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Why does Al HaNissim describe the Chanukah (חנוכה) victory as 'righteous defeating wicked' rather than simply Jews defeating Greeks? Chanukah commemorates two distinct miracles: Hashem (ה׳)'s military victory fought through the Chashmonaim (His 'private army' of Levites), and the oil miracle during Temple rededication involving all Jews. This distinction explains why women are obligated in lighting (Temple rededication) but not Hallel (divine military victory).
Rabbi Zweig begins by addressing a question that bothered him for thirty years: what do we mean in Al HaNissim when we say 'tzaddikim biyad reshayim, reshayim biyad tzaddikim' and similar phrases? The answer emerges through analyzing a famous difficulty in the Rambam (רמב"ם) regarding women's obligations on Chanukah (חנוכה). The Rambam rules that women are obligated in lighting Chanukah candles (af heim hayu b'oso hanes) but appears to exempt them from Hallel, creating an apparent contradiction. The resolution lies in understanding that Chanukah commemorates two distinct miracles. The first miracle was the war itself, fought directly by Hashem (ה׳) through the Chashmonaim (Kohanim/Levites). As Rashi (רש"י) explains in Chumash, twelve Chashmonaim overcame tens of thousands of Greeks. This was not a human military victory but Hashem's direct intervention using His 'private army' - Shevet Levi serves as 'Legion Shel Melech.' The Rambam deliberately emphasizes both that Hashem saved them AND that the Chashmonaim were victorious, because when the Levites fight, it is literally Hashem fighting.
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Shabbos 21a-23b
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