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Nearly all Jewish holidays, including Shabbat, center around
festive meals. The only exception is Chanukah; by Rabbinical decree, it
is the lighting of the candles that is the primary celebration particular to
Chanukah. This serves to focus our attention on the miracle of the oil staying
lit for eight days and not on the military victory over the Greeks.  | | " G-d is higher than any level of wisdom...." | | |
The Greeks did not seek to kill us; they sought to make us
accept their philosophies (see the "al hanisim" prayer added in the
Standing Prayer and in Grace After Meals). The basis of Greek and other secular
philosophies is to only accept ideas compatible with human intellect. Anything
incomprehensible to the intellect is out. Therefore, the Greeks denied G-d's
providence and the Torah commandments, as if to ask, "Does the Creator really
care if we eat meat with milk, or not?" Judaism teaches that G-d is higher than
any level of wisdom and knowledge, that no thought can contain the Almighty at
all, even the loftiest. The whole purpose of our ability to think is to
understand that our intellect is limited and to believe in the basic
foundations of the Torah. The miracle of Chanukah is G-dly wisdom superseding
human intellect.
This is the message of the Chanukah candles. Just as the number
of candles increases night by night, as more and more light dispels the
darkness, so we are also empowered to increase the use of our intellect to
reveal G-dliness in the world. As Chanukah candles shine outwards, to be seen by
others, so too each of us should also be like candles shining outwards, examples
of positive action to others.
May our efforts succeed, and this Chanukah may we merit lighting
the Menorah in the Third Temple with Mashiach.
Happy Chanuka, Shaul
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