CHANUKAH

Why the Macabbees found the oil.

Matisyahu and the Chashmonaim confronted a challenge that remains deeply familiar: the difficulty of being different. A Jew stands apart in a world that values what can be seen, measured, and rationally grasped, while Torah speaks in the name of Elokus that transcends human intellect. Matisyahu embodied the courage to declare loyalty to a G-d beyond reason, and his struggle reassures us that the threatening crossroads we face today were already faced—and overcome—by those before us.

The turning point in the story of Chanukah came in Modiin, when Matisyahu was ordered to offer a pig on the mizbeach. His zealous response ignited a revolt led by his five sons.

Though vastly outnumbered, the Chashmonaim waged a successful guerrilla war from the hills of Binyomin and Yehudah. After three years, on the 24th of Kislev, the Greek army withdrew, and the Beis HaMikdash was reclaimed and purified.