Numbers have great significance in yiddishkeit. 7 = nature, mundane, ordinary (sheva brochas, seven tefillin straps, seven colors of the rainbow, seven days of the week, seven nations of Canaan, etc.) The number 8 means transcending, or rising above, nature. Klal yisrael is not bound by the “laws” of nature. That’s why the oil was found and burnt for so long.
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