Is Good Enough Good Enough?

Answer

Our sages chose a name for this festival that would be hard to spell, easy to mispronounce, and tricky to understand. This has caused innumerable awkward moments throughout history, as poorly prepared dignitaries and good-intentioned well-wishers struggle to get the word right. Perhaps a simpler name could have been chosen. But as usual, our sages nailed

it, as they managed to capture the essence of the holiday in one single word.

The story of Chanukah goes like this. After a band of Jewish rebels defeated the Syrian-Greek army, they found the Temple contaminated. They wanted to rededicate the Temple service by lighting the Menorah. But all the oil in the Temple had been contaminated, and it would take eight days to produce pure oil. They couldn't wait that long, so they searched and searched and

finally found one remaining jar of pure oil. They lit the Menorah, and miraculously the oil lasted eight days instead of one. So we have eight days of Chanukah, named for the dedication of the Temple.

There’s just one problem with this story. It would have been perfectly acceptable for them to light the Menorah with contaminated oil. It was completely unnecessary for the Jews to insist on pure oil. According to the law, when everything is impure, you can use impure oil. It's fine. They didn't need to do that.

And that is the point. They went above and beyond what was expected. They could have settled with impure oil, but they didn't. They were dedicating the Temple anew, and they knew that you can’t dedicate a Temple with half measures. It can’t just be good enough. It has to be the best. So even when it seemed like a waste of time, they kept looking for pure oil. And they found it.

When you go beyond your calling, that’s when miracles happen. Miracles are G-d’s way of going the extra mile. If you live a mediocre life, then normal things happen. But stretch your nature for G-d, and G-d stretches nature for you. That is dedication. That is Chanukah.