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The Greeks tried to erase Jewish meaning. Hanukkah celebrates the courage to protect a purposeful life—and the chance to reclaim that purpose now.
When we light the menorah during Hanukkah, you're not just commemorating military victory or miraculous oil. You're celebrating the triumph of a meaningful life over mere existence, and that same gift—a life saturated with significance—is available to you today.
This is what Hanukkah is truly about.
The Maharal, the great 16th century Jewish philosopher, offers a powerful insight into the Hanukkah story. Greek oppression unfolded in two distinct phases. First came physical restrictions—curfews, limited movement, constraints on daily activities. The Jewish people endured these hardships without resistance. Life was difficult but it was still life.
Then everything changed. The Greeks issued new decrees targeting the very heart of Jewish life—the performance of mitzvot. They forbade the observance of Shabbat, the study of Torah, sanctifying the new moon, and the practice of circumcision. These weren't just religious rituals; they were the essential bonds connecting the Jewish people to God, the channels through which meaning flowed into their lives. Suddenly, their relationship with God was under direct assault. This time, the response was immediate and decisive: they would fight.
What transformed a compliant population into warriors willing to risk everything to fight a far mightier nation? The Maharal explains that while physical oppression was bearable, spiritual oppression was not. Once their ability to connect with God was threatened, life itself lost its value. Disconnected from deeper meaning, existence became equivalent to death.
The Jewish people understood a fundamental truth: a meaningful life that requires risking your life to defend is infinitely more valuable than a meaningless life lived in safety.
God created human beings as meaning-seeking creatures. Unlike animals, people don't simply seek survival or comfort—they yearn to belong to something greater than themselves.
This ancient wisdom is echoed in modern psychology. Martin Seligman, the founder of Positive Psychology, developed his Authentic Happiness theory around three levels of happiness: the pleasant life (pursuing pleasure), the good life (pursuing engagement and flow), and the meaningful life (pursuing purpose and serving something greater than oneself). According to Seligman's research, the meaningful life represents the highest and most enduring form of human flourishing—far surpassing the fleeting satisfaction of pleasure or even the engagement of immersive activities.
The most powerful path to satisfaction and inner peace comes through cultivating a deep sense of meaning—one so central that it shapes every aspect of our existence: our careers, relationships, values, and our ability to not just survive challenges, but to thrive through them.
The Sages established Hanukkah as days of "Hallel and Hoda'ah"—praise and thanksgiving. But this raises a question: Hallel is traditionally reserved for occasions when God saved us from mortal danger. During the Hanukkah story, our physical lives weren't directly threatened, so why do we recite Hallel?
The Maharal's answer is striking: the spiritual oppression was a threat to our physical existence. How can a person truly live without meaning? The Greek decrees threatened not just our practices, but our very humanity. Thus, Hallel is completely appropriate.
But what about Hoda'ah, thanksgiving? If Hallel praises God for saving our lives, what additional gratitude does thanksgiving express?
On Hanukkah, our thanksgiving goes beyond survival. We express gratitude for the extraordinary gift of a life rooted in authentic meaning. We give thanks for having been blessed with the deepest, most profound connection to purpose that exists.
We have been given a comprehensive spiritual system—613 mitzvot—that serves as both a roadmap for personal growth and a bridge to the Divine. Each commandment addresses a different dimension of human experience: how we treat others, how we manage our resources, how we celebrate, how we mourn, how we eat, how we rest. Together, they form an integrated life philosophy that answers the question: How do I become my best self? How do I live a life that matters?
The Torah provides concrete, actionable wisdom for transforming every ordinary moment—a business transaction, a family dinner, a quiet morning—into something infused with purpose and connected to something infinite.
As you kindle the lights this Hanukkah, take time to notice and appreciate the remarkable gift you've received: a life connected to true meaning and purpose. In a world where so many search desperately for significance, you have been given the greatest treasure of all—a roadmap to meaning, a relationship with the Infinite, and a mission that transforms every moment into something holy.
That is worth celebrating and fighting for. That is the light we carry into the darkness.
Beautifully explained! And may all who read it be inspired by it, and do what it takes to come closer to our Creator, may His name be blessed forever!