My Son’s Chanukah Miracle

As Chanukah approaches with yet another war now raging in Israel, memories flood back from a time when my son Meir, at nineteen years old, served as a soldier in Lebanon. Attached to his gun was a note with the words:

“Hashem Hu Elokim, ein od milvado.” Hashem is G-d; there is none else.”

After sharing a story about the Brisker Rav and his son escaping the Nazis by focusing on this segula, I urged Meir to recite it if he ever felt his life was in danger, chas v’shalom.

One day, as Meir and his friend Dani faced an anti-tank missile launched by Hezbollah terrorists, Meir, in a moment of fear, whispered the words: “Hashem Hu Elokim, ein od milvado.”

To their astonishment, the missile changed course in midair, veering upwards and landing harmlessly behind them. The soldiers present could not explain this inexplicable event and deemed it a miracle.

There are two types of miracles: those unlikely but possible within natural laws, and those defying all natural order. Both are manifestations of Hashem’s will, reminding us that He is the ultimate cause of all things.

The mitzvah of Chanukah, lighting eight candles instead of seven, highlights the miraculous nature of even seemingly mundane events. The burning of the oil for eight days instead of one serves as a reminder of Hashem’s constant presence and intervention in our lives.

Meir’s experience on the hilltop in Lebanon exemplifies how faith and prayer can lead to miraculous outcomes. It was not the words themselves but the truth they represented that averted disaster for him.

As we celebrate Chanukah, let us remember the miracles of the past and pray for the safe return of all our soldiers, just as my own miracle, Meir, returned home unscathed.