By By Rabbi-Cantor Cheri Weiss
One of the most delightful of all the Jewish holidays will soon be upon us. Who doesn’t love to break out the cherished Chanukiah from the cupboard, light the colorful candles, and sing the blessings and festive songs? What child doesn’t enjoy spinning the dreidel and cheering when it lands on the Hebrew letter gimel (because in the dreidel game, that’s when you win the pot of pennies or maybe chocolate coins, AKA gelt)? The Gimel stands for gadol – Hebrew for “great,” as in “Nes gadol haya sham” – “A great miracle happened there.” In Israel, the four letters on the dreidel (nun, gimel, hay, pay) stand for “Nes gadol hayah poh” or “A great miracle happened here.”
We treasure the joyful looks on children’s faces as they participate in these rituals. It’s how they build Jewish memories that hopefully carry over into future generations. Every year while lighting candles and singing songs, I recall my daughter’s excitement as she sang Ner Li (“I Have a Candle”) —her favorite Chanukkah song—while spinning round and round like a dreidel. She may now be well into adulthood, but part of me will always think of that happy little girl with elation and wonder in her eyes.
We teach children about the miracle of Chanukkah: How the small but brave band of soldiers led by Judah Maccabee defeated the much-larger Syrian-Greek army. How they had to cleanse the Temple, which had been defiled by the Syrian-Greeks. How, according to a popular Chanukkah legend, in order to rededicate the Temple, they needed to light the Menorah yet found just one small jar of “pure” oil—enough for one day but miraculously the light lasted for eight days.
Adults studying Jewish history in depth may come to learn that this “miracle” was likely a myth. While the battle was historically documented, the event concerning the oil and light was not mentioned in any book until the Talmud was redacted hundreds of years later. In all likelihood, the rabbis added it to provide a foundation for this holiday that did not rely solely on a bloody battle.
Throughout my adult years, I have searched for deeper meanings in the holiday of Chanukkah. The concept of miracles always draws me in, and I have considered what constitutes a miracle from multiple angles. If we look at the story of the Maccabees defeating the mighty Syrian-Greeks, that certainly constitutes a miracle. Yet the lesson may not be that God was on their side; rather, it was their determination to succeed in the face of certain defeat. They may have believed that God was standing by them, but they knew that they had to take the steps to save themselves and the religion they wanted to practice as they saw fit.
Over the course of our own lives, we will encounter many obstacles that seem insurmountable. We may have dreams that seem impossible to fulfill. While prayer to the Divine may bring comfort, it is up to us to take whatever action we can to improve our situation. We cannot rely solely on God to change our lives. We need to dig deeply within ourselves to find an inner strength and creativity we may not have realized we possess. By walking toward the light, we can become part of the miraculous.
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