Every Yid Has a Bottle of Oil | Rabbi Mordechai Alster

The Yom Tov of Chanukah, where Klal Yisroel and the Kohanim found just one פך שמן that had enough oil to burn for only one day, Hashem made a gevaldiger נס, based on that that Klal Yisroel wanted to do the Mitzvah so badly, and He made it burn for eight days. We have many Yomim Tovim and we have many times that Hashem helped us. We have Pesach, we have Sukkos, we have Chanukah, we have Purim. What does Pesach teach us? That no matter what level Klal Yisroel sinks to and no matter what type of slavery they’re משועבד to and no matter if they’re sinking to the מ”ט שערי טומאה, Hashem will still pick them up, pull them out of Mitzrayim and bring them to Har Sinai. Sukkos teaches us that no matter what we're exposed to and the lack of protection we have, Hashem will give us the ענני הכבוד, and surround us and protect us. That's the message of Sukkos. Purim, even when the Goyim are out to kill us, and there’s a גזירה from Achashverosh, להשמיד, להרוג ולאבד still, Hashem will save us from destruction, and Hashem will give us the gevaldiger נס, But what about Chanukah? What's the message of Chanukah? That when we want to do a Mitzvah so badly, Hashem will give us the strength, the energy and the resources to do that Mitzvah? But one second, they first have to find the bottle of oil. What's the message to the person that doesn't even have a bottle of oil? What's the message of Chanukah? How does Chanukah help the person that says to himself, I have no רוחניות to get capital left to me, I'm depleted. I don't even have one bottle of oil. I don't have strength to do even one Mitzvah. What's the message of Chanukah to him? And let's take the question further. What would be if the Kohanim would have gone back to the Kohen Gadol and said: Sorry, Kohen Gadol, we couldn't even find one bottle of oil. What would the Kohen Gadol answer them? Would we not have Chanukah at all? The answer is the Kohen Gadol would have told them, That's a lie! Go check again. Hashem doesn't leave anybody without a bottle of oil. Hashem doesn't leave anybody without the internal strength to do a Mitzvah. A little bit you have, a פתחו של מחט, maybe as small as the hole of a needle, but you have something. You do have some resources. That's the message of Chanukah. True, Chanukah started with a bottle of oil, but the message of Chanukah is that every one of us has that bottle of oil. We have what to draw from, we have what to build upon, and therefore, when we're facing Nisyonos, and we're standing in a situation that we don't know where to turn and we feel all stuck and we don't have any Ruchniyusdiker capital, stop for a moment and remember, every Yid has a bottle of oil. Every Yid has the ability and the resources to change course, change his life and improve. That is the lesson we have to take away from Chanukah.