A Springboard to Thanking Hashem

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah

Throughout Chanuka, we say in our prayers and in bentching the Al Hanissim prayer, which relates in detail the miraculous military victory of the Chashmonaim over the Greeks. Also, in haneiros halalu, we say that we are lighting the candles as a remembrance of Hashem’s great redemption of the Jewish nation at that time.

However, when the Talmud discusses the reason why the Sages enacted the holiday of Chanuka (Shabbos 21b), the military victory is barely mentioned, and the sages focus only on the miracle of the flask of oil, which had enough oil to light only for one day, yet it remained lit for eight days until new, pure oil could be brought to the Beis Hamikdash.

There are clearly two main themes to Chanuka, the miraculous military victory and the miracle of the oil. Why is only one element present in our prayers, and the other present when discussing the basis for the yom tov?

Rav Chaim Friedlander answers that  the miraculous victory over the Greeks is for us the main miracle of Chanuka, because without that, the Jewish People could have been brought to extinction, chalila. As impressive as the miracle of the oil was, that alone would not have stopped the gentiles from making edicts against us, nor would it have ended the war. We praise Hashem on Chanuka for the fact that we’re still here, as a nation keeping His mitzvos!

However, for the Sages to institute that the days of Chanuka be special days of Hallel and hodaah (giving thanks to Hashem), this required a much stronger revelation than a military victory. This is because when considering the Chashmonaim’s victory over the Greeks, it could look as though in some small way, their going out to the battlefield to fight was what led to victory. Even though all could see that the Chashmonaim were a handful of kohanim and the Greeks were the most trained and equipped army of that era, still, whatever efforts the Chashmonaim made were enough to make the victory appear less than 100 percent miraculous. The miracle of the oil, however, was something that no human being could claim a part of. For such a miracle, the Sages decreed special days of Hallel and hodaah, but their intent was that this serve as the basis to recognize that just as the flask of oil was purely miraculous, so was the war. We’re expected to thank Hashem for the victory against the Greeks, but in order for us to recognize that this victory was Hashem’s alone, we first need the miracle of the flask of oil, which brings us to recognition and hodaah.

Rav Friedlander goes on to say that just as the miracle of the oil was intended to help us see that the war was purely a miracle, so too all of the miracles of Chanuka (war and oil alike) are expected to open our eyes to the fact that all of our lives are really miracles. Every day, the fact that we wake up in the morning, get out of bed unassisted and resume a day full of Torah and mitzvos — are these not open miracles? How many people don’t get up in the morning, chalila, or require assistance to do so? How often in our history were Jews unable to keep mitzvos due to religious persecution? Rav Friedlander bases this idea on the Ramban (Shemos 13:16), who states that from the great and grandiose miracles, we are expected to learn that all of our lives are miracles, and to thank Hashem for all of them.

The Alter of Kelm would say that this recognition of miracles answers the famous question of the Beis Yosef (Orach Chaim 670): Why do we light Chanuka candles for eight days? Is it because one day’s worth of oil in the Beis Hamikdash lit for eight days? If so, we should light for only seven days, because only after that first day could the burning of the oil be called a miracle!

The Alter of Kelm would say that we light for eight days because that first day was also a miracle — because nature is a miracle. In fact, there is no such thing as “nature,” meaning some natural flow of events that follows a charted, predictable course. There is no such thing! All of life is miracles! When we light the menorah that first day of Chanuka, this is recognition and a hodaah that what the gentiles call “nature” we also call “a miracle” and thank Hashem for!

Indeed, the misconception that there are “forces of nature” that act independently of a Creator—this was the heretical philosophy of the Greeks. Whatever we do to strengthen our emuna that all of our lives are miracles, particularly during Chanuka, is a new victory against the Greeks.

Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein points out that we should devote time to thinking into the details of our lives to see just how many things that happen to us can qualify as miracles. If we’re married, that didn’t just happen. If we have children, that too was a miracle. And livelihood? The Sages say that a man’s livelihood is no less a miracle than the Splitting of the Red Sea! (Pesachim 118a). How often were we suffering from ailments that one day disappeared? Did we thank Hashem for that? If not, let’s do it now!

And even before thinking about personal redemptions, what about the miracles that happen daily? As we mentioned, we woke up this morning, opened our eyes and could see. We were able to stand up straight, get dressed and walk on solid ground. Shouldn’t we thank Hashem for all of these things? Each one of them merits a separate blessing in the birchos hashachar. Shouldn’t we put more kavana into these brachos?

Moreover, let’s talk openly with others about the miracles of our lives. If something good happens, publicize it! Tell your children: “Daddy was almost late for an appointment, but he made the bus!” If you felt siyatta deShemaya in finishing all of the Shabbos preparations on time, share this with the family. The more we speak about Hashem’s miracles, the more a sense of gratitude and hodaah becomes a part of us.

When at a seuda together with the family, say: Where did this food come from? How many miracles did it take for us to have challa? First, the ground required rain, and then wheat kernels sprouted in the moist soil. Slowly, growth began emerging, a stalk and more wheat kernels. And how did it get to us? Hashem gave us money, etc…

Take a visit to the zoo with your family and speak about the wonders of Hashem and the myriad, picturesque creatures He gives life to!

Once, Rav Zilberstein paid a visit to a renowned talmid chacham who was suffering from cancer. The man was writhing in pain, yet he managed to greet Rav Zilberstein with a smile, and it was clear that despite his physical pain, he was in good spirits.

Rav Zilberstein asked him how he was able to withstand his pain so heroically, and the answer he received was a lesson in hodaah:

“It’s true that I’m in pain, but I keep thinking, look at how much Hashem gave me throughout my life. I merited to spend many years studying Torah in good health. During those years, I married and merited a family, and I have nachas from all of them, even now, despite my illness. Yes, I’m in pain, but after all Hashem did for me, how can I complain? How can I just forget all the good I received already?”

“And what about us?” Rav Zilberstein would ask, as he recounted this incident to others. “How many times is everything going well, but one little thing goes wrong and we feel as if everything is bad? Do we even think about thanking Hashem at that time, for all the many good things that continue to happen?”

May we recognize Hashem’s miracles and thank Him for them!