THE REAL MIRACLES OF CHANUKA

Rebbetzin Esti

Chanukah is a magical time. Lighting the menorah and watching the ever-upwards dance of those small flames which have so much profound meaning. Sitting together with family and friends, eating doughnuts and talking about the amazing miracles that Hashem did for us so many years ago, as well as the miracles that have happened in our own lives. Doing this for eight days develops within us a deepening of our faith in Hashem and His love for us, giving us renewed hope as we face the dark winter months. The amazing thing about a small light is that it has the ability to illuminate an entire room. This is the first lesson Chanukah teaches us. A small flame can bring so much light, helping us to see things that we couldn’t before. So too, when we allow a small bit of positivity into our thoughts and into our conversations, suddenly, we are able to see our whole world in a new light.

We know that the main miracle of Chanukah was winning the battle against the Greeks. We went to war against an enemy who was trying to destroy our spirit, and even though they were so much stronger, better trained and better equipped than we were, we faced them and miraculously won. And yet, when we sit around our menorah on Chanukah, our focus seems to be on that one small jug of oil and how it stayed alight for eight days. Why do we do this?

When we went to war against the Greeks, Hashem needed to perform a miracle to save us. He needed to step in, to ensure the survival of our small nation. On the other hand, the small jug of oil lasting for eight days wasn’t necessary for our survival, but rather it was a gift. It was Hashem’s direct response to our yearning for connection. The Jewish people came back to the Beis Hamikdash after winning the war, only to see it in ruins. The devastation must have been soul crushing, but instead of focusing on the sadness, they decided to focus on the rebuilding. Not only did they clean the Beis Hamikdash from all the idols, the unkosher animals and the rubbish left there by the Greeks, but they also looked for pure untouched holy oil, so that they could relight the menorah.

This right here is really the most inspiring moment of the whole Chanukah story, where we see the indestructibility of the Jewish soul. In our hardest moments, when we feel at our lowest point, we immediately start searching for hope, for a sign, for a way to reconnect with Hashem. We always have the choice in life, even in the darkest of times, to look for a connection. We can look for Hashem and see the miracles, however small they are, even if they are as small as that jug of oil. If we choose to, we can see the small gifts Hashem sends us and we can let it add tremendous light into our lives.

The Chanukah story was a fight for our souls, not our bodies. When we are fighting for our physical life, we do so instinctively. However, when the world around us is saying, ‘Live in our countries, walk in our streets, work with us, eat with us, become friends with us. All we ask for in return is for you to be a little bit less committed to your religion, to your faith.’ What would we do to save our spiritual life? And how committed are we to the survival of our soul?

Nowadays, we are so comfortable where we are that we don’t even know that we are fighting for our souls. When we look at our lives, we have to make sure that the way we serve Hashem is all about the relationship. We should look at the mitzvos that we are already doing and try to figure out a way to fall in love with them. We can look at our Shabbos and think of ways to add more meaning, and look at our committed life and find a way to make it more inspiring. When our children watch us light the menorah, we should be able to close our eyes because we are feeling the warmth and love of our relationship with our Creator.

There is already so much darkness in the world. The darkness of ignorance, assimilation, violence, and the darkness in our personal lives and the lives of Jewish people around the world. This past year during the pandemic, we have all had to face the darkness. Yet to combat all of that, we each have to remember that we have the capacity to bring light into the world. We may be overwhelmed by the darkness, or we may think that our life is too small to really make a difference. Yet we only have to read the Chanukah story to see how it took just a small group of people to decide to fight for our soul, and how, when we won, it took just a small amount of oil to shine a huge light that lasted for generations.

Chanukah is a story - our story, of courage, faith and resilience. Faith in Hashem and faith in our own capacity to make a difference in this world and to never give up hope. We all have our ups and downs, our good days and bad days, but our mission is to keep building ourselves up and keep looking for hope. If we focus on the moment that we are in and look to see the miracles around us, we will realise that we are the miracle, and that ours is the brightest light.

Rebbetzin Esti Hamilton writes and lectures widely on contemporary issues. She teaches classes on spiritual growth, character building and relationships, as well as running support groups for parents with disabled children. You can listen to some of her shiurim on www. torahanytime.com. To be in touch with her, or book her for a lecture for your community please email her at rebbetzinesti@gmail.com. You can also follow her on social media: Instagram @rebbetzin_ esti _ or Facebook - Esti Hamilton. She is also available through her website www. rebbetzinesti.com.