The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat asks, מאי חנוכה-What is Chanukah?
And Rashi explains that this means,
What is the reason that we celebrate on Chanukah? In other words, what’s the miracle that happened?
And the Gemarah goes on to delineate the miracle of the oil.
As we all know, the Greeks came into the Bet Hamikdash and contaminated the oil, in an effort to stop the lighting of the Menorah. Then when we returned to the Bet HaMikdash, to purify it, there was no oil to be found, except for one last jug that was sealed by the Kohen Gadol. Therefore, we celebrate Chanukah.
The Maharal asks two very strong questions about this in his sefer Chidushe Aggadot on Shabbat:
1- The rule for celebrating miracles says that it is only for miracles in which a life was saved, whether individual or the public, as the Gemarah in Masechet Berachot tells us. The beracha SheAsah Li Nes B’Makom Hazeh, thanks Hashem that a miracle was done for me in this place. There are also public miracles that we acknowledge with a beracha, and we say Berachot for the times when miracles have happened, (שעשה נסים בזמן הזה) but these Berachot are always for life saving miracles. We don’t make Berachot for a miracle that enabled us to do a mitzvah. If, for example, we were stranded on a desert island and suddenly found a lulav and etrog there, we wouldn’t make a beracha. That is not life-saving.
And we definitely don’t make a whole holiday out of miracle that allowed us to perform a mitzvah.
2- The Al Hanisim prayer that is added to our Amidah and Birchat Hamazon on Chanukah was a special, primary enactment of the holiday, instituted by the rabbis in order to thank G-d for the miracle. But if you read through it, it doesn’t make any mention of the oil at all. It only talks about the miracle of the war, how the many were in the hands of the few, and how the small group of Hashmonaim defeated the mighty Greek army. It doesn’t mention the miracle of the candles at all. It says we went into the hechal and lit, but doesn’t say anything about the miracle in Al HaNisim.
It’s odd that we celebrate Chanukah and light menorah for the the miracle of the oil, and yet it’s not even mentioned in the special praise of the holiday.
The Maharal answers both of these questions with one beautiful answer, which a fundamental.
There is no such thing as “miracle” and “nature.” Everything is from G-d . “Miracle” is just the term for something that happens that’s extra-ordinary, that we aren’t used to.
When Rav Hanina Ben Dosa’s daughter used vinegar instead of oil to light her candles, they didn’t think it was anything special. “Just as oil lights, vinegar can light,” they said. It’s all Hashem.
So, the war the was a miracle. But it didn’t seem this way at the time. It wasn’t a war fought with magic carpets. They used regular hand-to-hand combat, and strategic war tactics. If you were there at the time, reporting on the war, you would say, “Wow, look at the genius of this small group, look at the guerrilla tactics of this small army. Their strategies are brilliant! Look how they spear the bellies of the elephants and get through their armour. What strategists these Yeshiva-guy-Hashmonaim are!”
You would not have said it was a miracle. Nothing on the ground looked like a miracle. The Maccabees, as they were called, seemed as natural as the present-day sports team by the same name. They didn’t connect their victory to G-d.
Of course, we know that Maccabee stand for מי כמכה באלים י-ה-ו-ה Mi Kamocha B’Elim Hashem- Who is like You the powerful one G-d. Because, of course, it’s all Hashem. But you wouldn’t have known it at the time. So after the war was over, G-d wanted to show us that everything that happened was miraculous.
The miracle of the menorah was there to reveal that the war was miracle.
It’s true that G-d also happened to make a religious miracle with the oil, in order to enable them to do the mitzvot. But that’s not the focus of the holiday. The purpose of the holiday is for us to understand that the victory of the war was a miracle. The menorah is just there to show us that.
It’s important to remember that in life, we don’t always see G-d’s Hand.
But when we do see it, we should say, “Wow, that shows me that G-d didn’t just take care of this, He takes care of everything!”
That’s why the famous Ramban tells us to remember and talk about the miracles of the past, because we don’t have open miracles today.
מתוך הנסים המפרסמים
When we recognize the open miracles,
אדם מודה בנסים נסתרים
We’ll realize the hidden miracles.
That’s the main point of Chanukah. Don’t just focus on the miracle of the oil, and forget about the miracle of the war.
Have a wonderful day.