Today's date and time:

Sermon for Sidra Vayeshev
1st Shabbat Chanukah, December 2009
by Rabbi Geoffrey Hyman

There is a very famous question asked on the piece in the Talmud, which describes the reason why we celebrate Chanukah.

The Gemoro Shabbos (21b) quoting an older source states:
“That the 8 days of Chanukah are celebrated because, when the Greeks went into the Temple they defiled all the oil, but still when the Hasmoneans were victorious and returned to the Temple, they found one flask of oil that had survived with the seal of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. It should only have been enough to burn for one day, but a miracle happened and they were able to kindle it for eight nights.”

So the question is asked: really there were 2 miracles, the military victory and the miracle of the oil. So why did the Rabbis only make mention of the victory as coincidental to the miracle of the oil?

There are several answers but I want to share with you one answer that holds such a vital message for us as Jews in contemporary society.

The story of Chanukah took place in the time of the spread and growth of the Greek Empire. To the Greeks and later the Romans, the super-star or hero of the day was the “mighty warrior” who was physically strong and handsome. They put great emphasis on strength and beauty above all other values. This way of life was known as Hellenism. The culture of Hellenism was in total contradiction to the values emphasised in Jewish life as taught by the Torah – in other words, the two cultures were in collision. There were many Jews who did in fact adopt the Greek ways and assimilated. Eventually the Greeks under Antiochus then tried to force their ways on those Jews who had remained loyal to Torah and Mitzvot and it was this that caused Matisyahu and his sons to lead a rebellion against the Greek occupation.

So now, imagine if the Hasmoneans would have celebrated Chanukah merely because of the miracle of the victory, themselves as the super-heroes; even if they would have also emphasised G-d’s part in the victory – it would have been simply perpetrating an aspect of Greek culture, the greatness of the “mighty warrior”. They therefore played down the role of the military victory and instead stressed the miracle of the oil in the Menorah, which symbolised the re-dedication of G-d’s Temple and the presence of the Shechinah, G-d’s radiance in this world.

Another name for Chanukah is Chag Ha'urim, the Festival of Lights – for it symbolizes the Or Torah, the light in this world that emanates from the Torah and the Mitzvot.

Alas, we too live once again in a world where the super-star or hero of society is purely physical in shape and form. Whether it is possessing the X Factor or prowess on the football field or the golf course; or a media-made day wonder – these are the heroes of contemporary society. But in reality, they are not super heroes. For to us with Jewish values, the real hero is one who brings true light and everlasting values into this world. And that is what our Rabbis really wanted us to learn from the Chanukah story.

Chanukah reflects on the enormous threat we underwent as a people faced by the great forces of assimilation; when we as Jews adopted the values of an alien society to be our own and left the values of Torah behind. And now, once again we live in a time that poses the same threat that we faced in the days of the Maccabees. Look at the high levels of intermarriage nowadays and look at the fall out from Jewish observance and practice!

The miracle of Chanukah was that very crucible of oil that burnt for eight days.

Let that miracle of the oil inspire us in our lives and in the life of the community – here and beyond – to re-initiate the spiritual conquest by the House of Hasmoneans of old, by emphasising the values that are dear to us as Jews and by living our lives through the strength and beauty of the Torah and its Mitzvos.

May the lights of Chanukah truly grant us spiritual illumination.