H N Thoughts Igniting That Little Glow I am willing to bet $1,000 that you either have or have not thought about the following question: Chanukah celebrates the miracle of the lights. As the Talmud tells us when the Maccabees reclaimed the Holy Temple from the Greeks, they searched diligently for olive oil that had the unbroken seal of the high priest, indicating that it hadn't been deified by the Greeks. They found only one small sealed flask that contained just enough oil for one night. The Kohanim, the Temple priests, lit the oil from the flask and miraculously, it lasted eight days, until they were able to bring fresh oil. To commemorate that miracle, each year we light the menorah for eight days. The obvious question is that originally there was enough oil for one night, so the miracle was that it lasted an additional seven days, and therefore Chanukah should only be celebrated for seven days. Why, then, do we celebrate Chanukah for eight nights? There are literally hundreds of answers to this question, but we will focus on one that has a strong message for us third mil- leniumers. We can't even imagine the sight that greeted the Maccabees as they entered the Temple after the long, bloody battle fought to reclaim the Temple Mount from the Greeks. There, in middle of the Temple, were altars used to bring offerings to pagan gods. All around them were the remains of pagan animal offerings, including pigs, dogs and a variety of other non-kosher animals. The storehouses belonging to the Temple had been looted and their contents desecrated. To add further insult to injury, the Greeks had purposely broken the seals of all the olive oil flasks to show their contempt of the Jewish concept of ritual purity. Shattered pottery and hundreds of flasks with broken seals were shattered on the holy ground. Understandably, this sight would have been depressing for anyone, and all the more so for people who risked life and limb to reclaim the place they ultimately found so violated. Many people would not even have thought of attempting to look for pure olive oil! What were the chances that they would find it after the Greeks methodical- ly set out to destroy it? Why exert efforts only to be disappointed? Yet the Maccabees, with their indomita- ble spirit, searched every nook and cranny in what seemed to be an exercise in futili- ty. A miracle occurred, and they found one tiny flask, one that would miraculously last for as long as they needed. This is why we have eight days of Chanukah. On seven of the days we cel- ebrate God's miracle of causing the oil to burn for seven extra days. On the eighth day we celebrate the character of those who, against all odds, searched for the unfindable oil! We celebrate the people who taught us that our job is not to calculate the odds of success and act only when the odds are in our favor, but to act according to what we know to be the right thing. We celebrate the people who showed us that we can not get discouraged when we are faced with enormous difficulty and small success probabilities, who taught us to do what we can, while we can, not focusing one the "what ifs" or the fear failure. We must do our job and hope that God assists us in all that we do to help us bring our efforts to fruition. If we look a bit deeper, we find that the entire story of Chanukah teaches this les- son once again. Who were the Maccabees? They were a small band of untrained, unfit, scholarly priests. Who did they fight? The might of the Greek military machine, whose phalanxes had just overrun the majority of the civilized world! What were they thinking? What were the probabilities of their success? Nil! Yet they fought, because for them, a life with- out Judaism was not a life worth living. Against all odds, against a dark and pow- erful nation they fought, and God repeat- edly stood by them. The message of Chanukah is more timely now than ever. Frequently, we feel like we are trapped in a rut, be it a spiri- tual rut, a relationship rut, a lifestyle rut or an emotional well-being rut. We can't imagine our lives being any different, we see the odds of meaningful change stacked against us, and we just throw in the towel. Chanukah teaches us to light that little candle, to begin the soul searching, to embark on that journey and, with God's help, our light will burn for much more than eight days! P1 Rabbi Leiby Burnham is associate director of the Jean and Theodore Weiss Partners in Torah program of the Yeshiva Beth Yedudah in Southfield. Smoke-Free Law Languishes S moking killed my mom, JoAnn Alfred, when she was just 52. I was 27. Had she known that ciga- rettes caused cancer and that she could die before she met her nine grandchildren, she would not have started smoking. Cigarette smoke also killed Pam Klein when she was just 49. However, unlike my mom, Pam never smoked. Pam was a news reporter. In her job, she was constantly exposed to secondhand smoke. When Pam began her career, little was known about the dangers of secondhand smoke. Since then, we have learned a lot. We now know that secondhand smoke is more than a mere nuisance. It is a killer, accounting for approximately 38,000 deaths every year. We now know that secondhand smoke knows no barriers — it cannot read a no- smoking sign. While some believe they are "safe" when they choose the "no smoking" section, the harsh reality is that they might as well be sitting directly across from a smoker. We now know the only way to protect consumers and employees from deadly A38 November 29 2007 exposure to secondhand smoke is by pass- ing laws making all workplaces smoke- free. Last year, the U.S. surgeon general confirmed all of these facts. We have all of these compelling facts, and yet Michigan is still not a smoke-free state. All around us, states and entire nations are becom- ing smoke-free. To date, 31 other states, including our neighbors Ohio and Illinois, have protected their citizens. Seems pretty simple. Why not Michigan? What are our state lawmakers think- ing? Health advocates have been pushing this agenda for years, with no success. Bill 4163 is still sitting on the House floor awaiting a vote. Gov. Jennifer Granholm is on our side and has pledged to sign the bill if it ever gets to her desk. All we need is the House and Senate to pass this bill. Those who oppose the bill have argued the economic effect on bars and restau- rants. However, multiple studies have found that going smoke-free has no negative impact on sales. In fact, many smoke-free states have seen an increase in revenues. Faced with the growing amount of positive economic evidence, oppo- nents of House Bill 4163 are now arguing that the government should not interfere with business. They contend a business should have the choice to go smoke-free. The problem with this argument is that there is a point where the risk of harm to individuals outweighs a business owner's right to choose. This has always been the case. That is why builders no longer use asbestos and why paints no longer contain lead. It is why all of us wear seatbelts and drive without drinking. Clearly, we do not question that restau- rant employees clean their hands before preparing food. We do not complain that bars wash a glass after it's been used. Nor do we debate whether a restaurant should have the "choice" to refrigerate perishable foods. Why do we question the need to regulate secondhand smoke — a poison that is known to kill? Unlike my mother, when she began smoking, or Pam Klein, when she covered her first story, we now know the facts regarding secondhand smoke. For our lawmakers to fail to pass House Bill 4163 with these facts is nothing less than irre- sponsible. One day, our children will be amazed that we were ever allowed to light up in a restaurant or bar. Let's demand that day begin tomorrow. Please urge your state legislator to make Michigan smoke-free by passing House Bill 4163. I For information, visit the Web site www.makeMiairsmokefree.org or e-mail the writer at sschecter@alam.org . Susie Schechter is director of advocacy at the Oak Park-based American Lung Association of Michigan, where she works to keep kids tobac- co-free. She lives in Bloomfield Hills with her husband, Marc, and their three children.