The highlight of the Chanukah miracle, Olive oil has distinct qualities:

A) Olive oil is produced by the beating of ripe olives. The olive must first be crushed, humbled and pressed before releasing its oil.

B) Like all oils, olive oil penetrates deeply. It is very difficult to remove an oil stain or grease from our hands or clothes. Oils were used throughout history to heal wounds and diseases, since oil can penetrate the body.

C) Oil will not mix with other liquids. When blended with water, the oil will not dissolve.  The oil rises to the top, and floats above the others.

From Spiritual to Physical

Jewish Mysticism sees physical properties as a continuum of their metaphysical properties. An object originates on a spiritual plane as sublime energy, which then evolves to assume a physical presentation. The physical characteristics mirror their spiritual source.

From this perspective, the truths of science, physics, chemistry, biology etc. and the truths of philosophy, spirituality and psychology dovetail, as the physical evolves from the spiritual.

The special qualities of oil are thus a physical manifestation of spiritual attributes from where oil originates.

Four LESSONS

Oil produces light. If a human being wishes to illuminate himself, his family, community and the world, he must cultivate the properties characterizing oil.

A) The crushing of the olive represents humility, the antithesis of arrogance and self-inflation.

B) The direct result of this "pressing" is our ability to "become" oil and penetrate others deeply. When haughty and pompous (due to overconfidence or underconfidence), we cannot fully share ourself with others or allow them to share themselves with us. When we become too obsessed with ourself, we are detached from others.

When crushed a bit, either by choice or by circumstances, an "oil" emerges that can profoundly effect other people's hearts and souls. When we are humble, we are more open to another person’s depth.

C) It’s good to connect with others, but a genuine relationship should not cause either party to lose their identity and dissolve into the other. The beauty and magic of a relationship lie precisely in the fact that distinct individuals choose to share themselves with each other. Like oil, you can feel and experience another person deeply, while not becoming consumed and nullified by the other's identity.

The chasidic master Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk remarked: "If I am I because you are you and you are you because I am I, I am not I and you are not you; but if I am I because I am I and you are you because you are you, then I am and you are. Now we can begin to talk."

D) This threefold process of crushing ourself, bonding with others yet remaining distinct - allows us to gain an appreciation of our unique place in G-d's world. We come to realize that, in a small way, we own something that nobody else in the history ever had. Like oil, you, too, rise to the top.

Judaism, particularly Chanukah, teaches us to live a life that reflects the qualities of oil. To fire up our lives and the world around us with goodness, morality and G-dliness, we should take a good look at the olive oil in our Menorahs.