Weekly Torah Portion

“We had nothing but the clothing on our back and a thin blanket attempting to keep us warm as we lay in the freezing cold barracks of Auschwitz. Would there be some food tomorrow? Anything? That’s all we could think about.”

Oh how I recall my Savta (grandmother) sharing with me just a tiny glimpse of the living nightmare she experienced during the Holocaust. I listen in an almost painful silence. But then she recalls Chanukah and a smile breaks out on her pure, beautiful face.

The makeshift Menorah! The one they had fashioned together by taking a small slice of butter, placing it into a carved out potato, and then lighting the embedded thread taken from one of their prison uniforms. After all, it was Chanukah. A Jew must light a menorah!

As they watched the dancing flame pierce through the heavy darkness, their hearts were filled with a renewed sense of promise and hope. We can survive! We will survive!

What is it about this holiday of Chanukah that provides such hope and promise? Why are so many Jews across the globe so enthusiastic about lighting the menorah and celebrating Chanukah?

When the Jews re-entered the Beis Hamikdash (Holy Temple) after it had been ransacked by the Syrian Greek army, they desperately wanted to fulfil the daily mitzvah of lighting the Menorah. After an exhaustive search to find any remaining jugs of oil, they had all but given up. At that moment, Hashem opened their eyes and suddenly they found a small jug containing just enough oil for one day.

What would they do for the next seven days until they could produce more olive oil? Would the Temple’s menorah remain unlit?

Hashem in His infinite kindness performed the great Chanukah miracle. The small amount of oil, which naturally should have burned for only one day, lasted a full eight days until the new olive oil arrived. The limited volume of oil became limitless. All the logical reasons for why the lights of the Menorah should be extinguished were overlooked. And for whom? For us! For Am Yisrael.

This wasn’t just a miracle, it was a message. It was a message of who we are, what we are, and how we operate. We are a supernatural people, imbued with Godliness that is not bound by the laws of nature, limitation or logic. The darkness is not an indication of the end, nor “few in number” a suggestion of defeat. We survive and thrive against all odds. We are a nation that dreams the unimaginable and achieves the impossible.

The lights of the Menorah passionately affirm and amplify this message. It is those glistening flames that remind us, just like they reminded my Savta, to never ever give up. To realize that as individuals and as Am Yisrael we live differently. The miracle of the lasting oil, in truth, is an ongoing reality for all of us.