A Matter of Miracles by Rabbi Benny Berlin

Sparks of Light A Matter of Miracles

By Rabbi Benny Berlin

From a young age, we are taught that we celebrate Chanukah because of the famous miracle described in the Talmud (Shabbos 21b) regarding the flask of oil which miraculously lasted for eight days. And yet, when we say the “Al HaNissim” piyut in bentching and Shemona Esrai every day on Chanukah there isn’t a mention of any aspect of the miracle involving the oil. Rather, we speak of the military victory: “You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few...”

We know that the military victory was an important one, and we should certainly be grateful and express our thanks for that salvation, but it seems like a glaring oversight that there is not even a mention of the miracle of the oil!

There is a famous question brought by the Beis Yosef who asks why it is that we observe eight days of Chanukah to begin with. He points out that since the flask contained enough oil to burn for one day, it really only burned for an additional seven days. He agrees that the seven additional days were a miracle but notes that there wasn’t anything extraordinary about the burning of the oil on the first day as that was expected based on the amount of oil in the flask. He then noted that, technically, if we are celebrating Chanukah as a way of expressing our gratitude for this miracle, then for precision we should have seven days of Chanukah and not eight. The Ramban at the end of Parshas Bo explains that the plagues in Egypt were Hashem’s way of demonstrating to all of mankind that He is the true ruler of the world and that all of the laws of nature are under His control and dominion. The Ramban shares a

beautiful thought that the purpose of all great miracles is really to show us that a miracle doesn’t need to be supernatural to be classified as a miracle but that there are miracles that happen every day and we must stop to recognize them. These “everyday miracles” are extraordinary on their own.

In other words, miracles get our attention, and we forget to focus on the “everyday miracles” that occur in our lives. How often do we only acknowledge a miracle when it’s large in size? A sunset doesn’t seem miraculous until you take a moment to realize what the world would be like if you never had experienced the sun before. On first glance, rain may seem mundane and even a nuisance when it interferes with our plans, but rain is an incredibly important miracle. It’s critical for our agricultural needs. We need rainwater to perform the mitzvah of going to the mikvah. The whole purpose of the neis is to just get our attention so we

will stop and recognize that Hashem controls the entirety of our lives – each and every minute, whether there is a large miracle or one that perhaps we take for granted.

The Ramban notes it is a big mistake when we look at nature and say it is not a miracle because it is “mundane.” He reminds us that all miracles – big or small – are a reflection of G-d’s infinite greatness, wisdom, and power. We must not take the small miracles for granted, and we must also remember to celebrate them.

This relates to Chanukah and helps to explain why we celebrate that first day. By doing so, we celebrate both the miraculous and the mundane! The fact that the oil even burned that first day was miraculous because the fact that Hashem created the world as such is a miracle. The next seven days of its burning were also a miracle, albeit of a supernatural variety. By combining both aspects, we celebrate the gamut of miracles – both the supernatural and natural – all within the creation of the Master and only Creator.

We must take this lesson a step further and think about how this manifests itself in our own relationships – the real building happens on a quiet evening when the kids need homework help or on a random Tuesday when a spouse is feeling down and needs your chizuk, not just in the grand moments such as an anniversary or vacation.

We see through the example of Chanukah and the Ramban’s explanation that there is so much power in the mundane. The oil reminds us to be awed by all miracles – regardless of the uniqueness of what we’re witnessing.

We forget to focus on the “everyday miracles” that occur in our lives.