Parasha Thoughts
By Rabbi Yosef Shemtov
What is Chanukah and why do we celebrate it? Why do we say Hallel for eight days and and why do we light candles? Many people think the reasons are because Israel was liberated from the Greeks after being controlled by them for decades and because the Cohanim were able to go inside the temple and find one pure jar of olive oil which was untouched by gentiles. This jar was only enough for one day, but it burned for eight days.
This incident is true and it’s the reason why we light candles, but it’s not the reason for the Chanukah celebration.The Rabbis tell us that Jews in Israel were persecuted for many years. The Greeks who ruled Israel did not allow Jews to keep mitsvot. They were not allowed to do Brit Mila, keep Shabbat, and perform many other mitsvot.
After a while the Jews got together and said without Torah we are like dead. We prefer to die than live without mitsvot. They decided that they would go to war with Greece, the most powerful country at that time, to free themselves so that they would be able to perform mitsvot. When Hashem saw their selflessness, he made a miracle and the Jews won the war. They were then able to perform mitsvot freely, and then Hashem made the miracle of lights.
Chanukah is the time we tell Hashem that we love him and we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for him. We celebrate Chanukah because Hashem allowed us to do mitsvot. On Behalf of the Kollel Rabbis, I would like to wish you a meaningful Chanukah.