By Avi Gutfreund. We are all witness to miracles every day of our lives. From the small everyday miracles to the major, once-in-a-lifetime miracles, we thank Hashem for all of them. But there are times when a miracle is so great and so profound, it becomes baked into the consciousness of all those that witnessed it. The commutation of Rubashkin’s prison was one such event, an occasion that will forever be remembered as a triumph of light over darkness.

On December 20^th of last year, זאת חנוכה תשע“ח, President Trump commuted the sentence of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, the owner of Agriprocessors, the nation’s largest kosher meat producing company, who had been sentenced to 27 years in prison by an overzealous and conflicted judge.

Jews the world over jumped to aid Sholom Mordechai in his valiant attempts to exonerate his name and secure his freedom. Tens of thousands of calls and letters were sent to high-ranking law enforcement and political leaders, urging their support for his release. Nearly every Jew in the United States, and many abroad, self-mobilized in an effort to help out a Jew whom most had never met, and many hadn’t even heard of before.

I think the greatest lesson of the Rubashkin story is the importance of אחדות with each other. It seems clear to me that Sholom Mordechai merited his own personal גאולה because we, as a whole, earned it for him by showing our determination and motivation in helping out another איד.

זאת חנוכה is a time of miracles. We all know of the many troubles and tribulations that we, our families, friends, and community as a whole face. We are facing so many troubles: Financial issues, medical issues, the shidduch crisis, the at-risk phenomenon, difficulties with shalom bayis, etc; the list goes on and on. We can all use a Godly intervention, we can all use a miracle.

In the days of חנוכה, the Jews prevailed over the far mightier Greek forces because they stuck together and reapplied themselves to the service of הקב“ה. They succeeded in battle not by employing conventional tactical methods or weapon wizardry, but rather by coming together, as one, to fight off a common enemy.

If all of us came together as one, seeing another’s struggle as our own, reacting to another’s difficult situation as one would if it were happening to him or her, many of our woes would disappear. I think it would be especially prudent for us to take upon ourselves the concept of כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה at this time of ניסים and רצון, today, זאת חנוכה.

A commitment to each other, an allegiance to one another, and a devotion to bettering another’s life will undoubtedly have a massive effect in שמים and would perhaps help spare us from suffering and hardship. It worked in the times of the יבנים and it worked for Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin; it’ll work for us too.