The Real Battle of Chanukah
By Ari Fuld HY”D
I want to speak about Chanukah, because with all the fun and games – the sufganiyot, the dreidels, the presents – the real meaning of this chag (holiday) often gets lost.
We’re living in a time when lies are presented as truth and darkness is so popular that it actually looks like light. Look at the UN – an organization created to protect the weak has turned into a place where dictators sit on human rights councils and lecture Israel.
That’s darkness. And strangely enough, this has everything to do with Chanukah, because Chanukah is the fight between what looks like light and what actually is light; between a world obsessed with the physical and a nation whose purpose is clarity, morality, and spirituality.
What the Greeks Actually Wanted
People confuse Chanukah with Purim. Purim was genocide – kill the Jews.
Chanukah was different. The Yevanim (Greeks) didn’t want to kill Jews; they wanted to kill Judaism. They said, “Be like us. Don’t keep Shabbat, don’t keep kosher, don’t perform Brit Milah. Stay Jewish, just drop the Torah. Blend in.”
It wasn’t a sword to the neck. It was a smile. “Come to the party Friday night. Don’t be so strict.” Many Jews fell for it. They didn’t stop being Jews, they just slowly removed the Torah’s glasses, their clarity blurred, and they became Mityavnim (Hellenists).
Judaism is not about heaven or hell. It’s about who you become. Mitzvot (commandments) sharpen your vision; Aveirot (transgressions) dull it. Torah is the lens that lets you see what’s really happening beneath the surface. The Greeks wanted to rip off that lens. That’s להשכיחם תורתך – not “fight the Torah,” but “make us forget the Torah.” And that is the most dangerous threat of all.
The Real Miracle of Chanukah
Everyone talks about the oil lasting eight days. But look closely. In the Al HaNissim (For the Miracles) prayer, we don’t mention the oil at all, only the war. And in the Gemara, when it asks Mai Chanukah? (What is Chanukah?), it barely speaks about the war and focuses on the oil.
Put the two together: the war was physical salvation, but the oil was the point.
When the Maccabim returned to the Beit HaMikdash, everything was defiled. Halachically, when the whole nation is impure, impure oil is permitted. They didn’t need tahor (pure) oil.
So Why the Search for Pure Oil?
Because the war was about purity versus impurity, about whether spirituality matters. The Greeks said, “Pure, impure – what’s the difference? It doesn’t taste different or feel different.” Judaism says, it’s the difference between life and death.
So, the Maccabim insisted on pure oil. And then Hashem stepped in. The miracle wasn’t a magic trick, it was Hashem saying: You’re right. There is a difference between pure and impure, holy and profane, body and soul. The candles burned eight days to show the world that spirituality is real.
Winning Physical Wars Isn’t Enough
Two hundred years later, the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed. The Hashmonaim didn’t survive. The physical victory wasn’t enough. And today, in the Land of Israel, surrounded by open miracles, we face the same war. We win physical battles – 1948, 1967 – but without the spiritual core, victory means nothing. We’re not in Israel because we won wars. We’re here because of who we are.
Lighting a Candle Today
Every Jew can light a Chanukah candle in the truest way: take on one mitzvah, one step toward Torah, one move that strengthens your Jewish identity. That itself is lighting a candle and declaring that the Yevanim lost.
My grandmother, alayha ha-shalom, survived multiple camps. She used to look at her grandchildren and say, “You are my victory.” This week I saw the giant menorah lit in Berlin, right where the Nazis once marched. That’s a miracle – but it’s only a victory if we stay connected to who we are.
The UN, Truth, and Choosing Light
We just saw the same battle again. Fourteen out of fifteen countries voted against reality at the UN, denying Jerusalem. And then America stood up. President Donald Trump made the decision openly, and Ambassador Nikki Haley proudly vetoed the vote. They chose truth over darkness.
I once heard that Mashiach will come when we stop pointing fingers at who’s holding back redemption, and start asking, “What can I do?” The battle begins inside. And who knows, maybe tomorrow night we will merit to light the Menorah in the Beit HaMikdash. And if not tomorrow, then next year, in the Third Beit HaMikdash in Jerusalem.
Neis Gadol Haya Po, the miracle of Chanukah happened right here! But, if you are anywhere else, you’re saying Neis Gadol Haya Sham, the miracle happened there. If so, then come home, and live it. Chag sameach everyone.
Shalom and God bless from the stunning, beautiful rolling hills of Judea Israel.
Edited and adapted from Ari’s Grill & Torah series.