Removing Impurities

A major theme of Chanukah is the idea of purification. The Greeks not only defiled the Temple, but they also strongly influenced the sanctity of the Jewish people in a negative way. They put too much emphasis on the power and intellect of man. They reduced man’s dependence on G-d. They believed that man can solve all of his problems if he would only tap into his intellect. Such attitudes demoralized the holy Jewish nation. It took strong spiritual leaders to expose the falsehood and corruption of such views. Often, the biggest challenge in dealing with טומאה and שקר, is to reveal it and show it for what it really is. We have such challenges in our lives as well. We must learn to separate from lies and impurities. We must uncover the falsehoods and insincerity of the טומאה that surrounds us. Like the Maccabees, we must not be afraid to confront the negative people in our lives. We will find that small, pure, cruse of oil and surround ourselves with holiness as we cleave to Hashem in truth.