The Maccabees came into the desecrated Holy Temple but they could not find any pure oil for the menorah. All the oil had been defiled by the Greeks. Miraculously, they found one small jug of pure, holy, undefiled oil, enough to illuminate the temple for one night. A miracle took place. The tiny jug of oil lasted for 8 nights.

Friends, every Jew is a candle. Every one of us has a divine soul within us that shines brightly. At times we might feel uninspired Jewishly. That our oil has been defiled. We might feel that we’ve become too secularized, that we’ve lost our sensitivity to the spiritual, and that Judaism is not part of our daily experience.

Says Chanukah: Within every one of us there is a small jug of pure, holy oil. Our neshomo, our G-dly soul, the Jewish spark within us. The part of us that feels warm inside every time we do something Jewish. The part deep inside of us that gets upset each time we hear of a tragedy in Israel. The part of us that brings tears to our eyes when we see a Chanukah menorah or when we say yiskor. That jug of pure, holy oil is our essence, it’s who we are, and it’s undefinable.

And although it may be small in quantity, it is a miraculous little jug, which can light up our lives and brighten up our daily experience with Jewishness and spirituality. Friends, let’s make a miracle tonight! As we share the warmth and light of Chanukah with one another, and as we each kindle our own menorahs in our homes, let us be inspired to add more mitzvahs & Torah study to our lives, allowing that inner spark, that tiny jug of pure oil, to light up our inner menorahs, to shine and illuminate our lives with G-dliness and goodness.

Happy Chanukah!