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As we think about Chanukah we begin asking ourselves the age-old question: Why is Chanukah celebrated for eight days? If there was enough oil in the jug for one night, then the miracle was only seven days long, not eight, and as such the holiday should begin on the twenty sixth of Kislev and run for seven days. Many suggestions have been offered to solve this problem, but perhaps we should stop trying to answer the question and instead attack the premise.

The Gemara in Taanis, 25a, records the story of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa and his burning vinegar. One Friday afternoon he noticed that his daughter was upset. She explained that she had accidentally filled the candles with vinegar instead of oil and was upset that she would be unable to light shabbos candles. He responded matter of factly: “What difference does it make? He who commanded oil to burn will command vinegar to burn.” And so it was; the candles remained lit until havdalah. What we see from this episode was Rabbi Chanina’s approach to the “natural” burning of oil. He recognized that there is no greater miracle occurring when vinegar burns than when oil burns, both are expressions of HaShem’s will at a particular moment. He knew that even the burning of the oil is miraculous but most people just don’t realize that since it happens all the time.

With this in mind we can return to our question about the miracle of Chanukah: Why was the holiday established for eight days instead of seven if the miracle of the oil was only seven days? The answer is that the assumption is flawed; even the first day was a miracle! The very fact that oil burns is miraculous. The holiday of Chanukah was not established only to commemorate the nes nigleh, the revealed miracle—one day’s worth of oil lasting for eight days—but also for the nes nistar, the hidden miracle of one day’s worth of oil burning even for that one day.

One of the other, more well-known, answers to our question is that the first day commemorates the miraculous military victory, while the subsequent seven days relate to the miracle of the oil. One might have erroneously claimed that the military victory was not a miracle but rather the result of strategic brilliance and unyielding will on the part of the Chashmonaim. It is possible to attribute the victory to the power of man, not to the Power of G-d, and as such we dedicate the first day of Chanukah to the miraculous, supernatural, victory over the Greeks.

The miraculous nature of the war and the miracle of the oil’s nature to burn, two events which could otherwise be misunderstood, reflect the same basic point: we must celebrate all miracles, not only the obvious ones. [Perhaps this also is the meaning of the statement in the Modim section of Shemoneh Esrei “ועל נסיך שבכל יום עמנו” which itself gets overlooked due to its thrice-daily repetition.] Through the establishment of Chanukah for eight days instead of seven, Chazal have brought to our minds not only the nes nigleh of the seven days, but also the nes nistar of the first day.

This idea may be what the Poskim are referring to when they say that Chanukah is “Days of Hallel and Hodaah.” These are days when we recognize, give thanks, and praise HaShem for all His wondrous deeds, both revealed and hidden.