Our Inner Cruse of Oil
Rabbi Jared Anstandig
Judaic Studies
We’ve all learned the story of Chanukah from a young age: The Greeks entered the Beit HaMikdash and contaminated all the oil. After a stunning military victory, the Kohanim returned and found only one small cruse of oil that remained pure. From that container, they miraculously lit the Menorah for eight days straight.
Rav Kook in Moadei HaReiyah (page 166) explains that, while at the surface this is a historical account of what happened many years ago, this episode also contains a much deeper truth. He explains that each of us has a “צד כהונה,” an aspect of the Kohanim, within us. Our desires for קדושת החיים ולדעת תורה, sanctity of life and the knowledge of Torah, reside in this particular spot of our souls. The small cruse of oil in the Chanukah story, Rav Kook explains, represents this part of our soul. Just like the Greeks could not defile that final cruse of oil, so too this central part of our soul cannot ever be corrupted. No matter what happens in our lives and around us, a part of our soul remains forever pure. Despite chaos, pain, and loss, we draw strength from this point of light that shines from within.
The Kohanim of old discovered and made spectacular use of that special bottle of pure oil. May we also find our inner cruse of oil, that spark of holiness and sanctity, and draw inspiration from that place that will not ever be contaminated.
Jonah Cohen
Student, Grade 12 Yeshivat Or Chaim
There are two ways to light Chanukah candles. One is to start with the smallest amount of light and increase each day; the second is to start with the greatest amount of light and reduce the light each day. In fact, this was an argument between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. Beit Hillel says to light one candle the first night and build up to eight. Shammai says to light eight candles the first night and work down to one. But why?
Beit Shammai compares the Hanukkah candles to the parei he-hag, the bulls brought as sacrifices on the holiday of Sukkot, which decreased in number each day. Beit Shammai says, “On the first day of Chanukah, you’ve got eight days of miracles ahead of you. That’s a lot of potential light. So it makes sense to light eight candles. The second day, there’s only seven days to go, so you should light seven. Until, on the last day, you light only one! We’re counting down the days of Chanukah left.” Shammai says: Go all the way; show no mercy. Give everything you got right away and seize the moment.
Beit Hillel’s ruling is based on the principle of ma’alin ba-kodesh ve’ein moridin, that one should increase in holiness and not decrease. Beit Hillel says, “You don’t have any light until you’ve actually lit a candle. What you think you can do means nothing. It’s what you actually do that counts.” Hillel says: Start with a little today and improve each day as you go along. Continue to build off what you have and get stronger everyday.
As we know our halacha nowadays is in accordance with Beit Hillel. By adding a candle each night, we symbolize the increasing light of hope and resilience in the face of challenges. Instead of dwelling on diminishing resources or dwindling opportunities (counting down the days), we embrace a mindset of growth, abundance, and the potential for positive change. Each night becomes an opportunity to add more light than the night before. Even in the darkest moments, we can add light; by counting up each night, we embrace the idea that light is not a diminishing resource but a growing force. Beit Hillel teaches us the power of lightness, that a vast empire of darkness can’t extinguish a single light, but one small light can chase away an entire army of darkness.
Every night we say ״,הנרות הללו קדש הם״ these candles are holy. The reason we say this is because candles represent Torah and mitzvot. Just as every night we add a candle, the same is true with Torah and mitzvot. When you do a mitzvah, its light never goes out. It remains with you, protecting you and guiding you. So that today you have the light you gained from yesterday. And tomorrow you will have the light from yesterday and today. Darkness fades and disappears with time, but the light that shines from a mitzvah can only increase. We should never be satisfied with what we did yesterday, we should always strive to do more and improve in these areas everyday of our lives. We should never think we reached our peak as there is always room to grow and improve. Especially right now, it’s crucial that we always strive to do more in protecting Am Yisrael and Medinat Yisrael. Even from all the way over here in Toronto, there is still so much we can do. Whether that be attending rallies, saying tehillim, or spreading awareness. Everyone needs to give it their all and continue to fight this dark time with light, and B’ezrat Hashem we will conquer this darkness and win this war just like the Maccabees did, and just like the Jewish people have always done.
