As we approach the chag of Chanukah and review some of the Rabbinic sources, we are struck once again by Chazal's seemingly ambivalent position regarding the nature of the holiday and our celebration of it. Numerous questions and issues present themselves. Primarily, the gemara in Shabbos asks: “מאי חנוכה, What is Chanukah?" Rashi explains that the gemara wondered for which miracle the holiday was established, implying that there were multiple miracles involved in the holiday. If so, what are these other miracles? Furthermore, we are told that all the holidays mentioned in Megillat Taanit will ultimately cease to be relevant. However, because of their significance, there will be two exceptions: Purim and Chanukah. Why will Chanukah remain? In addition, questions abound surrounding the miracle of the oil. First, why is the miracle of the oil not mentioned in the al hanisim? More significantly, given the halachic principle that "טומאה הותרה בציבור” why was the miracle of the cruse of oil necessary at all, and why was the miracle performed for the Menorah but not for the קרבן מנחה, which also required oil? Finally, the classic question of the Beis• Yosef. Why do we celebrate the holiday for eight days when there was enough oil in the discovered cruse last one day and the miracle involved only the remaining seven days?

Rav Ariel, in his sefer "מאהלי תורה" points out that we need to be aware that the Chanukah story actually involves two distinct events: the military victory over the Greek army and the miracle of the oil at the time of the rededication of the Beit Hamikdash. It is for this reason that Rashi explains "מאי חנוכה" as, "Which miracle are we celebrating?"

Of the two miracles, the significance of the military victory was more fleeting. Despite the fact that the Jewish people were able to achieve their independence, the churban Habayit occurred just two centuries later, effectively eliminating any remnant of the independence that had resulted from the miraculous victory over the Greek army. Therefore, from a purely military or national standpoint there is little reason to continue to celebrate the victory. The Chanukah victory was only one of many victories won by the Jewish people through the generations that served as no more than temporary victories. To emphasize military accomplishments that lack lasting impact is an almost empty, meaningless gesture.

But Chanukah was not simply a military or national victory. Mattisyahu's rebellion was not fueled by a desire for national independence; rather, it was a struggle to defeat the Hellenistic culture that the Greeks represented and preserve the right of the Jewish people to observe the Torah and its mitzvos. As a result of the fact that the Greek nation used military power to enforce their cultural imperatives, Mattisyahu and his sons realized that to protect their religious freedom they needed to battle for political freedom.

It is the victory of Torah over Hellenism that emerges as the eternal miracle that remains with us until today. And it is this critical point that the Chachamim were adamant about eternalizing, fearing that the people would misinterpret the military victory as the key miracle. To Chazal, the miracle of the Menorah became paramount as the symbol of the true impact of the Chanukah experience. From the early days of the second Temple, the Menorah came to symbolize the study and practice of Torah. The ארון קדש, which once sat in the קדש קדשים, was hidden away at the end of the first Temple and remained hidden for all of the second Temple. As a result, the Menorah took over as the most important national symbol through its representation of Talmud Torah. The Menorah's rise in stature coincided with the rise of the Oral Torah as the foundation of Torah study and observance, and the concurrent rise of Rabbinic Judaism. Accordingly, the key lesson of the miracle of the oil was not based on a halachic imperative-after all, טומאה הותרה בציבור. For the same reason, there was no need for a parallel miracle to procure pure oil for the קרבן מנחה• The main aspect of the miracle of the oil was to highlight the primacy of Torah and the victory of Torah and mitzvos over the Greek lifestyle.

In reality, there were not two separate miracles. There were two aspects, a primary one and a secondary one, to one miracle. The spiritual and moral victory of the Jewish nation was primary; the military victory was important only in that it enabled the Torah to emerge victoriously.

Why, then, is the miracle of the oil not mentioned in על הניסים? In order to understand this, the words of על הניסים must be read carefully: "מסרת גבורים ביד חלשים ורבים ביד מעטים וטמאים ביד טהורים ורשעים ביד צדיקים וזדים ביד עוסקי תורתך, 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, the evil into the hands of those who delve into the Torah." Why was this war fought? At what point did the military victory become necessary? "כשעמדה מלכות יון הרשעה על עמך ישראל להשכיחם תורתך ולהעבירם מחוקי רצונך, When the evil Greek empire attempted to cause Am Yisrael to forget Your Torah and to abandon Your statutes." על הניסים does not focus on the relatively minor import of the cruse of oil. Instead, it focuses on the spiritual victory of the Jewish people over the ideas of Hellenism, of which the oil and the Menorah serve only as indicators of that victory.

This is also the reason Chanukah is celebrated for eight days and not seven. One day marks the military victory that was a necessary precondition to the spiritual victory. Seven days are celebrated in order to mark the miracle of the oil. But the holiday is one event; we do not celebrate two separate events because the two aspects are inextricably linked. The physical victory and the spiritual victory are inseparable so long as the spiritual is the primary and the physical is the secondary.

Even in the days when the מלכות חשמונאים was no longer, and the military victory had long been forgotten in the ashes of the Temple, the true nature of the holiday, the victory of טהרה over טומאה, the victory of light over darkness, the victory of enlightenment over paganism, remains the eternal victory to be celebrated for centuries to come. Each and every year, the lights of the Chanukah menorah illuminate our path, our unique existence as a people among the nations of the world. Because of this message Chanukah will remain an integral part of our calendar even after the other holidays are no longer part of the Jewish consciousness. How poignant is this message of Chanukah in these times as well. We honor and love the State of Israel. We revere the IDF and its defense of our people and our State. But military strength and success will never be sufficient unto themselves, Our ultimate victory and the ultimate Kiddush Hashem will be complete only with a commitment to Torah principles and to a lifestyle of קדושה and טהרה.