“Do you believe in miracles?!?” These iconic words were uttered live on February 22, 1980, by broadcaster Al Michaels at the end of the now-famous USA vs USSR Olympics Hockey game in the 1980 Winter Olympics.
At the time, the Russians had the greatest hockey team in the world, while the United States team was made up of amateur hockey players who were mostly college-aged athletes. In that game, dubbed the Miracle on Ice, the U.S. team pulled off one of the major upsets in sports history. But it was larger than sports - it was a battle on the ice between two world superpowers, freedom versus oppression, good versus evil.
We are in the season of miracles, the holiday of Hanukkah, when we celebrate our own national miracle. The question is, what miracle are we celebrating?
The miracle which prompted the holiday was a military victory of the Hasmoneans, a small group of Jews, who fought and defeated the Seleucid empire (we call them Greeks for short, but it’s a little more complicated). It was unheard of for a small nation to overthrow the strength of an empire, but the Maccabees pulled off this miraculous feat!
However, if you ask the average Jewish person on the street what the story of Hanukkah is and why we kindle lights each night, they will almost always tell you about the miracle of the Hasmoneans finding the almost everlasting oil jug in the Beit HaMikdash/Holy Temple. You may be surprised to learn that the miracle of the oil is only told in the Talmud, and not in the Book of the Maccabees or in other historical documents from the time. It doesn’t mean that the miracle of the oil isn’t ‘real’, but I believe the rabbis focused on this miracle for a reason. If the holiday was only about the miracle of the military victory, and if we were in a similar situation as a people in the future and we were defeated, would this negate the idea of miracles in our midst? Are real miracles just for the past?
The Hanukkah lights and their origins are a reminder of the power of miracles not just back then, but in our own days.
One of the prayers we recite upon lighting the Hanukkah candles states: Barukh atah hashem, Elokheinu melekh ha-olam, she-asah nisim la-avoteinu, ba-yamim ha-heim U-va-z’man ha-zeh, Praised are you Hashem our G-d, who rules the universe, accomplishing miracles for our ancestors from ancient days until our time. As you can see, I have underlined one letter ‘U' (the vav) in U-va-z’man hazeh. In the Conservative movement siddur, the letter ‘u’ (in Hebrew, the vav) was added. One letter can make a big difference. Without the vav, the translation would read, “we thank G-d for the miracles ‘in those days (the time of the Maccabees at this season (of the year).” Read in this way, we imply that we remember the miracles of the past, but perhaps we may not experience miracles today, in our time. I am a firm believer that miracles continue to happen in every generation and even every day.
It is important that we keep our ‘eyes’ open for miracles in our days, wherever we are.
Hanukkah is a time for us to take a step back and bask in the light of the miracles of our lives. We have experienced the miracle of the re-establishment of the state of Israel, the miracle of living free lives as Jews in America, and the miracle of community.
Our tradition teaches us to acknowledge the miracles that sustain us every day, but how do we experience miracles every day? Judaism holds an expansive view on the concept of miracles. They are not just instances like great victories of the small and weak over the large and mighty, but the aspects of this world that sustain us every day even though we may take them for granted.
As I reflect upon where we were last year, as to where we are now, we cannot overlook the miracle of our beautiful Jewish community in South Palm Beach County. I have always stood in awe of the daily work of our Federation that often times goes unnoticed, but the miracle of community was seen by all during the darkness of the pandemic. Together, our synagogues and agencies rallied to help those in their time of need. Like the Hanukkah story, miracles are a combination of the Divine and humanity coming together to shine light unto the world through our acts of love, kindness, and justice.
Thankfully, we can experience miracles away from the battlefield, and in our homes every year through the lighting of the Hanukkah candles.
As we light each candle, we take an active role in ensuring that miracles still occur and we can play a part in making them happen. One little letter, one little light, or one little action can create a miracle down the road, and each one of us can play a role. I believe that this is one of the great messages of Hanukkah that we experience every night as we add new lights to the Hanukkiah.
Do you believe in miracles?!?
What miracles in your lives, small or big, are you grateful for? What miracles have gone unnoticed but now you can see with a clearer vision?
Let us reflect upon the miracles of our lives, not just during Hanukkah, but every day, especially the miracle of our Jewish community.
Rabbi David Baum
Congregation Shaarei Kodesh |
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