And for the miracles and for the
salvation and for the mighty deeds and for the victories and for the battles
which You performed for our forefathers in those days, at this time. –Al
HaNisim prayer

On Chanuka and Purim, we add “Al
HaNisim” (for the miracles) to the Shmoneh Esrei (silent devotion) and to
Birkat HaMazon (grace after meals).

Why is “Al HaNisim” specifically
added on these two holidays?

 The Tosefta Brachot states that on holidays
where we do not recite musaf (the additional silent prayer) as in Chanuka and
Purim, “me’ein hameora” (expression of the nature of the day) is added to the
Shmoneh Esrei. The Tosefta does not call it “Al HaNisim” as the formula for the
prayer was different. The first time that we see the full text is in Seder Rav
Amram Gaon and in the siddur of Rav Saadya Gaon. In the Talmud Yerushalmi
Brachot, we see that “me’ein hameora” is also recited in Birkat HaMazon.

The Levush (Rabbi Mordechai Jaffe) comments
that “Al HaNisim” contains a double measure of praise, for the miracles
performed in ancient days (in those days) and also for the hidden miracles that
are constantly performed every day (at this time) to preserve life and health,
both for the individual and for the nation.

The Yeminite siddur concludes the
prayer with a request:

Just as you performed miracles and
mighty deeds for them, so too should you perform miracles and mighty deeds for
us at this time.

While the introductory line of “Al
HaNisim” is the same on both holidays, the rest of the prayer is different
reflecting the history and context of when the holiday took place.

Rabbi Yisachar Yaakovson summarizes the
paragraph that we recite on Chanuka:

The wicked Greek kingdom rose up
against Your people, Israel to make them forget Your Torah and compel them to
stray from the statutes of Your Will. Even though the army did fight, it is God
who sent the victory and therefore it says “You avenged their wrong…You
delivered the strong into the hands of the weak etc.” The result was “For Yourself,
You made a great and holy name in Your world and for Your people Israel you
worked a great victory and salvation as this very day.” It ends with the
cleaning of the Temple and establishment of the holiday: “…they purified the
site of Your Holiness and kindled lights in the courtyards of Your sanctuary;
and they established these eight days of Chanuka to express thanks (recite Al HaNisim)
and praise (recite Hallel) to Your great name.

The miracle that is spoken about
here is the hidden miracle that “You delivered the strong into the hands of the
weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure”
as well as the purification of the Temple. What is not mentioned is the more
obvious miracle of the oil which is discussed in the Talmud, Shabbat 21.

What can be learned from here is
that Chanuka is an opportunity to take a step back and appreciate the hidden
miracles that we encounter each day which are often taken for granted, yet are
just as miraculous as the oil lasting for eight days.

In the Book of Maccabees II, 10:1-8 we read: “The Maccabee
and his companions, with God leading them, recovered the Temple and the city. They demolished the
altars that the foreigners built near the marketplace as well as the sacred
precincts. They cleansed the Temple
and made another altar. Then they struck flints to make fire and they offered
up sacrifices after a lapse of two years and they prepared incense, lamps and
sacred loaves. After they had done these things they bowed to the ground and
pleaded with God that they would not experience such misfortunes again but if
they should ever sin they would be disciplined by Him with fairness and not
turned over to slanderous and barbaric nations. On the anniversary of the Temple’s defilement by
foreigners, on that very day, the sanctuary was purified on the twenty-fifth of
the month which is Kislev. And they kept the eight days with gladness, as in
the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) remembering that not long before they had
held the Feast of Tabernacles when they wandered in the mountains and dens like
beasts. Therefore they bore branches and fair boughs and palms also and sang
psalms unto Him that had given them good success in cleansing His place. A
measure was passed by the public assembly that the entire Jewish people should
observe these days every year.”

We see from here that the first Chanuka was celebrated to
make up for the fact that they were unable to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot
that year due to the war. This explains why the holiday was eight days, why
they carried palm branches (lulav), offered sacrifices and sang Hallel.

At the end of this first Chanuka (late Sukkot celebration) it
was decided that they would continue to celebrate at that time each year in
honor of the rededication of the Beit HaMikdash (Temple).

In the Talmud, Shabbat 21b we see the famous dispute between
Beit Hillel and Beit Shannai. Do we increase the amount of candles that are lit
each night (do we light one on the first night, two on the second etc.
following the philosophy of Beit Hillel) or do we light all eight candles the
first night and then decrease by one candle each night (seven on the second,
six on the third etc. following the philosophy of Beit Shammai)?

We follow is Beit Hillel’s approach, “maalin bakodesh vilo
moridin”, “in sacred matters we elevate and do not lower the degree of
sanctity”.

Why is Beit Shammai’s view also valid (even if we don’t
follw it)?

Beit Shammai’s view was that we should have a continual
decrease from eight lights to one to correspond to the bull sacrifices of the
Sukkot festival (on Sukkot a total of seventy bulls were sacrificed: thirteen
were sacrificed on the first day, twelve the next day etc.).

Beit Shammai’s thought was to include another parallel
between Sukkot and Chanuka.

It is interesting that today throughout the world Chanuka is
celebrated more than Sukkot even though Sukkot was the Biblical holiday that
Chanuka was derived from.

This Chanuka, let’s take the opportunity to teach about what
Chanuka and Sukkot have in common and bring Sukkot into the consciousness of
the entire Jewish nation.

After all who would turn down another holiday?

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Did Chana and Her Seven Sons
Exist?

Many of us grew up learning
the legend of Chana and her seven sons as part of the Chanuka story. We were
taught that all seven of Chana’s sons were killed, one by one because they
would not bow down to Antiochus’ idol. I remember learning this story in first
grade and being very disturbed by it.

