Introduction

On Hanukkah we commemorate the miracle of the cruse of oil, and remember how the one undefiled pure cruse, which was sufficient for only one day's lighting of the Menorah, miraculously lasted for eight days.

Let’s examine an earlier story of  ‘a miracle of a cruse of oil', one in which the faith of a woman played a central role, and see how it sheds light on the Hanukkah story.

The story is found in the Bible, II Kings, Chapter 4:

A certain woman, the wife of one of the disciples of the prophets, cried out to Elisha: "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know how your servant revered the Lord. And now a creditor is coming to seize my two children as slaves. Elisha said to her, "What can I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the house? She replied, "Your maid-servant has nothing at all in the house, except a jug of oil." "Go, he said, "and borrow vessels outside, from all your neighbors, empty vessels, as many as you can. Then go in and shut the door behind you and your children, and pour [oil] into all those vessels, removing each one as it is filled.

She went away and shut the door behind her and her children. They kept bringing [vessels] to her and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." He answered her, "There are no more vessels." And the oil stopped. She came and told the man of God and he said, "Go sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your children can live on the rest."

(IIK4:1-7)

Elisha, the disciple of Elijah?

The question that presents itself is why didn't Elisha, an eminent miracle worker, simply say adabra kedabra and thereby resolve the issue? After all, Elisha was a student of Elijah who set the precedent for miracle performance, in I Kings, Chapter 17, when faced with the crisis of the widow from Zarephath:

And the word of the Lord came to him [Elijah]: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there; I have designated a widow there to feed you." So he went at once to Zarephath. When he came to the entrance of the town, a widow was there gathering wood. He called out to her, "Please bring me a little water in your pitcher, and let me drink." As she went to fetch it, he called out to her. "Please bring along a piece of bread for me." "As the Lord your God lives”, she replied, "I have nothing baked, nothing but a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am just gathering a couple of sticks, so that I can go home and prepare it for me and my son; we shall eat it and then we shall die." "Don't be afraid," said Elijah to her. "Go and do as you have said; but first make me a small cake from what you have there, and bring it out to me; then make some for yourself and your son. For thus said the Lord, the God of Israel; The jar of flour shall not give out and the jug of oil shall not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the ground. She went and did as Elijah had spoken, and she and he and her household had food for a long time. The jar of flour did not give out, nor did the jug of oil fail, just as the Lord had spoken through Elijah.

(IK17: 9-16)

Elisha does not follow Elijah's lead. He does not ask the woman to give him her only cruse of oil and then pronounce a miracle. Instead he sends her out to her neighbors to borrow vessels.

"Go,” he said, "and borrow vessels outside, from all your neighbors, empty vessels, as many as you can. Then go in and shut the door behind you and your children, and pour [oil] into all those vessels, removing each one as it is filled."

She went away and shut the door behind her and her children. They kept bringing [vessels] to her and she kept pouring.

(IIK; 4:3-5)                                                   

The Initiative of a Woman

Herein lies the secret of miracles. The miracle could not have happened without the initiative of the woman. Elisha could have easily snapped his fingers and the vessels would have appeared along with the oil. However, the woman had to take the vital step, and only then did the Lord take one in return. This precedent reverberates in the Maccabean period. The Maccabees did not wait passively, expecting God  to perform miracles. They took initiative, "Whoever is for God, stand by me!" They fought courageously; they rededicated the Temple, insisting on using pure olive oil to kindle the Menorah. In response, God caused the oil miraculously to last, the way the cruse of oil of IIK Chapter 4 did centuries before.

There is one additional detail in the story found in the Book of Kings not to be missed. Elisha tells the woman not only to borrow the vessels, but to close the door before she starts pouring the oil and experiences the miracle. Rashi ad loc explains: The glory of a miracle is to appear through modesty. Modesty, is a supreme virtue of women, and it is little wonder, therefore, that this miracle of oil is enabled by a woman.

In an enlightening article "Lighting up our homes" Naama and Nir Manusi cast an entirely new and refreshing light on the biblical story of the cruse of oil. They focus on the role of the woman in the context of miracles, and their transformational power within the Jewish home.

