Hanukkah: A season of light and miracles in Israel

OPINION:

It is not a coincidence that Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, which Jews around the world are celebrating this week, occurs during the darkest time of the year. It is only against the darkness that we are best able to see the light. And that is so true in what is happening in God’s Holy Land, Israel, right now. Against the darkness of war and suffering and loss, we are able to clearly see the miracles and light of Hanukkah through the actions of ordinary Israelis doing extraordinary things.

While Hanukkah commemorates the miracle of oil that lasted for eight days, it also celebrates the miraculous victory of a small rag-tag group of Jews, known as the Maccabees, over a much more powerful enemy who was trying to destroy their faith. The story of Hanukkah is a story of survival. It’s a story of heroism. And it’s a story of miraculous victory — of light over darkness, freedom over oppression.

This season of light and miracles is also a poignant reminder that the people of Israel are now more than 400 days into a battle for our very survival. Like last year, we observe Hanukkah against a backdrop of war, suffering, and loss. And as we have for thousands of years, we continue to defend our land and our faith, and trust that God will bless us with victory. With survival.

As we light the eight candles on our menorah during Hanukkah, we remember God’s protection, His providence, and the many miracles that He performed for the Jewish people during those eight holy days. It is here in Israel that the miracles of Hanukkah took place, and it’s here that His miracles continue to take place. Just as God provided for His people then, He is providing for His people again. 

Today, I would like to share four more miraculous stories that illustrate the very meaning of Hanukkah – stories about the miracles of hope, freedom, light, courage, redemption, faith, and faithfulness.

Refael Kruskal is CEO of Tikva Odesa Orphanage in Ukraine. For more than 20 years, Refael has worked with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews to support the orphanage and the Jewish community in Odesa. When war broke out in Ukraine in 2020, The Fellowship was uniquely positioned to help thanks to our longstanding partnership.

Refael and his staff were able to evacuate 1,066 people, including 486 children, to Bucharest, Romania with help from The Fellowship and others. Miraculously, they were the only Jewish community to survive intact from Ukraine. As Refael told me, “I believe it’s no coincidence that, in the midst of the dark winter, light shines through. The support and the people thinking of us and sending help are the lights of Hanukkah for us.”

There’s Benni Shukroon and Rabbi Yigal Tzipori, whose faithful devotion to feeding Israel’s neediest during a time of war, has inspired my own faith. Since the war began on Oct. 7, the Beit Betya soup kitchen in Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanon border, managed by Rabbi Tzipori and supported by The Fellowship, has prepared and served more than 1,000 meals each day.

This fall, when rockets fired from Hezbollah struck the soup kitchen’s roof and neighboring homes, Benni, the head cook at the soup kitchen, not only ran to help an elderly couple whose home had suffered a direct hit, but he also returned to the soup kitchen to resume preparing food. Like the miracle of the olive oil lasting eight days on that first Hanukkah, despite having only one working oven, Benni and those at the soup kitchen faithfully continued to provide 1,000 meals to embattled Israelis.

Eli Cohen is a school bus driver in Ein Yaakov, located about eight miles from the Lebanon border. On this particular day, school was released early due to threats of a pending rocket attack from Hezbollah. Eli picked up his 45 young charges and arrived at Ein Yaakov just as the alarms sounded and a heavy volley of rockets began to land around the bus.

Acting immediately, Eli got all the children off the bus and into a nearby mobile bomb shelter that had been placed there two years ago thanks to The Fellowship’s generous donors. Once inside, Eli attempted to settle down the panicked children by suggesting, “Let’s sing a song.” Thanks to his quick thinking, a semblance of calm was established, and miraculously, all the children were returned safely to their parents.

The remarkable story of Adele Raemer, a 69-year-old grandmother, has filled me with hope as well this Hanukkah season. Adele is an American-born Jew who made aliyah to Israel in the 1970s. She married and raised her family on Kibbutz Nirim, just miles from the Gaza border. For years, Adele has considered Nirim “95% Eden,” a peaceful home where her daughter and three granddaughters also live, just a two-minute bike ride away.

All that changed on Oct. 7 when terrorists infiltrated and rampaged through their kibbutz, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Had Adele gone for her morning walk, as planned, she, too, would have undoubtedly been killed. Adele and her son, who was visiting her at the time, as well as her daughter’s family, miraculously survived and were rescued after 11 terror-filled hours. They were immediately evacuated to Beersheva.

Since that time, Adele has been a refugee in her own homeland. But her constant hope is to return to her beloved kibbutz, which today remains officially a war zone. Today, Adele has devoted her life to focusing on rebirth and rebuilding not only for her kibbutz, but all Israelis. “This people of mine, this nation of mine, has been such a light to me. I’ve always loved my people – that’s why I came to live in Israel. It’s my home,” she said.

For me, the stories of Refael, Benni, Rabbi Tzipori, Eli, and Adele are beautiful reminders of the resiliency of the Jewish people. Just as the Maccabees refused to be victims and allow their enemies to steal their identity and faith, these Israelis and countless others like them, continue to celebrate life, to make their light shine. And that’s exactly the message of Hanukkah.

But perhaps the greatest miracle of all this Hanukkah season is that this has all been made possible by our Christian friends, whose love for God’s holy children is manifested in their support of The Fellowship’s lifesaving work and mission.

For the first time in its history, Israel is not alone. As antisemitism is on a terrifying rise, the Jewish people are more grateful than ever that we are joined in this fight by millions of Christians in America and around the world, who have steadfastly stood with Israel and the Jewish people and have remained committed to Israel’s right to exist.

During this holiest time of year, I ask our Christian friends to continue to light the way for their Jewish brothers and sisters with continued prayers and support. Together, like the Maccabees, we can overcome our enemies and conquer darkness with the light of faith.

–

Yael Eckstein is President and CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, one of the world’s largest religious charitable organizations. The Jerusalem Post’s 2023 Humanitarian Award recipient and 4-time honoree on its 50 Most Influential Jews list, Yael is a Chicago-area native based in Israel with her husband and their four children.