Nothing is an accident.

There are many reasons why eight is the magic number for Chanukah. One of them has to do with Jewish numerology. Numbers of significance in Kabbalah are many, and the number eight is of great importance

Brought to you by the number eight

In a popular Passover song about numbers, the eighth verse is “Eight are the days of the Bris.” This song highlights important numbers. Although it seems like a kid’s song, it has deep meaning.

God commanded Abraham to circumcise his male progeny on the eighth day following birth. This ritual circumcision is known as Bris Milah. Why must it be performed particularly on the eighth day? There are numerous reasons, one of which is that the number eight is intimately connected with the meaning of the bris. Although “bris” is often translated as circumcision, it really means pact. (Milah means circumcision.) This pact or covenant is marked specifically on the reproductive organ (our ability to create) because it is a pact with the Creator.

By changing the physical form of man through bris milah, we become a partner in creation; which implies that there are many ways in which we need to correct ourselves and the world, not just by praying to the Infinite that He should fix things, but more importantly by taking action ourselves.

Partners with the Infinite

As man is a microcosm of all creation, the symbol of the bris implies a mastery over all creation. We took part in finishing off man’s body, the creation of God. But it is only in partnership with the Divine that this mastery works out properly. Atom bombs, nuclear weapons, and chemical warfare are also examples of mankind’s mastery of the physical world, but they aren’t exactly vehicles of holiness. The number eight, in the day of the bris milah, is a reference to the mastery of the physical world in connection with the Divine.

Eight implies spirituality

In the universe we notice there are six different directions: north, south, east, west, up and down. Those six directions encompass everything we know of in the physical realm, yet they are diverse and scattered.

When you are able to unite them for a purpose you are into level seven. That’s the number of days in a week. Seven is the number of days of Creation, and also the number of the main celestial bodies we see. Seven is a physical system. One step beyond a physical system is eight, which is unbound by physicality, it controls and dominates physicality. Spirituality is above and beyond physicality. When you tap into that realm, the physical world is not so concrete.

Miracle, Shmiracle

During Chanukah a miracle happened with a flask of oil that lasted eight days instead of one. On the scale of miracles we wouldn’t rate that very high, certainly nothing to commemorate. Elisha, the prophet, made a flask of oil fill a house of containers and there’s no holiday to commemorate it.

It's not the miracle we celebrate and remember. What we celebrate and remember is what the miracle meant to us, that no matter where you are or what happens to you, the connection with the Infinite allows you to overcome many obstacles in the physical realm.

Although everything happens for a reason, and we can’t avoid problems, with a link to the Infinite there will be very important times the physical world will take a back seat, if you exercise your connection to the Infinite. In other words, on occasion, you can rise above the seeming limitations of the natural world, if you partner with the Creator.

Now that’s worth remembering.

Happy Chanukah from Rabbi Max Weiman

About the Author: Max Weiman, who resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife Chava and their six children, teaches mysticism and spirituality via the web at KabbalahMadeEasy.com , a subscribed email list, pamphlets, and books, including his latest 'A Map of the Universe: An Introduction to the Study of Kabbalah'. He received a BFA in Painting from Temple U. in Philadelphia, and Rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem.