For many people, humility is a message of the season. On Christmas, some like to recall from Philippians 2:8 that Jesus “humbled himself,” becoming “obedient to the point of death.”

For some Jews like myself, Hanukkah also teaches humility. The Maccabees who drove Assyrians from the Jerusalem Temple enjoyed a great victory. But what we best remember is the humble oil that lit the Temple’s menorah for eight days.