By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
We celebrate the miracle of Chanuka for eight days.
The reason being, that after the Maccabees victoriously entered the Bet Hamikdash they immediately set out to reinstate the kindling of the Menorah in the Temple. They searched for pure ritually uncontaminated oil. They found one flask that was sealed by the High Priest.
The oil that was enough for one day, burned for eight.
There is a classic question regarding this.
If there was enough oil for one day and it lasted for eight, doesn’t that mean that the miracle was only for seven days?
Think about it. For the first day of kindling the Menorah there was enough oil. Naturally, without a miracle there was oil enough for one day. It was only from the second day onward that it started becoming miraculous.
Why do we then celebrate Chanukah for eight days?
There is a lot of discussion around this question.
Click here for a detailed essay on this topic .
One of the answers is, that finding the oil was itself a miracle. On the first day of Chanukah, we celebrate the miracle of finding the oil.
Another angle is that on the first day of Chanuka we celebrate the military victory where the weaker Maccabean fighters prevailed over the larger and mightier Greek legions.
I would like to focus on two other answers provided by great Rabbinic Sages more than three hundred years ago.
When the Jews found that one flask of oil that was enough for only one day, they had a dilemma.
They knew from experience that the time needed for producing new ritual olive oil was eight days.
There are two possibilities.
Either they filled up the Menorah with the full quantity of oil to kindle for that first day in the proper way. Disregarding the fact that this would leave them totally without oil for the following seven days.
Or, knowing that they needed to stretch this oil for eight days, they only filled the Menorah with one eighth of the oil. Thus allowing for at least a partial fulfillment of the kindling of the Menorah.
The miracle in the first scenario was the fact the oil level only went down one eighth every night. Thus on the first day of Chanukah there was already a miracle. The flames were alight, while the oil was not consumed as usual. Only one eighth.
In the second approach, the Menorah was only one eighth filled but burned as if it was totally full. This miracle started on the first day and continued every single day of the following seven days.
In both accounts the Jews of that time were witnesses to a miraculous slowdown of the rate of combustion of oil. This miracle started from the very first day of Chanuka and lasted for eight days.
Every single day was a miracle.
Which is why we celebrate Chanuka and light the Menorah for eight full days.
What jumps to my mind when thinking about the two scenarios regarding the usage of that one insufficient flask of oil, are the real live accounts I have read regarding the concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust.
Reading those Holocaust diaries is heartrending.
What took place only eight decades ago is already unimaginable to us, as it should be. The bestial inhumanness of the Nazis is a scourge on human history.
Those painful and detailed accounts of the indescribable conditions in the death camps expose some of the deepest aspects of human behavior.
In various personal diaries of Holocaust survivors there is mention of the two different kinds of approaches to the daily bread ration.
Some would eat it immediately. While it did not satiate them as the amount was too paltry, it did relieve them of the intense hunger pangs for at least a while. It also guaranteed that it could not be stolen from them. But it left them without any bread till the next days distribution.
Others would carefully divide their bread ration into several portions. They would allow themselves to eat only a small portion of the bread. They knew that they would be in need of the nutrition later on, as meager as it may be.
What caused some inmates to finish their bread at once and others to divide it up?
It would appear that different people have different approaches to dealing with these kinds of scenarios.
During the most desperate times, whilst suffering from acute malnutrition and hunger, there were two approaches to consuming the meager bread ration.
At the other end of the spectrum, during the heady victorious time of the Maccabees, when faced with the holy and inspiring task of kindling the Menorah there were also those same two options.
Fill in the Menorah fully, to at least do the mitzvah properly on the first day.
Or divide the oil up into eight portions, so that at least every day they could do some of the Mitzvah.
What would you and I have done if you had to make the decision on how to use the limited oil when you knew it would not be enough for your needs?
Perhaps we too as ‘different folks’ with ‘different strokes’ would have had those same differences of opinion.
But there is no need to get too concerned or even panicky about our possible varying reactions.
The great miracle of Chanuka assures us, that whatever way the oil was divided, the miraculous outcome was the same.
The Menorah burned for eight days. Uninterruptedly.
Perhaps we can learn an important lesson from this regarding reducing our stress levels.
Let me use driving a car as an example.
Some people drive ‘on edge’. They are always changing lanes. Zipping in and out. Trying to catch green lights even as they are turning yellow. Never driving under the speed limit. (I am not talking about reckless driving which is wrong and forbidden).
Others are more laid-back drivers. They take their time. Catching a red light doesn’t bother them very much.
Each style is unique.
And each style is valid.
And it is not just about driving behaviors where people differ.
In all aspects of life different people have different approaches.
Some people are stressed out about their retirement account.
Others spend their finances happily and wholesomely, without always thinking about their old age. (Within reason. I am not talking about irresponsibly frittering away needed funds).
Some of us get really uptight and constantly try to fight our natural disposition.
Perhaps, the story of Chanuka, and particularly the Sagely discussion about how to allocate the oil, can reassure us that both approaches are valid.
And here is the punch line and the most important part of this discussion.
In both instances, the Almighty intervened and miraculously caused the Menorah to burn for the full eight days.
Many have seen that in reality; the uptight driver does not necessarily arrive at his destination before the laid-back driver.
For those who are blessed enough to be well into their years of retirement they know that there are those who always lived excessively frugally yet do not necessarily have a better quality of life when they actually arrive at retirement.
I am not advocating for either side.
Rather, I am suggesting that one can feel comfortable with embracing whatever nature it is they have regarding the ‘how to divide up the oil’ kind of dilemmas.
Provided that they recognize that the outcome is ultimately up to G-d.
If G-d is your Provider, then all you need to do is act responsibly. And there are various approaches to what responsible behavior may be. They are all fine, provided you leave space for Hashem.
Reducing stress levels is a mitzvah.
Trust in Hashem in the full and proper way, reduces stress.
Its good for our material health. And vital for our spiritual growth.
In this weeks Parsha we are told that Yosef was delayed in prison because he ever so slightly put too much emphasis on his own efforts to get out of prison, thus delaying G-d’s miraculous intervention by two years. Click here for an enlightening article regarding the balance between faith and human efforts as it pertained to Yosef.
Let us kindle our personal Menorahs by adding in acts of goodness and kindness and holiness.
And once we do our bit, the way we should, each according to their personal and distinctive nature, may G-d bless our efforts with MIRACULOUS SUCCESS.
Shabbat Shalom
Chodesh Tov
Chanukah Sameach
Rabbi Yosef Kantor