The miracle of Chanukah was the oil that was to last one day, lasted for eight. Rav Chaim Solvaitchick ZT"L asked: If there was new oil that Hashem made so that it should burn longer, how could you fulfill the Mitzvah? The Torah says that the ingredient needed to light the Menorah is oil from olives and this oil didn't come from olives, rather from a miracle, so you're not lighting the right material

I would like to answer the following. The Taz brings from the Zohar for a miracle to happen to expand something, you need to start with a little bit of it and then it can expand, but you can't have it come from nothing. The reason, I believe, is like the Gemarah in Sanhedrin that says that Hashem doesn't create miracles from nothing, since it says "there is nothing new under the sun". We must conclude that this expansion is not a creation of new oil, but rather that in all things there is extra of it in it (Light in it) which is waiting to come out when Hashem sends in Bracha. Thus when Hashem expands it, it was there the whole time, it just takes a miracle to extract it. Thus the oil came out from the original oil was always there and originated in the olive, thus it is rightfully called oil from an olive.

A proof to this, the Gemarah in Bava Metziah says that Hashem gives Bracha in the grains before they measured it. If you say that the miracle happen that it didn't come from itself, how can one take off Trumos and Maasros, since you might be taking off from grain that didn't grow from the ground for grain that did, and it would be like it was never taken off and you would be eating Tevel

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rabbi Mitterhoff,

Very innovative

I agree. This is a nice chidush. What did Rav Chaim Solvaitchick ZT"L answer?

If I remember correctly, he wants to say the oil lost 1/8th of it's AIchus (I guess it means it lost it's streanth) every night

Nice "Tzushtell" (Comparitive logic and application).
If the hadlaka -lighting- makes the mitzvah, how would it work? Granted that the oil burnt - however at the time of the lighting there was not enough oil. The hadlakah was only acceptable limafraieh - ex post facto.

According to this opinion, at the time of Hadlakah ther was allways the Shiur (the Kohein found it allways full)

This reminds me of a question which i asked Rav Schneerson from Beis Shneor and his response.

My question:Rashi says that when Yakov Ovinu went to fight Eisav, he had a 3 fold strategy:
1)Doron -Appeasing Eisav with Presents
2)Tefila-Prayer
3)Milchomo-War

I would assume Rashi means necessarily in that order.Why didn't Yakov Avinu pray first,considering that Yakov Ovinu definitly understood that Hashem is the one who controls the world.Yakov Ovinu certainly wasn't trying to curry favor-Do Chanifa with with Eisav, a rosho (wicked one), which the Torah forbids.

Rabbi Shneerson's answer:

Hasem's Brocho (Blessing) needs a keili -an already existing reseptacle to be chal on (to manifest itsef in).

How does the Mun that sustained the people in the midbar for 40 years fit into this vort?

Mun was not newly made but was made in the Shaishes Yimei B'raishes and was kept in Shamayim. Same to meat that fell from Shamayim in the Gemarah in Sanhedrin. I'm refering to those Nisim that doesn't fall from Shamayim, but seems to materialized on earth.