My Favorite Miracle
Those familiar with the story of Chanukah know about the miracle of the oil. The Greeks defiled most of the oil needed to light the Menorah in the Temple, and only a small amount was found. This small amount - enough for just one day - miraculously lasted for eight.
A year or two ago I came across an article (I wish that I could attribute it properly - but I've forgotten where I saw it. My best guess is that it was on the Aish HaTorah website) which points out another miracle that occurred, one so simple that most of us miss it.
The miracle was that they lit the Menorah at all. Faced with the discouraging reality that there was only a tiny amount of oil to use, and that it would take time to produce more, most people would have thrown up their hands in despair. The Kohanim (the priests in charge of the ceremonies in the Temple) didn't react that way - they took the small bit of oil that they had and lit it - giving G-d the opportunity to cause the miracle to happen.
I call this the miracle of hope, and it moves me every time I see it.
A lot of Jews worked very hard to prevent the disengagement from Gaza from happening this past summer. From writing letters and articles, to attending protests and prayer vigils, to campaigning in the Knesset and going door-to-door in Israel - we tried everything short of violence to stop it - and it didn't work. The miracle that we hoped would happen, didn't.
Given the political situation, it seems likely that at some point in the future we will be asked to go through this again.
Will we react with hope or despair?
Those familiar with the story of Chanukah know about the miracle of the oil. The Greeks defiled most of the oil needed to light the Menorah in the Temple, and only a small amount was found. This small amount - enough for just one day - miraculously lasted for eight.
A year or two ago I came across an article (I wish that I could attribute it properly - but I've forgotten where I saw it. My best guess is that it was on the Aish HaTorah website) which points out another miracle that occurred, one so simple that most of us miss it.
The miracle was that they lit the Menorah at all. Faced with the discouraging reality that there was only a tiny amount of oil to use, and that it would take time to produce more, most people would have thrown up their hands in despair. The Kohanim (the priests in charge of the ceremonies in the Temple) didn't react that way - they took the small bit of oil that they had and lit it - giving G-d the opportunity to cause the miracle to happen.
I call this the miracle of hope, and it moves me every time I see it.
A lot of Jews worked very hard to prevent the disengagement from Gaza from happening this past summer. From writing letters and articles, to attending protests and prayer vigils, to campaigning in the Knesset and going door-to-door in Israel - we tried everything short of violence to stop it - and it didn't work. The miracle that we hoped would happen, didn't.
Given the political situation, it seems likely that at some point in the future we will be asked to go through this again.
Will we react with hope or despair?
posted by westbankmama at 9:31 AM
2 Comments:
We must react with hope. If we give in to the despair, the cause will be completely lost.
J.
I agree, but I think it will be very hard this time around.
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