<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><span>The Gemara in Maseches Shabbos (21) begins: <i>
"What is Chanukah? The Rabbis have expounded: Beginning with the 25th of Kislev, eight days of Chanukah are observed, during which no eulogies are delivered, nor is fasting permitted. For when the Greeks entered the heichal, they defiled all the holy oils used for the Menorah in the temple, and when the Hasmonean house prevailed and defeated them, they searched and found only one remaining cruse of oil with the Kohen Gadol's seal, which</i></span><i> evidently had not been touched by the Greeks. </i><span><span><i> </i><span><i>Although it contained only enough oil to burn for one day, a miracle occurred, the Menorah was rekindled and the oil miraculously lasted for eight days</i></span><i> until new oil could be prepared.</i><span><i> A year later they (the Rabbis) designated these days as Yamim Tovim on which praise and thanksgiving were to be said."</i></span></span></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span>Interestingly, not a word about the military victory is stated. Also, the question has been asked why weren’t the Greek enemies commanded to go into the temple, smash all the jars of oil and spill it out, thereby depriving the Jews of continuing their daily lighting of the Menorah. Why did they just defile it? The answer is fascinating. The goal of the enemy was not to prevent the rekindling of the Menorah, but rather that it should be rekindled with defiled oil. So they purposely left a supply of oil in the Sanctuary to be readily available for this purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span>The bottom line is that the Greeks demanded that the Jews accept THEIR (the Greeks) torah (small “t” purposely) and as long as the Jews followed what the Greeks commanded, everything would be fine. And one of the most powerful tools the Greeks employed was assimilation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span>In other words, the real God of the Jews was not allowed to be followed and the resistance of the Chashmonaim was at the basis of our faith: To follow God’s way irrespective of what others say or demand we should do. To be flip: It’s either God’s way or Oy Vey!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span>Happy Chanukah</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">ri</p></div></div></body></html>