What is a miracle?
The best Hanukkah cookies
Hanukkah is a time of miracles. We celebrate the discovery of a one day supply of oil that lit the menorah for eight nights.
But what, truly, is a miracle?
In the dictionary, a miracle is defined as “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.”
Former Presidential candidate, spiritual teacher, and author Marianne Williamson writes, “A miracle is a shift in perception from fear to love—from a belief in what is not real, to faith in that which is. That shift in perception changes everything.”
She also writes, “And the more open your heart, the more miracles you’ll receive. For miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. When you choose to love, you choose to work miracles.”
Williamson’s work is informed by A Course in Miracles, a 1976 book by American clinical psychologist Helen Schucman. Schucman, born Helen Dora Cohn, had two-half Jewish parents, but was raised non-observant.
The book was "scribed" by Schucman through a process of inner dictation. She experienced the process as one of a distinct dictation from an inner voice, which had previously identified itself as Jesus.
This book, A Course in Miracles, has sold over two million copies and is well known throughout spiritual circles as “The Course.”
Bestselling author Gabby Bernstein found The Course through Marianne Williamson’s work (read an interview here).
I first discovered A Course in Miracles at a community thrift store in the Mission District in San Francisco. Amongst rows and rows of dusty old books, this book jumped out at me. I was seeking something and it was seeking me. I rifled through the pages, intrigued. I picked it up and walked around the store with it for a while, but ultimately I put it down in a corner of used kitchenware. I was a nice Jewish girl and the Jesus language scared me. What if my parents found out that I had that book?
I still have yet to read The Course, but I have really learned a lot from it through its lineage of books by Gabby Bernstein and Marianne Williamson.
But I can’t help but notice something I have in common with Gabby Bernstein, Marianne Williamson, and Helen Schucman. Can you guess it?
We’re all Jewish (or Jewish-ish) women.
What if this talk of miracles is not new age mumbo jumbo, but rather is something that lives deep within our souls?
I made a bumper sticker for my old car, my 1996 Toyota 4Runner with a diesel engine, that said, “I don’t believe in miracles. I rely on them.” That car ran on miracles. I was once driving from Ashland to San Francisco and something blew out in the car going over a mountain pass. I called Isaak in a panic. I called auto shops in Mt. Shasta. No one could help me. I googled around haplessly. I was stranded and didn’t know what to do. As a last resort, I called the guy who I bought the car from. He was a mechanic and had worked on the car himself. He just happened to have finished a bike race in Mt. Shasta and was able to meet me to take a look at the car. A couple of zip ties later, I was back on the road.
That car was almost always about to breakdown but would somehow keep on going. Eventually the biggest miracle was that I sold that car earlier this year and used the cash to help buy a trustworthy 2022 Subaru….
What makes a miracle different from a blessing? How is it different from a gratitude journal or being in flow with Life or just good ol’ luck? What is a miracle and what is synchronicity or chance? Can you set an intention for a miracle?
Maybe it’s the urgency that makes a miracle. The situation was dire and then something intervenes against all odds. A miracle is like you’re stuck inside a box and can’t get out no matter how hard you try, but then you pray with your whole heart and out of nowhere you find a key. A miracle is the ultimate reframe of a situation. A miracle is the answer to a call to the beyond for help.
And who is at the other end of a miracle? Is it the Divine? Is it our ancestors supporting us?
Earlier this week we celebrated (honored?) my grandmother René’s Yahrzeit (yahrzeit refers to Hebrew calendar anniversary of the day of death of a loved one). I inherited my penchant for stress baking from her. When I’m in the kitchen baking, I feel the energy of my ancestors running through my hands. She always had a freezer full of cookies that we would eat when we came to visit, often not even bothering to unfreeze them. She made these cookies that we called “butter cookies” that I’ve been wanting to recreate for years. Finally, on this celebratory week of Hanukkah, I found a recipe that fit my criteria and made these cookies.
Is that a miracle? Is it chance? Anyway you figure it, these cookies are amazing — healthy and celebratory. They only use a little bit (three tablespoons!) of ghee and maple syrup, but it goes a long way. But these cookies won’t last eight nights!
I hope you make them and let me know what you think.
Best ever butter cookies
gluten free, refined sugar free / adapted from Eating Bird Food.
Ingredients
1 cup finely ground almond flour
3 Tablespoons ghee (or softened butter)
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons jam
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a baking sheet: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix dough: Mix almond flour, ghee, maple syrup, vanilla and salt in a small bowl until a cohesive dough forms. It will seem a little dry at first, but just keep mixing.
Scoop and roll dough: Use a tablespoon to measure out dough and roll each into a ball. Place the ball of dough on your prepared baking sheet and use your thumb or finger to create a thumbprint in the middle of each cookie. Add 1/2-1 teaspoon of jam to the indentation.
Bake cookies: Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes minutes, until they start to turn golden brown on the bottom.
Cool and enjoy: Remove the cookies from the oven and cool them on the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely before serving.