Despite oppression Judaism endures

Jews around the world observe Hanukkah for eight days every winter in celebration of a miracle that was done for our ancestors at this season, but what exactly was the miracle?

According to Talmudic tradition, after the ancient Israelites recaptured the Holy Temple in Jerusalem that had been defiled by their Greek oppressors, they found only one day’s worth of pure oil with which to rekindle the sacred flame. Miraculously, this tiny bit of oil burned for eight days — long enough for new oil to be processed and brought to keep the flame burning.

What is striking to me about this oil miracle, is how relatively minor it seems. Compared to the plagues and the splitting of the sea that we remember at Passover, the fact that a cruse of oil burned for a long time seems like small stuff, indeed. Moreover, what would have happened if the oil hadn’t lasted quite so long? Not really very much. They would have waited a week, gotten a new supply and relit the light a little bit later.

In order to appreciate the true meaning of this miracle, you have to understand it symbolically. I believe that the oil represents the Jewish people that were confronted by a powerful enemy that sought to destroy it.

The Greeks had a might army and a culture that had vanquished every other civilization it encountered. By any reasonable standard, they should have succeeded in their campaign to eradicate Judaism. The real miracle was that they failed. Against all odds, the light of the Jewish people continued to shine.

The survival of Jews and Judaism from antiquity to our own day, throughout millennia of oppression is nothing less than miraculous. Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Cossacks and Nazis all tried to eliminate us.

Yet, with God’s help, we are still here. You have only to go out on the eight nights of Hanukkah and see all the menorahs burring bright in the window of Jewish homes to see proof. That is the true meaning of the miracle of the oil.

Rabbi Andrew Warmflash is the spiritual leader of the Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Centre in East Rockaway.