On December 17, 1775, during the American Revolutionary War, Jewish soldier Chaim Solomon lit the candle on the first night of Hanukkah and told his general, George Washington, that in the past the Jews had reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem despite being in a proportion of 1 to 100 in relation to the Greeks.
The General knew that the situation of his army at that moment was similar to that of the Maccabees more than two millennia earlier. He also needed a miracle, because the English soldiers were vastly superior in number. Solomon told him to believe until the end.
The American miracle has happened. The rebels defeated the British forces and declared independence from the United States of America. Washington became the first president of the United States, appointed Solomon as his chief economic adviser, and surrounded himself with Sephardic Jews of Portuguese and Spanish descent from the Netherlands.
George Washington had flaws and qualities, but he was an intelligent, and grateful man. The one dollar bill was imbued with a tribute to the Jewish people. Above the eagle's head, a Magen David was printed, a chanukiah with lamps and a light for the world.
The American nation has prospered proudly, decade after decade, until it has become the most relevant in the world. Admired in some countries, persecuted in others, the Jews continue to live. Hanukkah is not just a Jewish holiday, but a worldwide celebration.
