We are all excited for Chanukah, probably the most popular Jewish holiday in America. Lighting candles, eating latkes, spinning dreidels and receiving gifts and Chanukah gelt is a fine way to spend eight days at the beginning of winter. So, what is the deal with lighting candles on Chanukah?
The mitzvah of lighting Shabbat candles was instituted to ensure that the Shabbat dinner should be a pleasant affair and enhance family peace and tranquility. It also serves as an appropriate way of welcoming the Shabbat and is primarily the obligation of the woman of the home.
The kindling of the Chanukah candles, on the other hand, is the core of the entire holiday! If one were to only light the candles each night as prescribed in Jewish law and not taste even one latke – he/she has observed Chanukah 100%.
The struggle between the Maccabees and the Greeks was not the typical conflict between colonizers and natives. The presence of a foreign power in Israel during that time period was not necessarily viewed as an existential threat to the Jewish community. There was a deep theological disagreement that pitted the two nations against each other as bitter enemies.
The Greek philosophy maintained that although G-d certainly created the world, the constant day to day realities of this universe are not His concern. Man is alive on planet earth to enjoy the pleasures it provides and the Creator has no interest in human behavior. They worshipped beauty, physical strength and wealth.
Judaism teaches that creation has a purpose that was communicated to us by G-d. Humanity was placed in this world with the obligation to perfect it that it should be capable of reflecting the divine. This is accomplished through behavior that is prescribed in the divine blueprint of creation – the Torah. Everything we do makes a difference to G-d and when we live life according to His wishes we forge a bond with Him. This is the translation of the word “mitzvah” - connection.
The Jewish perspective was anathema to the Greeks – and they viewed the Jewish rejection as the ultimate referendum of their Weltanschauung – which was unbearable. So They resorted to persecution and thousands of Jews sacrificed their lives as a result. The Maccabees selflessly battled the Greeks for the preservation of the Jewish type of relationship between G-d and creation.
G-d reciprocated their sacrifice by gifting them the miracle of the oil. Although no lives were in danger and the brightly lit menorah played no role in the military victory – it was G-d’s way of sending the message that the Maccabees were on target. Your actions DO make a difference to Me and I thank you for preserving our relationship.
So when you gather around the menorah on Motzei Shabbat (Saturday night) and recite the proper blessings and sing the traditional songs, be mindful of the message of the Chanukah lights. Each mitzvah that we do, every word of Torah we learn and every prayer we recite is precious to G-d. This is the true meaning of the blessing “He has wrought miracles for our ancestors in those days and in our time.” Just as a jug of pure olive oil was found in the darkest of times – the eternal “jug of pure olive oil” – the essential bond of a Jew with G-d – remains intact with each and every one of us to this day.