The Maharal, zt”l, zy”a, in his Chidushei Aggados on Shas, discusses the following idea. When we say the primary Chanukah prayer of Al HaNissim, the focus is on the miracle of the conquest against the Syrian-Greeks, “T’mei’im b’yad t’horim – The impure into the hands of the pure, U’resha’im b’yad tzaddikim – And the wicked into the hands of the righteous, V’zeidim b’yad oskei Sorasecha – And willful murderers into the hands of those who occupy themselves with Your Torah.” The miracle of the lone jug of oil which only had enough to light for one day but miraculously remained lit for eight days is not mentioned at all. Rather, we say almost casually, “V’tiharu es Mikdoshecha – They purified Your Temple, V’hidliku neiros b’Chatzros Kodshecha – And lit lamps in Your Holy Courtyard,” omitting any mention of the miracle of oil. On the other hand, the Gemara in Shabbos [21b], when it asks the seminal question, “Mai Chanukah – What is the essence of Chanukah?” zooms in exclusively on the miracle of oil.
The Maharal gives the following fundamental answer. Of course, he explains, when giving praise to Hashem in the Al HaNissim liturgy, we focus mainly on the miracle of the saving of Jewish lives from the hordes of the Syrian-Greeks. However, when making an analysis of the Chanukah saga, one can err by looking through the lens of history and saying that perhaps Matisyahu and Yehuda HaMakabi, together with his courageous warriors, pulled off a stunning and daring military victory. One also might err that it was a ‘natural phenomenon’ orchestrated by shrewd generals and valorous combatants. After all, we know that there were many casualties on both sides, and even our hero Yehuda HaMakabi fell in battle. Therefore, the Gemara highlights the obvious extraordinary miracle of the pach shemen, the lone jug of oil which burned amazingly throughout the eight days to reveal that nothing was natural about Chanukah, neither the menorah not its military campaigns.
The same mistake can be made about the present Gaza war. One could surmise that, of course, Klal Yisrael has the upper hand; the superior forces of the highly trained elite troops of the brave IDF, the amazing Israeli Air Force assisted by aircraft carriers such as the Gerald R. Ford, the most sophisticated aircraft carrier in the world. One can err and not see the Hand of Hashem in this battle. So, Hashem has given us multiple miracles to reveal that He is with us every step of the way.
A commander testifies that while he was inching forward with his men to eradicate a house full of weapons and explosives in a city already bereft of any animal life, a lone dove alighted in front of him causing him to pause momentarily. This pause was enough for one of his men to scream, “Don’t move!” He had noticed a tripwire that would have obliterated the entire platoon!
On October 7, forty murderous terrorists broke into the city of Ofakim. Right in their path was a shul with 500 mostly unarmed people davening their Shabbos/Simchas Torah prayers. If the terrorists had entered, it would have been, G-d forbid, a mass slaughter. But, for some inexplicable reason (to the human eye), the terrorists veered off, entering the nearby town which had armed Israeli police, and they managed to liquidate the danger!
Another soldier testifies that on October 7, he was davening in shul without a gun when he received an urgent page to immediately come to the base. There, he was handed a random gun. He explained that many of these haphazard guns, which are handed down, jam and are almost useless. But, without any time, he went into battle and during the course of three days, the gun served him faithfully with which he terminated many would-be assassins. When his tour was over, he went back to the base on Tuesday and took the gun to the range to practice with it. It immediately jammed. He cleaned it a bit and it jammed again. He took it to the armory where they dismantled it and told him that the gun was completely defective. But, when he needed it, with the help of Hashem, it served him faithfully!
The stories of miracles continue to pour out. There is woman who, for the first time, was mafrish challah with prayers that her relative should be rescued from her captivity as a hostage. She received a phone call about the release of this hostage in the middle of being mafrish challah! There will be undoubtedly books written about the scores of miracles in this war.
For us, the words of the Maharal ring true in our contemporary times! Hashem is revealing to us, notwithstanding the tragic and heartbreaking casualties of precious Jewish lives, that He is with us every step of the way. In the merit of our prayers and tehillim, our Torah learning and tzedakah, may Hashem bring victory speedily, and safety, security and tranquility for Jews worldwide, and especially in our Holy City and may He bless us all with long life, good health, and everything wonderful.
Transcribed and edited by Shelley Zeitlin.
