The Miracle of Nature: Zos Chanukah, This is Chanukah; This is Chanukah, This is My Daughter

part 1: Zos Chanukah, This is Chanukah

The holiday of Chanukah is about rededicating the altar in the Second Temple of Jerusalem after it had been defiled by the Greeks, in 139 B.C.E.. “Zos Chanukah, This is Chanukah”. The phrase is meant to connect to a verse in the Torah referring to the dedication of the altar in the Holy Tabernacle built while the Jews wandered in the desert. Zos chanukas hamizbeiach [this the dedication of the altar]. Bamidbar [Numbers] 7:8 and 88

Zos Chanukah is what the eighth day, the final day, of Chanukah is called.

It is a declaration meaning the eighth day encapsulates all the days of Chanukah. 

And that comes from the debate, (time frame first century B.C.E.) between the two Jewish schools of Rabbi Shammai and Rabbi Hillel regarding how to light the Chanukah menorah. 

R’Shammai said to begin with eight lights and later reduce by one nightly, to show up front the miracle and to showcase the potentiality of miracles.

R’Hillel said to begin with one light and increase by one nightly, to show daily the actuality of nature and reveal the miracle at the conclusion.

The honorable rabbis were in debate of how and when to reveal the miracle that happened at Chanukah.

Typical for most of their debates we read in the Talmud, the accepted position is that of Rabbi Hillel, whom we recognize yearly on the eighth day when we say, “Zos Chanukah.”

Within Rabbi Shammai’s position, the focus is on the potentiality of miracles. It seemingly dismisses nature, as if it is a matter of either/or.

While focusing daily on the actuality, we see where we are at this particular moment, is the position of Rabbi Hillel.

By the time we get to the end and the menorah is all ablaze, we can recognize “This is Chanukah”. This is what it is all about, and this is it in its entirety. Nature in its glory and revealing the concealed miracle that was there all along.

Nature by default is miraculous.

It has been said the difference between natural and miraculous is the frequency.

It is still a miracle, but the novelty has worn off.

Nature as it ever changes is what we experience moment by moment. Nature is actuality and it is now. Nature is infused with the miraculous. The miracle is the eternal life giving energy infused throughout and providing the constancy of design. 

It’s important for us to recognize both as we navigate through our lives.

Nature appears seemingly endless and yet with underlying tones of the urgency of finality. Life in general goes on, individually there’s an expiration date. The miracle of life is the eternal energy of Oneness. It is everywhere, in everything, in everyone, and all the time.

There’s an emphasis on the urgency of nature in Rabbi Shammai’s position. Show it all and show it first. Yes, it’s the potential and the miraculous, but we are presenting it to very real and natural people who may lose interest or focus after eight days.

Being eternal allows miracles time to develop, to nurture, and to pass through the milenia. Rabbi Hillel’s position shows more temperance. Give the people something natural every day and present it all together in the end. More true to life that way.

When we focus on the miracle of life we are pacing ourselves to live in nature in a more sustainable way. When we tap into the eternal energy we have the endurance we need to live in the continuous and yet ever changing day to day.

Chanukah, for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, comes during the shortest days of the year. We bring our little flame and light the Menorah. Over time our lights increase. We have lit up the darkness. It was darkness that beckoned and informed light where to go. To be where it was needed most.

Light transforming darkness is nature.

Light and darkness existing at all is the miracle of nature that was there all along.

Happy Chanukah!

(The End.)

part 2: This is Chanukah, This is My Daughter (originally written 10 December 2020)

My daughter, Dani, was Au Naturel. 

She was intense, and beautiful, and not for everyone.

She was an energy in and of herself. 

She could light up a room, an event, a heart.

She saw life, she wanted it, and she took it.

She was miraculous.

Although, she died young at 46. Forever 46. It’s miraculous, given her intensity, she lived so long.

She made loved-ones feel good about themselves. She made us laugh and smile. 

She died on the third of the Jewish month of Tevet. In the early evening shortly after the last day of Chanukah. All the candles had been lit the night before. On the last day we are yet in the glow of the energy of the Festival of Lights. We call the last day of Chanukah: Zos Chanukah. This is Chanukah.

The common era date she died was the tenth of December, and this year Chanukah began on the tenth of December. It seems as though Chanukah belongs to Dani’s memory this year. I want to believe there is something for me, for us, to learn here.

She died just after the last day of Chanukah. The last day of Chanukah was her last full day here on Earth. It’s as if she had seen Chanukah, wanted it, and took it.

I think of her in general as starting out with some light, increasing in intensity, and quietly passing away long after the last candle has gone out, but still in an afterglow of all that was good.

This is my daughter.

Perhaps, in her own natural way, she reconciled nature and miracles.

Whether the subject is nature or be it miracles, the story, our stories continue.

The longer I am here in nature without her, the better I am able to see the miracle of her, that was there all along. 

(The End.)

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