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Why does the Al Hanissim focus on military victory while the Gemara (גמרא) emphasizes the oil miracle? The Greeks and Jews both valued individualism and light, but with radically different meanings. Greek individualism celebrates the self as an island—competitive achievement, personal glory, the Olympic victor crowned with olives. Torah (תורה) individualism means the opposite: one Jew embodies all of Klal Yisrael because he is connected to the eternal whole, and only through that connection does the individual have meaning and power.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a textual puzzle: the Al Hanissim prayer for Chanukah (חנוכה) describes only the military victory of the Chashmonaim over the Greeks, with no mention of the miracle of the oil. Yet the Gemara (גמרא) in Masechta Shabbos (שבת), when asked "Mai Chanukah—why do we celebrate Chanukah?" answers exclusively with the story of the oil that burned for eight days. This apparent contradiction frames the shiur's central question: what is Chanukah really about? The shiur explores how the Torah (תורה) itself foreshadows the conflict with Greece. In Parshas Zot HaBerachah, Moshe blesses the tribe of Levi: "Strike the loins of those who rise against them, and let their enemies not arise." Rashi (רש"י) explains that Moshe foresaw the war of the Chashmonaim (who were Kohanim from Levi) against the Greeks, and prayed for their victory despite being vastly outnumbered—only twelve against multitudes. The Maskil L'Dovid asks a fundamental question: if the Greeks were fighting all of Klal Yisrael, why does the pasuk specifically mention enemies rising against *Levi*? Why is this blessing directed at Levi in particular?
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