of the war. So which is it? It seems these two miracles are intertwined.
I had the privilege this week to hear a shiur from my Rebbi, Rabbi Yonason Sacks, Rosh Yeshiva of Lander College for Men. In his shiur, Rabbi Sacks explained the true message of these miracles, and ultimately the true message of Chanukah. The miracle of the oil was clear and undeniable to all. The miracle of the war, however, could be explained rationally as another example of the underdog winning.
Imagine you were there at the time of these miracles; we could visualize the debate over the question of the war being miraculous or not. But then you hear of miracle of oil, which is undeniable, a נס נגלה, which illuminates for us the certainty the war was miraculous as well.
This idea is supported by the words of the Ramban at the end Parshat Bo, where he writes that miracles are there to shed light on everything Hashem does. We do not have a portion in Torat Moshe until we recognize that nothing in life is natural. It is all miraculous – some miracles are open and some are hidden, but they are not brought for that moment; they are brought to help us see that everything comes from Hashem. Rabbi Sacks added that in addition to translating נס as miracle, a נס can also be translated as flag or a banner. Why? Because miracles are intended to reveal to us the miraculous nature of the daily routine. There is no such thing as nature – it is all yad Hashem. The Maharal expands, saying this is the real reason we needed the miracle of the oil altogether! Many commentators wondered why we needed a miracle at all, as the oil could be used in the Beit Hamikdash despite its impurity; that impurity is overridden when the entire tzibur is impure. It must be that this miracle was really only to shed light, and to indicate that miracle of the war was the same Yad Hashem. This idea can be seen as well in the Rambam (3:3) where he describes the purpose of lighting the menorah as להראות ולגלות הנס, “to demonstrate and uncover the miracle.” One could have wondered, what are we uncovering? It must be, as explained earlier, that the miracle of the oil uncovers the great miracle of Hashem, saving us in the aw; both events are miraculous and are absolutely critical. It is for this reason, when we light and say הנרות הללו, we mention the war in addition to the oil, and it is also why the Gemara, when describing מאי חנוכה, mentions the story of the oil but also mentions Hallel – we cannot separate these – they are all part of the same yad Hashem.
Rabbi Sacks concluded his shiur by explaining that most of our Yomim Tovim commemorate נסים גלויים, the open and undeniable miracles of יציאת מצרים, מתן תורה וענני הכבוד, but Chanukah and Purim are dealing with times of galut and hester panim, they are hidden. The purpose of these miracles are to reveal that the miracles of the שלש רגלים teach us how to celebrate Chanukah and Purim. This helps explain why in a Jewish leap year you delay and connect redemption of Purim to Pesach – Pesach represents the open and undeniable miracles, whereas Purim represents the hidden miracles. But these are not independent experiences; they are all the same Yad Hashem, and it is for this reason we celebrate Purim in Ader Sheini and not Adar Alef.
We must recognize that life in its entirety is a miracle. There is no such thing as coincidence. Our waking up each day, the fact that most of us remain healthy with our physical and emotional capacities intact is in fact miraculous. As we celebrate this Chanukah, let’s be sure we share this idea with our children. Let’s be sure to show them the world is a miraculous place!
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