Personal Stories of Chanukah Miracles
A member of our chaburah related that his wife wasn't feeling well for a few weeks, and her doctor ordered an MRI. The scan showed she had a cancerous growth r”l. The husband arranged an appointment with a specialist. He scheduled the meeting for the nighttime after he lit Chanukah lecht so that he could come to the appointment armed with this holy mitzvah. The specialist examined the MRI results and said, "There is no growth here. You have nothing to worry about."
Another story we know (from a member of our chaburah in Elad) is of a boy who was involved in a serious car accident on rosh chodesh Kislev and remained unconscious for weeks. Miraculously, he began talking regularly on the first night of Chanukah. They had their personal Chanukah miracle in the merit of Chanukah, a time beyond nature.
The Power of Tefillah and Miracles
The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 18.) relates that Reb Meir's sister-in-law was imprisoned, and Reb Meir bribed a prison guard to free her. The guard asked, "What should I do if I am caught?" Reb Meir told him, "Say ענני דמאיר אלקא, 'The G-d of Meir, save me!'" The guard agreed and freed Reb Meir's sister-in-law. The government caught him and sentenced him to death by hanging. The verdict was about to be carried out when he said ענני דמאיר אלקא, and miraculously, he was saved.
Chazal (Bereishis Rabba 94:5) say that one mustn't associate Hashem's name with someone who is alive. We say יעקב ואלקי ,יצחק אלקי ,אברהם אלקי, after their petirah, but when they lived, it wouldn’t be proper to attach Hashem's name to a human being, who has free will, and his future isn't yet determined. So how did Reb Meir instruct the guard to say דמאיר אלקא, "The G-d of Reb Meir"? Reb Meir was still alive!
The Maharsha answers that ענני דמאיר אלקא means, "The G-d who shines, should answer me." The intention is: "You are the G-d Who shone Your light for us in ancient Yavan with the miracles of the Chanukah lecht... He should answer my tefillos and save me in miraculous ways."
Many people recite the words ענני דמאיר אלקא when they give tzedakah. According to the Maharsha's explanation, we are asking Hashem to perform His miracles for us, as he had performed miracles for us in the days of Chanukah, years ago, for the Chashmonaim.
