Let’s Talk About Miracles
Some of you may know that I have been hosting monthly dinner parties in my home all year long. Sometimes the menu leads, sometimes it’s more about a curated guest list. However, every month there is a selected topic to guide our conversations as a group. It was suggested that I do a blog or video blog about this year-long adventure and that may happen. But in the meantime, I wanted to talk more about the topic of this months conversation which is MIRACLES.
You may want to cue the songs by Culture Club. Barry Manilow, Jefferson Starship and Hot Chocolate (you sexy thing!). But the real inspiration comes from the Miracle of Light. Since I decided to schedule the December dinner party on the first night of Chanukah, I remembered the story of Judah Maccabee.
If you’re not familiar, the events that inspired Chanukah took place around 200 B.C. Judea—also known as the Land of Israel—came under the control of Antiochus III, of Syria who allowed the Jews who lived there to continue practicing their religion. His son, Antiochus IV proved less benevolent. He outlawed the Jewish religion and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods. In 168 B.C., his soldiers descended upon Jerusalem, and desecrated the city’s holy Second Temple.
Led by the Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons, a large-scale rebellion broke out against Antiochus. Soon his eldest son Judah, known as Judah Maccabee (“the Hammer”), took the helm. Within two years the Jews had successfully driven the Syrians out of Jerusalem. Judah called on his followers to cleanse the Second Temple and light its menorah—the gold candelabrum whose seven branches represented knowledge and creation and were meant to be kept burning every night.
The Chanukah 'Miracle'
According to the Talmud, one of Judaism’s most central texts, those involved in the rededication of the Second Temple witnessed what they believed to be a miracle. Even though there was only enough untainted olive oil to keep the menorah’s candles burning for a single day, the flames continued flickering for eight nights. This wondrous event inspired the Jewish sages to proclaim a yearly eight-day festival.
What is a Miracle?
Of course this got me thinking about what a miracle is and questioning if they even exist at all. According to Wikipedia:
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific laws and accordingly gets attributed to some supernatural or praeternatural cause. Various religions often attribute a phenomenon characterized as miraculous to the actions of a supernatural being, (especially) a deity, a magician, a miracle worker, a saint, or a religious leader.
I have to be honest and say that I am not sure I believe in miracles. I feel that miraculous happenings are largely positive. And if something great happens that maybe should not have that’s a good thing. But it is a miracle? Something attributed to a higher power? I really don’t know.
In any case, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you experienced a miracle? Do you think they exist? Why are there so many songs about miracles? The comment section is always open.