Zos Chanukah
Reb Yisrael of Ruzhin zt'l taught, "What tzaddikim accomplish on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, simple Yidden can accomplish on Zos Chanukah." The Vayaged Yaakov (of Pupa) zt'l said, "Don't feel bad if you didn't take advantage of Chanukah until now. Zos Chanukah means 'This is Chanukah.' The peak of Chanukah is before you, and you can benefit from it immensely."
The Maharal says that the number seven represents nature (as there are seven days in the week, seven notes for music, seven wisdoms, etc.) and the yom tov of Chanukah is for eight days because it is beyond nature.
It states (Tehillim 92:7) זאת את יבין לא וכסיל ידע לא בער איש, "A boorish man does not know; neither does a fool understand זאת." It can be explained that he doesn’t understand the significance of חנוכה זאת. זאת ישכילו חכמה לו, if you were wise, you would understand the importance of חנוכה זאת, and בוטח אני בזאת, in the merit of Zos Chanukah, I trust and will experience Hashem's salvation.
Rebbe Shlomo (the first Rebbe) of Bobov zt'l said that the miracles of חנוכה זאת are alluded to in the pasuk מאת נפלאת .בעינינו נפלאת היא זאת היתה 'ה, wonders occur on חנוכה זאת.
Rebbe Aharon of Belz zt'l would repeat this idea from the Bnei Yissaschar every year at his Zos Chanukah tisch.
Chazal say that a kameia (amulet) that heals people doesn't accomplish anything for an animal. The Meiri explains this because the kameia doesn't is useless if one doesn't believe in it. We have to believe in these days and in the miracles and salvations we can attain from them, and then they will have their intended effect.
The following is a letter we received from someone who experienced his own Chanukah miracle:
"Before Chanukah, year ד"תשפ, I went to an eye doctor, and he saw that I have Keratoconus (an eye condition that changes the shape of the cornea and affects its ability to see correctly). The nature of this condition is that either it remains in the same state and then nothing is done to treat it, or it can worsen and then the patient requires surgery, and if it is not operated on, then the condition can worsen to the point of blindness, r'l.
"I heard as a child that looking at the Chanukah lecht is a wonderful segulah for the eyes. So, when it was Chanukah, I just stood and gazed at the holy Chanukah lecht. When I stood there, I didn't do anything; I didn't even think about the disease. I just stood there and looked at the lecht, knowing this was a segulah for the eyes.
On Zos Chanukah, I had an appointment with my doctor to check on my eyes once again. The doctor said, "Something wondrous happened here; I didn't see anything like it my entire life. The condition has disappeared!" As I wrote at the beginning of the letter, the nature of this disease either stays the same or becomes worse, but it was never heard that it should disappear entirely. We witnessed a Chanukah miracle.
Chanukah is beyond nature. Zos Chanukah is even higher because it is doubly eight (the eighth day of the eight days of Chanukah, שבשמינית שמיני). It is a day of miracles, and even simple Yidden can draw yeshuos from this day. The explanation is that throughout the year, we must construct miracles in heaven and then draw them down. Not everyone can construct miracles; therefore, the average person cannot perform miracles throughout the year. But on Zos Chanukah, a time beyond nature, miracles are already prepared in heaven. All that is needed is to draw the miracles down, so even simple Yidden can do that on this day.
The Bnei Yissaschar (Kislev Teives 2:10) writes, "The earlier Rabbanim often said that Chanukah is mesugal for עקרות פקידת, for barren women to bear children. In my opinion, the segulah is primarily on Zos Chanukah."
Rebbe Pinchas of Koritz zt'l said that Zos Chanukah is mesugal for parnassah. He learned this from the eight praises we say in דוד ויברך (Divrei HaYamim I 29:11). והגבורה .(1) הגדולה 'ה לך ובארץ בשמים כל כי .(5) וההוד .(4) והנצח .(3) והתפארת .(2) .(8) והעושר .(7) לראש לכל והמתנשא .(6) הממלכה 'ה לך והעושר, wealth, is the eighth praise, corresponding to the eighth day of Chanukah.
The other days of Chanukah are also mesugal for parnassah, as the Arugas HaBosem zt'l (Vayigash) teaches on the pasuk (Bereishis 45:5) כי לפניכם אלקים שלחני למחיה, "for the sake of parnassah, שלחני, Hashem sent me before you..." The word שלחני is roshei teivos להדליק ימים שמונת חנוכה נר, “To light the candles of Chanukah eight days.”
The doctor showed us our recent test results compared to the ones from before Chanukah, and the difference was astonishing. (The doctor isn't a religious Yid, so he tried to downplay the significance of the improvement, but we knew this was a true miracle.) Below are copies of the tests so that you can see for yourself Hashem's miracles and wonders.
Someone came to the Chazon Ish zt'l complaining about his poverty. The man said, "I need a miracle, and ניסא מתרחיש יומא בכל לאו, miracles don't happen every day." The Chazon Ish corrected him and said that this phrase should be read as follows: לאו, it isn't as people think! ניסא מתרחיש יומא בכל, Miracles do occur every day!" This is undoubtedly true on Zos Chanukah, a day of miracles, a day transcending the laws of nature. The colors red and orange indicate the Keratoconus condition of the eye, and the other colors indicate the healthy part of the eye.
