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Sermon for Sidra Miketz - Chanukah - December 2010
by Rabbi Geoffrey Hyman

Central to the celebration of Chanukah is the Menorah lighting. Additionally, we sing the Hallel everyday at Shacharit, and during the Amidah and Birkat Hamazon we read the special insertion of “Al Hanisim”, in which we give thanks to G-d for the miracle of our victory over the enemies who sought to destroy us.

We say in the “Al Hanisim”:
“And you in your great mercy stood up for them in the time of their sorrow;
You fought their cause;
You judged their case;
You avenged their wrong;
You handed over the mighty warriors into the hands of weak;
The impure, into the hands of the pure;
The wicked, into the hands of the righteous;
And the arrogant, into the hands of those who occupied themselves with Your Torah.”

In other words, our enemies, the Greeks, were strong and more numerous, but they were impure, wicked and arrogant. Whereas, we the Jewish people, were weak and in the minority, but because we were pure and righteous and totally occupied with the Torah – therefore G-d led us to victory.

The Torah in several places emphasises that G-d chose us not because we were numerous among the nations but because we were few in number, a tiny minority in the world. G-d made a covenant with our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that we would be His eternal people and that covenant is repeated throughout the Tenach.

The miracle of Chanukah – is therefore a manifestation of that “covenant”. That whenever we would be threatened by evil nations, we would survive as a people, even if only a remnant. The very nature of the miracle of the oil symbolises the very nature of that covenant. For like “the many of the hands in the few” – the oil was only a “small amount” but it lasted beyond its natural potential. That it lasted eight days is also significant, as the number eight is taken in Judaism to symbolise beyond the limitations of nature. So too the survival of the Jewish people throughout the ages is “supernatural”.

All our festivals serve to highlight our unique relationship with G-d and our mission to be His ambassador in an alien world where wealth, strength and fame are more important than holiness, purity and spirituality.

Our survival as a people is therefore dependant on G-d’s mercy. G-d gave us a land as part of that covenant and so did G-d give us His Torah to be our guide, to occupy ourselves with it, to learn and to practice it. The so called “cultural" or "secular” Jew may chose to ignore these facts but can they really deny our history and our origin; the very reason that we came into existence?

As a people we are always under threat!  As we chant from the Haggadah every Seder night: “In every generation they stand against us to annihilate us, but G-d saves us from their clutches”.  And so it is in our own generation, we have our country, Israel, and our Torah but it’s under constant threat. So let’s be “secheldik” (logical), we don’t need great chochmah (wisdom), to realise that if we are a vulnerable people - we do not need to fan the flames of their hatred by adding fuel to it.  So I ask you, do we really need the type of Jewish leader who does so? There are surely alternative avenues to make their views known, rather than criticising Israel so vehemently in a public forum. The Menorah is the symbol of “enlightenment” and wisdom. May G-d enlighten us with His Eternal Wisdom to be a “light unto the Nations.”