Parshat Miketz/Hanukah

In the second blessing over the Hanukah lights, we thank God for performing “miracles for our ancestorsin those days, at this time [baz’man hazeh] “ — meaning, at this time of year. The S’fat Emet interpreted the phrase “at this time”differently, to mean that the miracle of Hanukah still takes place today.

In what sense does that miracle still occur? The story of the oil that lasted for eight days is a story of the partnership between the divine and the human. The Macabees reached upward– they lit the lamp — even though they knew that they did not have enough oil to keep it burning. God responded by reaching downward, keeping the flame alive. The miracle was that we and God met each other half way.

Every mitzvah is like that. Every act of worship, every act of kindness, brings a little bit of God into the world. But it does so only because, like the Macabees, we dare to take a risk, to reach beyond ourselves. It is in that sense that the miracle of Hanukah still takes place in our time. The story repeats itself in every sacred deed that we perform.