Hanukkah-gram, Day 2 – From Rabbi Barbara

Day 2 Hanukkah betterSometimes, you just have to wonder: There was oil just for one day. Why do we observe eight days of Hanukkah when the burning was, for one day, no miracle at all?

Well, the rabbis have plenty to say about that.  Here are some of their answers:

  1. The first day of the festival commemorates the military victory of the 25th of Kislev when the Jews rested from battle.
  2. The discovery of the jar was, in itself, a miracle.
  3. The discovered oil was divided into eight portions to last the eight days for the production of new oil. Miraculously, the minute portions burned all day long.
  4. After the menorah was filled with all the available oil, the jar remained full (or variations on that theme).
  5. The jar actually absorbed some of the oil so there wasn’t really enough for one full day.
  6. The fact that the Jews did not despair and had enough faith to fulfill the commandment to light the light at all was itself a great miracle.

I wonder: Maybe we celebrate and include that first day because like beginnings can be, all on their own, miraculous.Day 2 Hanukkah

Consider the beginning of life, the beginning of love, the beginning of friendship, the beginning of the day…

Hag sameach!

Rabbi Barbara

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