The True Miracle of Chanukkah

There is a well known disagreement, or possible confusion, about what the true miracle of Channukah is. Most people are familiar with the story of Channukah regarding the miracle of one jar of oil burning for eight whole days. This story can be found in Massechet Shabbat (21b). However there is also the additional prayer that we add to the Amidah and Birkat HaMazon , על הנסים, which does not mention the miracle of the oil at all. Rather this additional prayer focuses on the other miracle that happened during Channukah, the miracle of the military victory against the Greeks. The question that can be debated ad nauseum in Yeshivot is: which is the true miracle of Channukah, the oil or the military victory. (In Yeshiva-speak it would sound like: Which is the ikkar - נס פח השמן או נס מלחמה?)

In true Modern Kabbalistic Chassidic (and even possibly post-modern) style, this is not a disagreement (מחלוקת) that is meant to be resolved. The tension between the two miracles reflects two fundamentally different approaches to describe how HaShem interacts with the world. The miracle of the oil is an obvious miracle which contradicts the laws of nature. It is scientifically impossible for one jar of oil to burn for eight days. This type of obvious miracle is called a nes galui (נס גלוי). The miracle of the military victory is a hidden miracle (נס נסתר) - although it is improbable for a small band of Maccabees to defeat the might of the Greek army, it is scientifically possible. See my blog post for a discussion of the Ramban's explanation of hidden miracles (נסים נסתרים).

Now let us return to the question of why does the additional prayer (על הנסים) only mention the hidden miracle of the military victory? I would suggest that Chazal felt that it is only appropriate to daven for hidden miracles. There is a Rabbinic aphorism - על תסמול על הנס, do not rely on miracles. When we ask for help from HaShem we should not ask for outright miracles that contradict the laws nature.

For example, let me describe three approaches to getting a million dollars. The first approach is an obvious miracle - a million dollars suddenly appears on my doorstep. The second approach is a highly improbable hidden miracle - to win a million dollars in the lottery. The third approach is a common hidden miracle - to start a business and earn a million dollars. The military victory of Channukah would be in between approaches two and three - not as improbable as winning the lottery and not as likely earning a million dollars with a successful business. Channukah teaches us that it is only appropriate to daven for a hidden miracle that is similar to military victory of the Maccabees. Whereas, we commemorate the obvious miracles, like the jar of oil, with a different type of religious ritual or mitzvah.

It's All Greek To Me

Since it is now Chanukkah, I feel an obligation to discuss a Chassidic insight into the chag. I am discussing a piece that appears in the Pri Tzaddik, which is R. Tzaddok of Lublin’s (1823-1900) commentary on the Parshah and the Moadim. (For the remainder of Sefer Bereshit, most of my Chassidut entries will come from this sefer because it is one of the few Seforim that I have actually unpacked.) R. Tzaddok primarily focuses on explaining the connection between the Torah sh’Baal Peh and Chanukkah. He relies on the well known drashah that connects the light of the Channukkah candles to the light of the Torah.

The Lvush and others have pointed out that the Greeks did not want to physically destroy the Jewish people, but rather they wanted to spiritually eliminate Judaism. Thus, they sought to eliminate the study of the Torah from Judaism, because it is the spiritual source of Judaism. When the Hasmoneans defeated the Greeks, they also defended Judaism against Greek culture. The miracle of the light of the menorah is also the miracle of the victory of the Torah against Greek culture. All of this is the background for the chidush and insight of R. Tzaddok. (By the way, I am planning to make a separate post about why it is legitimate to discuss one idea disconnected from a long drasha. But a friend told me, “Oh yeah, I’ll look at your blog when you actually say something new.” I admit to being a little obsessed with introductions.)

R. Tzaddok states that Channukah also highlights the dichotomy between Greek philosophy and the Torah sh’Baal Peh. (zot leumat zot) In other words, the Oral Torah can be described as the act of interpreting the written Torah. Thus, when we learn Torah we are engaging in the following process: we use our God-given intellectual ability to legally and philosophically understand and apply the Torah to our world. (The legal application is controlled by the Rabbinic “we”.) Greek philosophy engages in the same process; however it is creating a legal and philosophical framework which is completely devoid of (and contradicts) the Torah. Thus, according to R. Tzaddok the holiday of Chanukkah and the mitzvah of lighting the menorah celebrates the intellectual victory of the Torah sh’Ba’al Peh over Greek philosophy. Finally, R. Tzaddok emphasizes that Channukah is the time of the year which renews our connection to the Torah sh’Baal Peh.

Channukah Sameach