While revisiting the story, I
found that the facts were not as clear as I had been taught and that the story
actually has many versions and variations.

There is an account in the
Talmud, Gittin57b where the story is told with no mention of the name of the
mother of the seven sons. The king in the story is called Caesar (a Roman king,
probably Hadrian) which means that it took place after the Second Beit
Hamikdash (Temple)
was destroyed, way after the time of the Chanuka story.

There is also an account in
the Midrash, Eicha Rabba 1:50 which names the mother of the seven sons Miriam
bat Nachtum, a widow. There too it takes place in the time of the Caesar.

In Book of Maccabees II:7,
the mother’s name is not mentioned. Here the story is presented in the time of
Antiochus (the time period of the Chanuka story). However, instead of telling
them to bow down to the idol, Antiochus tries to force them to eat pig. In that
version, none of them agree to eat it so they are all killed.

In Yossipon, Chapter 19
(written in 10^th c) the story is similar to the one in Maccabees II where
the story takes place at the time of Antiochus, with the addition of the
woman’s name (here she is called Chana).

Why is she called Chana in
Yossipon’s account?

After her sons are killed,
Yossipon includes a prayer that “Chana” said (this is not included in any of
the other accounts) which is based on the prayer that Chana (Shmuel the
prophet’s mother) recited: “My heart exults in HaShem…”

Both Maccabees and Yossipon
say that she died after her sons (no detail is given). The Talmud and Eicha Rabba
say that she fell off of a roof (committed suicide).

Since there are so many
discrepancies between the different accounts, it is clear that the entire story
can’t be taken literally, so what then can we learn from it?

Throughout history we have
had many enemies who gave the Jews the option of either converting or being
killed. Those who were killed are said to have died “Al Kiddush HaShem”, for
the sanctification of God’s name.

The fact that we really don’t
know the name of the mother of the seven sons reminds us that there were a lot
of women who sacrificed their children “Al Kiddush HaShem”. The story is not
just about one woman, it is unfortunately about many women.

The time has come for us to
declare that we will no longer be pressured by our enemies to give up Judaism
and practice another religion. Rather than die “Al Kiddush HaShem”, we should
live our lives sanctifying God’s name.

This year, everyone is getting excited about Thanksgivuka, the
fact that Chanuka and Thanksgiving fall out on the same day. After examining
the sources we will find that Chanukah is actually a holiday of thanksgiving
every year.

In the First Book of Maccabees 4:39-59 we read:

Yehuda and his brothers said: “Our enemies have been
defeated, let us go up to Jerusalem to cleanse
the Beit HaMikdash (Temple)
and to rededicate it.” They found the Beit HaMikdash in ruin, the altar
profaned, the gates burnt down, the courts overgrown and the rooms of the
Kohanim in shambles… They purified the Beit HaMikdash, removing the stones which
cluttered it…they took unhewn stones as the law commands and built a new altar
on the model of the previous one. They rebuilt the Beit HaMikdash and restored
its interior and courts. They fixed the sacred vessels and the Menorah to shine
within the Beit HaMikdash. When they had the Lechem HaPanim (Shew Bread) on the
table and hung the curtains, all their work was completed. Then, early on the
25^th day of the 9^th month, the month of Kislev…it was
rededicated with Psalms of thanksgiving (Hallel), to the music of harps
and lutes and cymbals…then Yehuda and the whole congregation of Israel decreed
that the rededication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness at
the same season each year, for eight days.

After rededicating the Beit HaMikdash, the Maccabees sang
Hallel. They praised God for both the military victory as well as for the
opportunity to rededicate the Beit HaMikdash. Each day of Chanuka we too sing
the Hallel prayer (Psalms of thanksgiving) to thank God for the miracles that
took place.

In addition to reciting Hallel each morning of Chanuka, we
also say the Al HaNisim  (For the
Miracles) Prayer immediately following Modim (Thanksgiving Prayer) each time
that we recite the Shmoneh Esrai (Silent Devotion) as well as during Birkat HaMazon
(Grace After Meals). This prayer as well thanks God for the miracles that took
place.

For the miracles and for the salvation and for the mighty
deeds and for the victories and for the battles which You performed for our
forefathers in these days, at this time:

In the days of Matityahu, the son of Yochanan, the Kohel
Gadol, the Chashmonai and his sons- when the wicked Greek kingdom rose up
against Your people Israel to make them forget Your Torah and compel them to
stray from the statutes of Your Will- You in Your great mercy stood up for them
in the time of distress. You took up their grievance, judged their claim and
avenged their wrong. You delivered the strong into the hands of the weak, the
many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the
wicked into the hands of the righteous and the wanton into the hands of the
diligent students of Your Torah. For Yourself, You made a great and holy Name
in Your world and for Your people Israel you worked a great victory
and salvation as this very day. Thereafter, Your children came to the Holy of
Holies of Your House, cleansed it, purified the site of Your Holiness and
kindled lights in the courtyard of Your Sanctuary; and they established these
eight days of Chanuka to express thanks and praise to Your great Name.

When we recite Al HaNisim, we are showing appreciation for
the past victories as well as for the victories that are still taking place.

Although we don’t have the Beit HaMikdash today (the Second Temple was destroyed in 70CE, 235 years after the Chanuka story took place) we have
seen many miracles in our time.

The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was a
modern miracle and the fact that Israel continues to exist today is
also a miracle. Against all odds, the Jewish people are back in the Land of Israel living in Tel Aviv and Haifa, in the ancient
cities of Jerusalem
and Modiin as well as in modern cities named after the family of Yehuda
Maccabee, Chashmonaim and Maccabim. Can anyone think of a better reason to be
thankful and celebrate?

May we celebrate next year in the Third Beit HaMikdash in Jerusalem.