Amicizia Ebraico-Cristiana di Roma

INDIETRO

The Miracles of Hannukah

Shalom friends,
In the light of the upcoming Hanukkah Festival we will devote this issue to a very significant component of the holiday - Miracles. A miracle is called in Hebrew "nes" and is defined as a supernatural event or a wonderful occurrence that is considered to be the work of G-d. A synonym of the word in Hebrew is "degel", which also means "flag"). A miracle flags an unnatural intervention in reality, especially in cases of rescuing, healing, or triumph.
In the Hanukkah story we have evidences of multiple miracles: First, the Maccabaeus - a small, weakly armed group of Jewish rebels ruled by the Hasmonean family fought against the strong, well-equipped and well-trained Greek army and won! The consequence of the successful revolt was the abolishment of all the rules against the Jews. Eventually, this little army recaptured the Temple and rededicated it to God.
The second miracle followed the recapture of the Temple: The Temple was in very bad condition featuring the Hellenistic Gods and much destruction. The Jews cleansed and purified it and wanted to light the Seven-Branches Candelabrum (menorat shiv'at hakanim) that used to light the Temple constantly, but they found only a single cruse of pure oil, enough to light the menorah for a single day. A miracle occurred, and they lit the menorah with this oil for eight days. To celebrate these miraculous events, we light the Chanukiya for eight days and eat oily foods.
Let's conclude with a scientific saying about miracles by Albert Einstein: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

Xag Xanuka Same'ax!
Happy Hannukah