The Struggle for the Jewish Home

Masterfully, the Manusis assert that the biblical story is one of the struggle with alien culture and its influence, that threaten the security and stability of the Jewish home. This biblical episode reflects upon the theme of Hanukkah and, for that matter, has contemporary relevance for all generations including our own.

The danger of Greek culture is as real today as it was in the ancient world. It has become a tangible challenge for every religious parent whose children are lured by western culture. The purification of the Temple represents the cleansing of every home of alien culture and foreign influence, which threaten family life. The miracle of the cruse of oil in the Book of Kings provides guidelines as to how to reignite our homes with faith and enlighten our family lives with traditional values.

A certain woman, the wife of one of the disciples of the prophets, cried out to Elisha: "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know how your servant revered the Lord. And now a creditor is coming to seize my two children as slaves. (IIK 4:1)

The opening verse of the story of Elisha and the distressed widow is generally understood as conveying financial crisis in the life of the widow. However, she stresses that her husband was God fearing. Ostensibly, that is in order to get the assistance of the prophet- the man of God. However, this fact adds another tier to the crisis which she is facing. It is an educational crisis.

The God fearing father tended to the religious and moral education of his children. His role as an educator and parent was designed to prevent his children from 'being sold' to the creditor who came from the outside. In other words, he bolstered them not sell out to the culture of the outside world, leave the fold, and be lost to their ancestral traditions.

The widow of the story, as a single mother, fears that this is what she now faces. She accredits this harsh reality to the loss of her God fearing husband – the backbone of the family. It was his job to assure stability and security. Whether he was unable to fill this role in his lifetime is unclear but now that he is gone she despairs of all hope. The creditor represents the burgeoning pressure from without.

Isn't it always the case with external cultural pressures that they make us feel unworthy as if we are always in debt? They break us down, making us feel spineless and endangered. The woman makes her appeal to Elisha because her children are at risk.

Vessels as Vehicles

She turns to the prophet, assuming that the cause of her problem is her husband's absence. The prophet, the man of God, will be his replacement and her support.

The prophet wisely shifts the fulcrum of the problem in order to effect change. He alters the perspective and thereby helps her find the solution. He asks, "What can I do for you?" “What do you have at home?” Although she undermines her reality, claiming that she merely has one measly cruse of oil, the prophet understands, and will reveal to her that it is precisely from there that the miracle will emerge, literally and figuratively, in ways she could never imagine. It simply requires a different and innovative outlook to see it.

She must use the eyes of a woman, a type of internal vision -- prophetic vision, as it were. It is for this very reason that the prophet Elisha initiates the process and plays a central role in saving the woman and her children. In essence he enables the woman to save the day. His role becomes clear- to bring out what is embedded in the woman herself.

As for why the prophet insists that the woman borrow vessels from her neighbors, Naama and Nir Manusi posit that she will be able to withstand the cultural pressures from without (symbolized by the creditor) only if she actually brings the "foreign" vessels into her home. Whether this refers to alien culture in terms of literature, art, music, philosophy or whatnot, what is significant is to apply a different perspective.

This will shed light on the problem and on the solution. The mother's challenge is to bring the vessels into her home. She must bring in empty vessels. She must empty them of the foreign influence and fill them with pure oil. The miracle is that even a little bit of pure oil is able to dispel darkness. The oil can transform even hollow vessels into receptacles of holiness and the woman’s home into a sanctuary of Torah. She and her children work together and the one cruse of oil that was initially in the mother's possession now belongs to the family and is part of their inner realm.

This story of the cruse of oil is the story of a mother who starts out as a passive and despairing woman, relying upon her husband's piety and the authority efficacy of religious leaders. It is the prophet who reveals to her that her faith is the key to unlocking the powers deep within her to expand the vessels which she takes into her own home. By suffusing them with the light of her faith, she enhances and transforms her children's world into a world that includes service of God. All of this results from a little bit of oil, and a great deal of belief, that was always shining brightly waiting to be discovered, and used to illuminate the family and the world.