בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יקוקאלוקִינו מֶלֶך–הָעולָםאֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו
וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסק בְּדִבְרֵי-תורָה.
Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh haolam asher kideshanu b’mitzvotav ve’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.
Blessed are you Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with Your mitzvot and commanded us to engage in words of Torah.
מאי חנוכהדתנו רבנןבכ"ה בכסליו יומי דחנוכה תמניא אינון דלא למספד בהון ודלא להתענות בהוןשכשנכנסו 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 ימיםלשנה אחרת קבעום ועשאום ימים טובים בהלל והודאה
What is Chanukkah, that our Sages taught: On the 25th of Kislev - the days of Chanukkah, they are eight, not to eulogize on them and not to fast on them?When the Greeks entered the Temple, they polluted all the oils in the Temple, and when the Hasmonean dynasty overcame and defeated them, they checked and they found but one cruse of oil that was set in place with the seal of the High Priest, but there was in it only [enough] to light a single day. A miracle was done with it, and they lit from it for eight days. The following year [the Sages] fixed those [days], making them holidays for praise and thanksgiving.
According the text in the Talmud, the miracle of Chanukah is that with only enough unpolluted oil to burn for one night, the oil instead burned for 8 nights! Enough time to get more fuel and keep the holy menorah burning. Questions for discussion:
- What would this miracle like like for you/us, today?
- What if we make this a metaphor? Have you ever only a little bit of oil left (think energy, patience, courage, strength...) and you didn't think you could make it through... but then you did?
"We thank You also for the miraculous deeds and for the redemption and for the mighty deeds and the saving acts wrought by You, as well as for the wars which You waged for our ancestors in ancient days at this season. In the days of the Hasmonean Mattathias, son of Johanan the high priest, and his sons, when the iniquitous Greco-Syrian kingdom rose up against Your people Israel, to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the ordinances of Your will, then You in your abundant mercy rose up for them in the time of their trouble, pled their cause, executed judgment, avenged their wrong, and delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent ones into the hands of those occupied with Your Torah. Both unto Yourself did you make a great and holy name in Thy world, and unto Your people did You achieve a great deliverance and redemption. Whereupon your children entered the sanctuary of Your house, cleansed Your temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courts, and appointed these eight days of Hanukkah in order to give thanks and praises unto Your holy name."
The historical Chanukah is more in line with this miracle: When the Greco-Syrian kingdom colonized our people, some joined the empire with all that entailee, but the Maccabbees stood outside and led a rebellion. At first it was a civil war, and then a full on war. Without glorifying violence or war (G!d forbid) I AM interested in reclaiming this holiday as one that celebrates acts of rebellion against empire, rebellion against forces and systems of oppression, against capitalism and dominant cultures that can deny us of our dignity, uniqueness, or kedusha (holiness). For discussion:
- What acts of rebellion have you been part of recently?
- What acts of rebellion have you witnessed that you would like to lift up and celebrate?
- Consider naming these acts each night that you light candles.
(כז) נֵ֣ר יקוק נִשְׁמַ֣ת אָדָ֑ם חֹ֝פֵ֗שׂ כׇּל־חַדְרֵי־בָֽטֶן׃
(27) G!d's candle is the human soul, Revealing all his inmost parts.
If we use this text to (re)interpret the lighing of the Chanukah candles, then when we light the candles, we are re-kindling (reminding?) ourselves of the Divine light that shines within each of us.
- What would it mean for you to re-kindle the Divine flame inside you?
- How can the Chanukah lights serve as a rededication or reminder of the holiness inside of every person?
והיינו דאמר רבי אלעזר מאי דכתיב (תהלים עב, יח) עושה נפלאות (גדולות) לבדו וברוך שם כבודו לעולם אפילו בעל הנס אינו מכיר בנסו
What is the meaning of that which is written: “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who does wondrous things alone; and blessed be His glorious name forever” (Psalms 72:18–19)? What does it mean that God “does wondrous things alone”? It means that even the one for whom the miracle was performed does not recognize the miracle that was performed for him.
- Can you think of miracles in your life that you did not recognize at the time?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the
ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?
We walk all over the common miracles
without bothering to wipe our feet.
Then we wonder why we need more
and more salt to taste our food.
My old man, my old lady, my
ball and chain: listen, even the cat
you found starving in the alley
who purrs you to sleep dancing
with kneading paws in your hair
will vanish if your heart closes its fist.
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
Sometimes miracles are thought of us (only) the supernatural, that which is which outside the realm of the ordinaryor natural world. OR miracles are (only) Divine interventions in history or in our lives. These texts argue that miracles are something else entirely.
- According to these texts, what are miracles?
- What are some miracles in your life?
- What keeps you from recognizing / beholding these miracles?
- This Chanukah, how can you cultivate what Martin Buber called “abiding astonishment” and Abraham Joshuah Heschel referred to as “radical amazement” to behold the miraculous in the every day?