The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat (21b) tells the story of the Hanukah miracle, and then adds that "Le'shana Aheret" – the next year – the Rabbis established Hanukah as an annual celebration. The clear implication is that the Rabbis did not institute the holiday of Hanukah immediately after the miraculous triumph over the Greeks and the miracle of the oil of the Menorah. The decision to establish this holiday was made only the next year. Why? Rav Moshe Yechiel Epstein of Ozorov (1889-1971), in his Be'er Moshe, explains that the Rabbis waited to see if the spiritual powers that existed during the time of the miracles returned the following year. Hashem has performed and continues to perform many miracles for Am Yisrael, but special holidays are instituted to commemorate only a small number of these miracles. A holiday is instituted only if the Rabbis sensed that each year, on the date when the miracle occurred, the spiritual forces that facilitated the miracle return, empowering us to achieve what our ancestors achieved at the time of the original story. During the Hanukah story, the Be'er Moshe writes, the Jews were blessed with a special element of divine compassion and grace. The vast majority of the nation had assimilated, succumbing to the immense pressure placed on them by the Greeks to abandon their faith and embrace Greek culture. Only a very small group of Jews retained their commitment to Torah. Hashem showered the people with exceptional mercy and grace, providing them with miraculous assistance that they did not deserve. Despite having assimilated almost completely, Hashem enabled them to defeat the Greeks and then sustained the lamps of the Menorah in miraculous fashion. The following year, the Rabbis sensed that this unique grace and compassion returned, that Hashem brought us this special gift, the opportunity to receive undeserved kindness and assistance, once again. At that point, the Rabbis instituted the annual celebration of Hanukah. Indeed, the Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria, 1534-1572) taught that the thirteen words that comprise the first Beracha recited over the Hanukah candle lighting (according to Sephardic custom) correspond to Hashem's thirteen Middot Rahamim – attributes of mercy. Each word of the Beracha is associated with a different Midda. On each of the first seven days of Hanukah, we receive an especially large measure of one of the thirteen attributes, and on the eighth and final day of Hanukah, we are showered with an abundance of all the remaining attributes, from the eighth through the thirteenth. (This is why the eighth day of Hanukah is an especially significant and sacred day in Kabbalistic tradition.) The days of Hanukah are not just a time to commemorate and express gratitude for the miracles that Hashem performed for our ancestors. This is, of course, the basic purpose of Hanukah, but in addition, this is a time of great compassion, when Hashem bestows upon us undeserved grace and kindness. This is a precious time to beseech G-d for all that we need, for the assistance that we require. Just as Hashem graced our ancestors with undeserved kindness, granting them a miraculous victory, so is He prepared to shower us with this same element of kindness. Let us take advantage of this special opportunity by turning to Hashem in sincere, heartfelt prayer, and humbly beseeching Him for undeserved kindness and compassion, that we be blessed with all that we need, even if we are unworthy of it.