Lead Tidbit
Our Amazing "Bnei Vina"
In the YUD stanza of Maoz Tzur, the one about Chanuka itself, we sing about the victory over the Y'vanim and the miracle of the oil. We conclude by acknowledging our Sages, "those who possess deep understanding", for establishing an 8-day holiday of Song and Jubilation.

If we look at how Chazal shaped certain aspects of Chanuka (and Purim), we can see the BINA they possessed at work.

Their choice of 8 days for Chanuka is not just because it took 8 days to get a new supply of oil, and so there was an 8-day miracle. The concept of 8 days (and the number 8 in general) makes an important statement for Judaism and the Jewish People: We live in this world and are part of nature, but we have a spiritual goal and aspiration to sanctify our lives through the observance of mitzvot and to rise above nature. Torah says that. Brit Mila says that. And the victory of the few over the many... and the Torah people over the scoffers says that too.

Chazal placed a high premium on Pirsumei Nisa, publicizing the miracle, because the Greeks forced those of us who remained faithful to Torah and Mitzvot into hiding, and stripped away Torah and Mitzvot from those of us who chose to Hellenize. Even more than the declarations we make at the Seder with Matza and Maror in our hand, the nightly lighting of the Chanuka candles, and the brachot we recite on that lighting, and the preferred location and timing of the lighting, all combine to make a loud and clear declaration, not just that a Great Miracle Occurred Here, but that the Jewish People and Judaism live!