Chanukah

In 1897, famous author Mark Twain wrote the following:

If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race.  It suggests a nebulous puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way.  Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of.  He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine and abstruse learning are also very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers.  He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it.  The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greeks and Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they were gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, and have vanished. The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities, of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert but aggressive mind.  All things are mortal but the Jews; all other forces pass, but he remains.  What is the secret of his immortality?

Let’s try and answer Mr. Twain’s question…

The Gemara (Shabbat 21b) asks “What is Chanukah?”

Rashi clarifies the question: For which miracle did Chazal institute Chanukah?

Two big miracles took place on Chanukah:

1: The Maccabees (although highly outnumbered) beat the Greeks in war.

2: One flask of oil which was expected to last just 1 day lasted for a total of 8 days

The question is: Why did Chazal institute Chanukah because of the flask of oil–surely the Maccabees beating the Greeks was a bigger miracle!?! Additionally, even had the flask of oil not lasted 8 days, they could have simply used other oil. However, had the Maccabees lost the war then that would have been the end of the Jews–therefore, surely the miraculous war was a greater miracle!?!

I think we could answer as follows…Chanukah took place after the time of the prophets. During the time of the prophets man was able to speak directly to Hashem. However, after all the prophets died they lost that direct connection. They now had to call out to Hashem and pray to be answered in order to re-establish that strong bond with Him. Although they were answered by defeating the Greeks, that was simply a cause of their constant Torah study. At the end of the day, in war the numbers don’t matter. The righteous will always beat the wicked. The mitzvah of the oil, however, was completely unnecessary, for they could have used other oil. Hashem, however, wanted to show the Jews that He is always there for them, even when he doesn’t speak directly to man through prophecy. Therefore, He made that 1 flask of oil last for 8 days to show the Jews that He will always be there during times of need.

Half an hour before one lights the candles, according to many commentators, one is forbidden to learn (unless it’s about the laws of Chanukah or a regularly scheduled night class). However, the reason why the Jews beat the Greeks was because of their torah study! Therefore, why is one not allowed to learn after they light the candles? I think we could answer that the basis of Chanukah was that the Jews were able to re-establish that strong bond with Hashem (without prophets). Although it was our torah study which allowed us to defeat the Greeks, it was the miracle of the oil which demonstrated that Hashem would always be there for us. Even after our victory over the Greeks we were still at a loss, for we needed to regain the connection we had with Hashem during the time of the prophets. Without that connection to Hashem we were weak, despite the fact that we had just beaten the Greeks. Therefore, it was the miracle of the oil which re-established our connection with Hashem and gave us the strength to always survive. Thus,   we must make sure to not get sidetracked when the time to perform the mitzvah arrives. 

Now we could answer Mr. Twain’s question…

The Jews have always been connected with Hashem, and the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days was a sign from Hashem that even though He would no longer speak directly to man they could still hold a strong bond. It is this bond with Hashem that has kept us alive through all these years…This bond is the foundation of Chanukah.

Summary: Mark Twain asked (1897): What is the secret to the Jews immortality? The secret is the foundation of Chanukah–connecting with Hashem. There were 2 main miracles: 1) The victory over the Greeks. 2) The flask of oil lasting 8 days. Surprisingly, the Gemara (Shabbat, 21a) states that the festival of Chanukah was instituted because of the miracle of the oil, not the war. But why is that? Because the miracle of the oil showed that even though there were no more prophets and Hashem would no longer speak directly to man–the nation of Israel could still have a strong bond with Him. It is this bond that has kept us alive through all these years. This bond is Chanukah.