Oil Experiment

Sizzling golden delicious latkes. Fluffy, jelly-filled doughnuts. The miracle of the oil.

After a hard-fought battle, the victorious Maccabee soldiers returned to the Holy Temple, only to find it in a complete disarray. The Greek army had turned the place upside down, and in doing so, had broken the seal of every jug of oil, rendering them unfit for use in the Menorah.

After a search and rescue operation, one flask of oil is found, Though it is meant to burn for one day, it miraculously burns for a full 8 days, the time needed to produce new oil. Hence the celebration of Chanukah. Hence the oily delicacies. Hence the extra calories.

But why oil? What is the significance of oil, turning Chanukah into the most celebrated Jewish holiday of the year?

Try this. Take some oil, and mix some other liquids in with it. Shake it up, turn it upside down, dance a Hora with it balanced on your head. No matter how hard you try, the oil will rise to the top. It will not be daunted by these other (dark) forces pouring down upon it. It will not be influenced these outside forces. It wil simply bounce back like a spring.

It is this message of the oil that is so important to internalize. When negativity gets us down, when challenges seem to rock us off our feet, when life mixes us up like a cocktail at a party, don't panic. Whether this chaos is taking place in our personal lives or it seems like the whole world is upside down, we can be confident that we will persevere as the Jewish Nation has throughout the millennia.  Inside of us we have an oil-like quality that will help us float back to the top.

On Chanukah, somewhere between the Menorah and the Sufganiyot (jelly donuts), we find our inner oil. And the flame burns bright.

Wishing you and your family a Happy Chanukah!