“Tebow- How Faith Leads to Victory” was the title of an article in the magazine The Week, ( despite their most recent loss). Even before I read the content, the title brought Chanukah to mind. Chanukah is the story of the “rabim b'yad m'atim,”- many fell in the hands of the few. The powerful Greeks fell in the hands of the weak Jews. And, yet, the Maccabees had faith that they could win, and so they did. Despite all rational explanation, the Jews were victorious. The miracle of the oil was one of faith in success as well, as failure was the only rational reality. As I discussed in my Parasha and Parenting shiur, the Greek culture prided itself in its rationalism. If it was not logical it could not be true. The miracle of Chanukah proved that theory wrong. Tim Tebow, a “mediocre quarterback” plays for the Broncos that had a 1-4 record before he became their quarterback. “What has happened since defies all rational explanation.” Many maintain that it is his prayers on the sidelines that lead to victory.

As I began thinking about this connection, I noticed another article comparing Chanukah to Tebow. But, the author Rabbi Eisen asserts, “If Tim Tebow is claiming, when he gets down on bended knee and points toward heaven, that G-d cares about Broncos victories on the football field, his theology frankly strikes me as absurd. I hope and believe that G-d has better things to worry about than football...”

The Week, quoting author Frank Bruni says that it is not his prayer that causes G-d to save the game. Rather, “In dire situations that would discourage most other players, Tebow has a quiet, unshakable confidence that everything will work out for the best. His teammates are inspired by this, and more often than not, it does work out. Optimism matters- a lot. That's a lesson all of us can learn from Tim Tebow's weekly miracles.”

Optimism and hope clearly have a positive impact on outcomes. We are all familiar with the research on the impact of prayer on illness- as the patient has more hope. Chanukah is the holiday of optimism. The Gemara in Shabbat 21b states that there is a difference in opinion between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai in the way we light the menorah. Today we follow Beit Hillel- we add one more candle each night. We look at the cup half full-as we add more, rather than half empty- taking away.

Another indication of the optimism of Chanukah can be found in two quotes of Rabbi Tanchum in that same Gemara Shabbat 22b. Rabbi Tanchum states that when Yosef was thrown into the pit, (in a parasha that “coincidentally” falls around Chanukah), a duplication of language in the pasuk implies that while the pit had no water, it was full of snakes and scorpions. The story suddenly becomes even worse. This statement of Rabbi Tanchum appears in the middle of a discussion about how high the Chanukah candles should be! Why? Mainly because they are both statements attributed to him. Perhaps we can make another connection between his seemingly unconnected statements. Rabbi Tanchum is perhaps saying that just with Chanukah, what appears to be hopeless in Yosef's life, ends up being for the best. One must keep this optimism in mind.

We know the importance of optimism for happiness. Studies show that teens who are more pessimistic are more prone to engage in risky behavior. What can we do as parents to ensure this optimism of Chanukah, (and dare I say, Tim Tebow)?

The good news is, children are not born pessimistic. Pessimistic attitudes are learned. So, as parents we can help them become more optimistic. We focus on the positive possibilities. In daily discussions with our children, we need to point out good news and positive events that happen. Review all the good things that happened in your child's day with him/her each night. We need to confront their pessimistic thinking, by pointing it out to them and forcing him/her to come up with an optimistic statement instead. We need to reward them for optimism by acknowledging positive attitudes. And, of course, we need to model optimism as much as we can.  A conversation about why they think Tim Tebow is succeeding despite all odds is a good way to begin.  Or, maybe bringing the lessons of Chanukah closer to their own personal lives is an even better way.