A constant struggle between two perspectives is represented in the Chanukah story. According to the Hellenistic perspective, human reason, which is the standard by which everything is measured, is the final authority in all issues. There is nothing higher than knowledge, science, and human understanding.
The Torah perspective however claims that human life is valuable because it is linked to Divine truth. The human person was created in God's image. His purpose is to serve the creator.
G-d has given us profound truths that apply to us even when we don't understand them. The Torah transmits 7 eternal commandments that the Creator gave to all humanity. These values allow the world to continue as a place of respect for all humans. It is known as the Noahide Code the seven universal commandments.
The Greeks, at that time, had many philosophers and men of science, who believed that there was nothing higher than the human brain and human intelligence which is symbolized in 7. They did not believe in the true G-d, the Creator, because something corresponding to the supernatural, which is symbolized in the number 8 is not to be believed. Anything that could not be understood was not to be believed.
Seven is a representation of the natural order because G-d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Seven stands for the entirety of Creation, or Nature. Human intelligence is constrained to the laws of nature; anything that is higher than nature is also beyond the scope of human comprehension. The Supernatural is represented by the number eight. This is the meaning of the true faith that is connected with the 8 days of Hanukkah.
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