The holiday of Chanukah celebrates two long-shot events – the triumph of the Jews over the Greeks and their pagan culture, and the lasting of a small jar of kosher oil for an extra seven days – until more kosher oil could be produced to light the Temple menorah.
Anyone betting on a rag-tag “army” of civilian Jews, led not by a trained warrior but by a kohen. a priest, to defeat the vastly superior Greek military forces, would have been viewed as crazy. I imagine that had there been a Los Vegas gambling venue at the time, they would have put the odds of the Jews winning as a billion to one!
So too would be the odds of a small flask of oil, that typically would burn for just about 24 hours, would burn an additional 168 hours.
But despite the mind-boggling odds of either event to have this unlikely outcome, the Jews, led by Mattityahu, and his sons, known as the Maccabees, were not deterred. They had faith, both in the G-d of Israel, and hence in themselves.
It is said that Hashem helps those who make the initial effort. The individual has to take the initiative and take that first brave small step.
Many of us are familiar with the popular children’s story of the little engine that takes on an undertaking that bigger, more powerful engines refuse to accept because they feel they will not succeed. Nobody wants to feel like a failure. They are realistic in their refusal to attempt something they feel is statistically impossible. So why bother to engage in a no-win endeavor?
The little engine, despite the fact he wasn’t built to pull a large train, wants to try. If he doesn’t, then for sure he won’t succeed. As I like to point out, the chances of winning a big lottery are extremely minuscule, but if you don’t buy a ticket, your chances of not winning is a 100 percent!
Chanukah offers a life-enhancing lesson we should take to heart: Do not let the facts on the ground deter you from trying to reach a goal.
You may be faced with seemingly insurmountable odds: you are an older single; you have a physical handicap; your child may have learning disabilities; you have kids off the derech; severe shalom bayit or parnassah issues. There is no shortage of issues to address. But it is crucial to have emunah and make the effort to “fix” the situation, though it seems like it isn’t fixable.
Typically, multiple attempts to resolve the problem are unsuccessful. And you want to give up. You are mentally or physically depleted. You don’t have the emotional stamina to putting yourself in an uncomfortable even demeaning situation, like continuing to ask friends and casual acquaintance’s, even strangers if they can network for you in terms of a shidduch, or for a job. Or going for marital counseling – again – or for yet another invasive costly fertility treatment.
It’s tempting to throw in the towel, and give up – or not bother to try in the first place.
But what if the Maccabees had felt that way? The Greek army was a well-oiled fighting machine. It’s likely Mattityahu, the leader of the Jewish freedom fighters, must have been repeatedly warned not to even think about taking on the Greek invaders.
Similarly, when it came time to light the menorah, the opinion of most might have been, “don’t waste your time. The flame will not last, it is a futile endeavor to restore the sanctity of the Temple at this time.”
However, like the little engine, the Maccabees did not let logic or the laws of nature stop them from trying. They did not allow the perceived reality undermine their belief in Hashem, and consequently, in themselves.
And neither should we. The road of life is full of potholes and seeming dead ends. Faced with these damaging bumps, barriers, and obstacles ahead, there is the temptation to just accept the yoke of the status quo and give up trying to reach our desired destination. As hard as it is, due to ingrained cynicism, we should try to internalize the mindset of the little engine who, as it struggles and strains up the hill, chants, “I think I can, I think I can.”
There are men and women who have been told they only have months to live; that they will never have children; will never walk again or that their child will never be functional. Yet despite the “all knowing” opinion of the experts – they attained the unattainable.
The act of trying is a kiddush Hashem. It is a testimony of unconditional faith. When attempting to achieve the impossible, you are expressing your belief that there is a Master of the universe, who is above all the laws of physics, biology, nature, etc. He can execute what our human eyes consider impossible. He is the creator of miracles.
All He requires is that you take that first step.
At the end of the day, all outcomes, whether the desired one, or the one that didn’t come into being, is in Hashem’s hands. But the true measure of your success was not in the attaining of your goal, but in the trying. Because you believed in yourself. And in Hashem.
