On that snowy night the “death train” was unloaded as usual and the Jews were lead to the entrance of Auschwitz. That night the commander was in no hurry, as he had a particuliar little plan in mind for the Jews. In anticipation came the voice, “no rush Jews, no rush, after all, it is your holiday of Hanukkah, your festival of lights,” he laughed. In your honor we have kindled all four furnances today! Hanukkah, the word sparked in the old Rabbi’s spirit. After being hurded into a cabin too small for anyone to even sit down, the commander came in and made the following announcement: Filthy Jews, I promised you a good meal for your festival and I’m going to keep my promise.

We have prepared boiling soup for you and it will be poured into the palms of your hands. Every ten men will get a loaf of bread and will divide it among themselves without any knife. Last, one pat of margarine will be given each one of you and you will lick it off your fingers at my order. He was determined to squelch the last shred of diginity from each of them and cause fighting among their own ranks over a shred of food. He began to distribute the margarine beginning with the old Rabbi. For you grandpa I’ll give two pats, then quickly dropped them on the floor with great mirth as he ordered him to pick them up.

The Rabbi began to shout “a miracle, a miracle”, as he bent down and carefully picked up the pats and put them in his pocket. The bread and boiling soup you’ll get in one hour, meanwhile you can lick the margarine off your fingers. What he didn’t know was their plan to give up their margarine to honor YHVH’S sacred day, despite the enemy’s plan. They quickly pulled off some metal buttons, a pocket watch cover, a spoon someone had hidden, and then took some threads from their clothes for wicks and made their Hanukkah candles, which they lit and set on the windowsill. As they stood in front of the window where they could see the smoke rising from the ovens outside, they rejoiced in the lighting of the candles because it signifies that good will always overcome evil.

The camp commander came flying in the door in a rage, “you’ll pay for this, all of you, and you first you impudent old man”! He was bristling with great disappointment that his plan for them had failed. That night the Jewish people had once again scored a victory over the enemy, the huge chimney’s of the crematoria, with only YHVH’S small flickering lights on a windowsill. Would we be as dedicated in keeping YHVH’S feasts as they were, think about that?