Rashi seems to hold that the main miracle of Chanukah was the miracle of the oil; the miracle of victory in battle is not the main thing we are celebrating on Chanukah, according to Rashi. The question is why is this so – after all, the battle was a huge, world-changing and lifesaving miracle which essentially ensured our survival. Whilst the oil miracle, on the other hand, was seemingly unnecessary – we could have survived without pure oil; the worst that would have happened was that we’d have had to wait another week or so for pure oil to be produced. Why is the miracle of the oil something to celebrate at all, and why does it take centre stage? Rav Chaim Shmulevitz explains that it is precisely the unnecessary nature of the oil miracle that sees it thrust into the foreground. The very fact that HaShem went out of His way, so to speak, to provide us with pure oil showed us that He loves us and cares for us. For a father who really loves his son makes sure to tend to every little detail – even seemingly the smallest and most unnecessary – of his son’s needs and wants. Thus, the miracle of the oil showed us a fuller extent of HaShem’s love for us.
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