The essential mitzvah of Chanukah lies in the progressive kindling of the lights for eight consecutive days. It was ordained by the Sages (z"l) to commemorate the victory of the Jews over the Hellenistic Greeks and the rededication of the Temple at that time. The kindling of the lights was chosen as the central mitzvah because it paralleled the miracle where one day's supply of oil lasted for eight days, until a new supply of oil could be produced. Yet in this there is a mystery. In the prayer which the Sages (z"l) created to describe the events that took place at that time (Al Hanissim, in the Shemoneh Esrei), there is no mention of this miracle. All that is mentioned is the militant victory of the Jews and that this victory was achieved by the few (6,000 Jews) over the many (50,000 Greeks). Why is this? Why do the Sages (z"l) ignore this most important miracle in their prayer?

To understand this we must look deeper into more fundamental issues. There were many important events in Jewish history. Yet for all of these events, except for that of Chanukah and Purim, the Sages (z"l) never enacted any holiday and commemoration at all. What was so special about the event of Chanukah that they decided to create a holiday to commemorate it? The answer lies in the events and perceptions of the Jews at that time. The Sages (z"l) saw that the victory over the Greeks was a very special event, one that they wanted to capture for the Jewish people for all time. The victory was not so much over the Greek armies but rather over the Greek view of life, called Hellenism. The philosophy of Hellenism was a new way of looking at the world and at life that the Greeks originated and attempted, through their military conquests, to spread all over the world. It included the following ideas:

1. The only path to the truth was through the processes of reasoning and logical thinking. By following the laws of logic, one could, through serious intellectual activity (philosophy), come to know what the truth is.

2. The physical and natural aspects of the world were the basis of knowledge and reality, not the spiritual and supernatural aspects. Moreover, the laws of nature and physical reality were ordered and manifested by themselves and could be mastered through logical thinking and observation.

3. Man was the center of the world, not G-d. "A sound mind in a sound body" was the Hellenistic goal for humans. They adored the human body through the creation of sporting events (Olympics) and used it as the main subject for art and sculpture.

This Hellenistic, Greek philosophy directly contradicted the Torah and fundamental Jewish thought. In response to each of the above principles, the Torah, as the divine revelation, insisted on a different view. It maintained the following:

1. Logic and reason were important instruments to acquire truth. Yet the greatest, most sublime truths could only be known from divine contact, especially through the prophetic revelations (Sinai).

2. The basis and center of reality is the spiritual. It is the spiritual world, that of the divine presence, that underlies the physical one and causes it to be, minute by minute. The greatest of truths lie in grasping the principles of spiritual existence. These truths, because of their spiritual nature, need to be grasped prophetically, not simply intellectually.

3. G-d, not man, is the center of truth. "A sound soul in a sound body" is the central idea. This condition could only be attained by understanding the existence of G-d, clinging to Him and submitting to His will.

The Jews who lived at that time were confused; they were very attracted to this Hellenistic thinking. It made sense. It allowed for the good life as expressed in physical pleasures and goals. The traditional Torah view seemed out of touch, out of place. This was especially so because the prophets and miracles of old, the mainstays of Jewish belief, were gone. The last of the prophets had died hundreds of years earlier. They were no longer surrounded by the miraculous events that encircled their ancestors. The Torah view therefore seemed weak. This confusion encouraged many Jews at that time to abandon the Torah view and adapt the Hellenistic one. Jewry was in serious danger of losing its soul and unique heritage.

Out of the darkness emerged a heroic figure, Mattisyahu, the high priest. He demonstrated once and for all that the Hellenistic thinking was false. He presented the following arguments:

1. The very origin of the Jewish people was a miracle, and a supernatural one that cannot be explained by logic and philosophy. Sarah, the matriarch, had her son Yitzchok at 90 years of age, well beyond the normal years for childbearing. Rivka and Rachel were barren women who, according to physical and natural law, could never conceive a child. That the origin of the Jews was a miracle completely flew in the face of Hellenism, with its insistence that only natural law prevailed. How then could the Jews adopt this new view and betray their very beginnings?

2. Jewish survival is a miracle. Every enemy of the Jews until that time - all world powers - were long gone, but the Jews remained. Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, the Philistines, etc., were memories in history; the Jewish people were a living reality. The very presence of the Jews as a nation and people was another contradiction to Hellenistic thought.

With the force of these ideas and many others, Mattisyahu brought many Jews back from the darkness that was Hellenism. Yet the Jews were still in danger. The Greeks had a vastly superior army. How could the Jews prevail and free themselves from the Greeks and their Hellenistic views?

The Greeks outnumbered them eight to one - only a miracle could save them! For this dilemma Mattisyahu taught the Jews a most profound truth: If we accept Hellenism and its natural view, then an army eight times greater than us cannot be subdued. But if we accept the Torah and its spiritual, supernatural view, we can then be worthy of a divine miracle and we can still prevail, even eight to one!

The Jews accepted this fundamental truth. They risked their lives and fought an impossible war with the sincere belief that the Torah, through the power of G-d, can make the impossible, possible. With this effort they achieved in G-d's eyes (kivyachol) a special merit. G-d said, "I will allow their efforts to succeed. They will win over an adversary eight times their size and demonstrate to the world and to themselves that it is My power, and only My power, that brings victory, freedom and redemption."

The Sages (z"l) who lived at that time saw this victory, but even more importantly, they understood its implications. This struggle, a Jewish attempt to demonstrate the truth of the Torah, was a confirmation from G-d that only the Torah view was true and that He could be relied on for miracles and divine intervention even in an age where there were no longer any prophets or open miraculous events on a regular basis. The Torah was alive and well and as true and current as in Biblical times. To take advantage of its redemptive power, however, we Jews must attach ourselves to its principles, its commandments and its truths with unswerving dedication, even at the risk of our lives.

If we do so, it becomes alive for us - it does not let us down!

This victory demonstrated to the Jews one of the greatest truths of the Torah: G-d deals with us as we treat the Torah, measure for measure. If we believe in natural law, then it will become our restriction and it will govern us. If we believe, for example, that economic cycles govern our ability to make a successful living (prosperity brings success; recessions bring hard times), then economics will become our master. If, however, we realize that all is from G-d, that He can make us successful, whether in prosperity or in a recession, then the power of G-d and hidden miracles will govern us. It is our choice - our power or His, natural law or supernatural law.

The Sages (z"l) recognized this truth in their prayer (Al Hanissim) - when they said, "The many in the hands of the few." This victory was the real miracle of Chanukah. Once the Jews were worthy of this military victory of eight to one, it was only a secondary matter of the menorah, where oil burned also in the parallel fashion, eight to one. The military victory was the primary miracle, a result of enormous dedication and risk to life. Only it needs to be mentioned, for the other miracle of the menorah lights flowed from it.

This is the mystery of the lights and the reason that the Sages (z"l) enshrined this particular event. It was to teach us this great truth, that even without prophecy and open, regular miracles, the Torah is as alive today as it was in Biblical times, when the prophets walked the earth. In our day, when science and technology surround us, when its tenets of logic and natural law confront us on a daily basis, let us not be fooled for a moment. The truth of the Torah is far greater - nothing can happen beyond the will of G-d, and if He wills it, even the impossible becomes possible.