מאי חנוכה?...שכשנכנסו יוונים להיכל טמאו כל השמנים שבהיכל וכשגברה מלכות בית חשמונאי ונצחום בדקו ולא מצאו אלא פך אחד של שמן שהיה מונח בחותמו של כהן גדול ולא היה בו אלא להדליק יום אחד נעשה בו נס והדליקו ממנו שמונה ימים לשנה אחרת קבעום ועשאום ימים טובים בהלל והודאה
The Gemara asks: What is Hanukkah, and why are lights kindled on Hanukkah? ...when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame them and emerged victorious over them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that was placed with the seal of the High Priest, undisturbed by the Greeks. And there was sufficient oil there to light the candelabrum for only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit the candelabrum from it eight days. The next year the Sages instituted those days and made them holidays with recitation of hallel and special thanksgiving in prayer and blessings.
Where do you find hope in the story of Chanukkah?
“The soul of [a person] is the lamp of God,” the Book of Proverbs tell us (20:27). What this means is that ultimately, our task is not to light candles, but to be candles. We have the potential to be the bits of light that help bring God back into a world gone dark. As the Sefas Emes puts it in discussing Hanukkah, “A human being is created to light up this world” (Hanukkah, 1874).
What is our spiritual work on Hannukah, and how is it connected to hope?
Chanukah falls out in Kislev because Kislev is the darkest and coldest time of the year. It is the month in which the winter solstice (when the sun is furthest from the Earth) occurs, and when daylight is at its minimum. It is thus a time that symbolically represents the blanket of (moral) darkness that Yavan [son of Noah] spread across the world and brought to Eretz Yisrael. In fact, the Midrash refers to Yavan as darkness (see Bereishit Rabbah 2:4). Because Yavan is darkness and Kislev is darkness, the miracle that dispelled the darkness occurred in Kislev.
Correspondingly, Chanukah transpired in Kislev because winter means darkness on many levels. In addition to the physical aspect of the short and cold days, Kislev is an island in a sea of potential spiritual darkness, as it is a time distant from the spiritually charged yamim tovim of the fall (Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot) and of the spring (Purim, Pesach, and Shavuot). During the dark winter months, when the potential to lose hope and spiral downward is present, Chanukah comes to dispel the fear, the lost hope, and the spiritual agony. It comes to kindle a small beacon of inspiration for us, to help us recognize that there is always hope, that all is not lost and that there is so much potential to grow. We just need to kindle that first light, and the result will be a conflagration!
This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that while there is only one light on the first night of Chanukah, there are suddenly two on the second night. They then become three and four. And then, before you know it, the eighth night sees a menorah brilliantly aflame! The miracle occurred in the dimness of Kislev to show that even in the most piercing darkness, one little candle can re-inspire, give hope, and light up the entire world.
What are the different ways that the BY understands the darkness of Kislev?
What is the relationship between Chanukkah, fear, and hope?
In what way does Chanukah “kindle” hope?
How is the way we light Chanukkah candles demonstrate a hopeful outlook?
1. How are Channukah and hope connected for you?
2. How might Chanukkah be an opportunity for you to cultivate/orient towards hope?