Believing in Miracles
A story is told of a Jewish community that were desperate for rain. Months had gone by and still there was no rain. The people grew desperate, and went out into the field, fasting, crying and praying for a miracle.
A little girl approached them, and seemed to be confused. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“We’re praying for rain,” they told her, “we need a miracle!”
“No you’re not,” she replied.
“What? Of course we are! We’re saying psalms, we’re reciting the prayers of our ancestors, of course we’re praying for rain!”
“No you’re not” she insisted.
“We are! We’ve been fasting all day, we’re absolutely desperate for a miracle!”
“No,” she said, “if you were praying for rain, you’d have brought your umbrellas.”
A story is told of a Jewish community that were desperate for rain. Months had gone by and still there was no rain. The people grew desperate, and went out into the field, fasting, crying and praying for a miracle.
A little girl approached them, and seemed to be confused. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“We’re praying for rain,” they told her, “we need a miracle!”
“No you’re not,” she replied.
“What? Of course we are! We’re saying psalms, we’re reciting the prayers of our ancestors, of course we’re praying for rain!”
“No you’re not” she insisted.
“We are! We’ve been fasting all day, we’re absolutely desperate for a miracle!”
“No,” she said, “if you were praying for rain, you’d have brought your umbrellas.”
The Talmud asks – What is Chanukah? The Sages taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Chanukah are eight. One may not eulogise on them and one may not fast on them. When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary. And when the Hasmoneans overcame them and emerged victorious over them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that was placed with the seal of the High Priest. And there was sufficient oil there to light for only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit from it for eight days. The next year they instituted those days and made them holidays with recitation of hallel and thanksgiving. (Shabbat 21b)
This puts the emphasis on the story we’re so familiar with – the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days, when it was thought that it could only last for one, giving them enough time to get a new supply of pure olive oil.
We might be surprised to learn that this text, probably written no earlier than the 4th Century CE, is the earliest mention of a miracle with oil. 1 and 2 Maccabees (neither of which were canonised in the Jewish Bible but are a part of the Catholic and other Christian tradition’s Bible) that were written by Jews in the 1st century BCE, much closer to the historical events, make no mention of anything of the kind.
The focus of the books of Maccabees is on the Hasmonean uprising, Mattathias and the Maccabees, the fighting against the Syrian Greeks. Having taken back the Temple, the Hasmoneans celebrate its rededication for eight days. 1 Macc doesn’t say why – perhaps because the original dedication was 8 days? 2 Macc says because they had missed Sukkot, the most recent of the pilgrim festivals and until recent times probably seen as the most important, and were celebrating it late. This is in keeping with 2 Macc’s generally more theological slant on the narrative.
The miracle for the books of Maccabees is the same that our prayer Al HaNissim focusses on – victory of the small army against the large force, the weak against the strong.
So where did the miraculous oil come from? Ironically, perhaps from Zoroastrianism, the prevailing culture in the time of the Babylonian Talmud. The Zoroastrian religion focusses on the duality of light and darkness, with an emphasis on sacred fire. Perhaps in that context, it made a lot of sense for Jews to justify their own story of lights with a claim to sacred fire of our own. Yet however it came to be, this story of the miracle of the oil was incredibly successful and became widespread – why? how did it come to be the dominant narrative?
There are some legitimate concerns about the Hasmoneans, who became more Hellenised than their opponents over just a couple of generations, and who in the end were responsible for inviting in the Roman Empire. Perhaps our tradition is worried about emphasising war and the military accomplishments. But whatever the reason, I think the oil story tells a profound truth about Chanukah and about the important of faith and hope.
Imagine being there in the Temple, when you find that tiny cruse of oil – you’ve got one day’s worth, you know it will take eight to get more. Do you light the Menorah? It would be so easy to think, let’s not bother. What’s the point? It won’t last anyway! There’s been so long without light in the Temple, what’s another week?
The story says no, you should light the oil anyway.
Indeed, one may ask why we light for eight days when the miracle happened for seven? If you think about it, the oil burning for the 1st day wasn’t a miracle at all – that only began on day 2! One answer that is given is that the miracle of day 1 was that they lit the lamps in the first place. They didn’t give into despair, but created the situation where a miracle could happen, where the light could last longer than they expected.
The Maccabees, standing in the Temple, decide to bring their umbrellas, to prepare for the miracle.
The miraculous story told in 1 and 2 Maccabees isn’t just in the eventual victory, it’s in the beginning of the narrative, when a small group of Jews decided to stand up for their beliefs, to reject Greek sovereignty and oppression, and despite the odds, to fight anyway. To not only pray for change, but to bring their umbrellas, to assume that the impossible can happen.
This isn’t to encourage a naive trust, to just let the world be and pray for miracles, but to that we all need to create the situation where they can happen. To know that they might not be in our power completely, but we have the ability to make a start, to lay the foundation. That is the faith that is needed, the Emunah of Mattathias.
There are desperate situations in the world today – Antisemitism, rising fascism, climate crisis… So many more than I can list. No doubt you have your own crises in mind.
Will miracles happen? Can the seeming inevitable be turned aside? We shouldn’t be naive, just waiting and seeing, but need to have faith to start, to make small changes. We should remember that avalanches begin with just a few pebbles, and perhaps if we make that start, the end might seem miraculous.
This Dvar Torah was originally given as an introduction to our concert, ‘From Faith, to Hope and Strength’.