Lily Smolack
Student, Grade 10 Ulpanat Orot
After reading one of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ zt”l “short thoughts”, an inspiration struck me through his words to write this relatable lesson about the power of faith and light. Rabbi Sacks mentioned a third and powerful miracle that took place in the story Chanukah. Of course, there was the great military achievement of the Maccabees, an army of few against an army of many, as well as the oil that burned for eight days, rather than a single day. The third miracle, Rabbi Sacks mentioned, was the Jews’ sustaining hope.
Our army, the Maccabees – a minority – fought against the Hellenistic Greeks, an army of over 40,000 men! Nonetheless, the Maccabees won; they were victorious over the weapons, the cavalry and the numerous. This victory was clearly not attributed to the Jews’ weaponry, as they were an oppressed minority under the rule of Antiochus IV. It was our hope and emunah that caused our victory. The acronym of “מכבי” is Mi Kamocha Ba’eilim Hashem, who is like you O G-d. Their faith, their ideology, underlies their name. It was when Antiochus sent his most powerful and “final” expedition that Judah and his brothers – the heads of the Jewish army – declared, “Let us fight unto death in defense of our souls and our Temple!” It is these words that allude to the determination the Jews had towards Hashem, the risk they would take out of hope, loyalty and faith. As written in Zechariah 4:6,
“‘לֹ֤א בְחַ֙יִל֙ וְלֹ֣א בְכֹ֔חַ כִּ֣י אִם־בְּרוּחִ֔י אָמַ֖ר ה”, “not by might, nor by strength, but by My spirit —said GOD”.
Faith was their victory and this victory was their faith. A true miracle that laid within the נשמות of our nation.
Our Beit Hamikdash was desecrated by the Greeks, the temple in which Hashem’s presence dwelled. Despite tragic loss, the Maccabees liberated Jerusalem; they worked on sanctifying the temple and rebuilt the stolen menorah! When a cruse with one day’s worth of olive oil was spotted, the Maccabees used it to light the menorah. This despairingly small cruse was hope in the eyes of the Jews. Once they lit the menorah, the fire burned for a miraculous eight days. Their emunah, the fire that dwelled within them, the spiritual flame that kept rising throughout the Chanukah story, drove the Jews to pick up the tiny despairing cruse of oil that offered little hope. Though, through their faithful eyes, they saw a chance; their faith rested in the miraculous flames, and now rests within the flames of our חנוכיות.
Relating this third miracle of hope and emunah to modern times, the Zohar mentions an inspiring message. As written in Mishlei 20:26, “נֵ֣ר ה’ נִשְׁמַ֣ת אָדָ֑ם חֹ֝פֵ֗שׂ כׇּל־חַדְרֵי־בָֽטֶן”, “The soul of man is a candle of G‑d”. Just as a flame does not sit still, trying to flee its wick, so too do we shuckle when davening, as our souls – lit by the “‘נֵ֣ר ה” – long to ascend to Shamayim. This is the same “‘נֵ֣ר ה” that lit the menorah for eight full days. As we daven and learn Torah this Chanukah, remember the miraculous fire that flares within each of our souls, and use this kavanah and shuckle to ascend higher than you normally would. Use this flare to daven for our soldiers fighting in the Holy Land, the soldiers that echo the Maccabees. Whether the soldiers are in a kumzits, chanting the love they have of their nation, or putting on tefillin in times of combat, the IDF is nothing but hope, nothing but faith, and nothing but loyalty to G-d. We are the chosen nation. We have got that spark that brings us closer to the spiritual realm. As Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks ztz”l once said, “We are the voice of hope in the conversation of humankind.”
