Chanukah and the Individual

Of all the festivals in the Jewish year, Chanukah stands out in one very significant respect. All other festivals involve and relate to the Jewish People as a whole, both as the oppressed party and as those who responded to their oppression to the point that they were redeemed.

Chanukah is different:

·      On one level, it involves the Jewish People as a nation, both in terms of experiencing Greek occupation as well as its deliverance therefrom.

·      However, in a fuller sense, it is also the story of individuals, for in this instance, the response to Greek oppression was not uniform among our people. As we know, there were those among the Jewish People who responded to Greece’s innovations with ambivalence, and still others with approval. It was specifically a group of individuals — Matisyahu, his family, and those who rallied to their call — who made the decision to take a stand against their oppressors.

In other words, in terms of ideas, Chanukah is the story of Hellenism versus Judaism; but in the realm of idealism, it is the story of Hellenism versus Heroism.

This idea forms a central part, not only of the story of Chanukah, but also of the festival itself and the message it imparts to us every year. In our times, we do not suffer oppression from the Greek Empire. In fact, there is no Greek Empire. However, the confrontation between us and what Greece represented continues in the form of any idea that seeks to erode our sense of connection with Hashem and of our unique mission in this world as His people. In light of this, the yearly festival of Chanukah should serve not just as a celebration of the victory that the heroic few achieved at that time, but as an inspiration to emulate them through taking up their call in our own personal experience. Ultimately, Chanukah reminds us not only of what those individuals did, but what each individual can do. 

Chanukah and the House

A prominent feature within the mitzvah of Chanukah lights is pirsumei nisa — publicizing the miracle. For this reason, the halachah states that the lights should be placed at the entrance to the house, where all passersby can see. We may ask, if having the light visible to the public is such an important part of the mitzvah, why should the lights not be lit in the marketplace and other such public domains?[1]

The answer is that the goal of the mitzvah is not just to publicize the miracle; it is to emphasize the role that every family — and each individual therein — can have in illuminating their environs. As surely as the salvation at the time of Chanukah came about through the actions of Matisyahu and his family, so too, each Jewish home can be a beacon of light to the world beyond. In order to underscore this idea, the Chanukah lights are placed at the entrance to the home, spreading the light of Chanukah from there to the public domain.[2]

From Commemorating to Replicating

There is a further level here. It very interesting to note the key role that the house plays in the mitzvah of Chanukah lights, for the halachah states that one only fulfills the mitzvah in the place that is his considered “his house” for that night — whether he owns it, rents it, or is simply a guest there. Indeed, according to many authorities, if a person spends the night outside of a house of any description (e.g., under the stars), he would be exempt from Chanukah lights![3]

Why is a house critical to the mitzvah? A person with no house can fulfill the mitzvah of matzah on Seder night, as well as Megillah-reading on Purim. Why, then, can he not fulfill the mitzvah of lighting the menorah on Chanukah?

The answer to this question is truly amazing. The mitzvah of Chanukah lights commemorates the miracle that occurred with the oil of the Menorah in the Beis Hamikdash; therefore, it is modeled on the Menorah. For example, the light must be generated by the consumption of fuel (ideally olive oil or, if need be, other oil or wax) as were the lights in the Menorah. Additionally, according to some commentators,[4] this is the reason behind the halachah that the Chanukah lights cannot be used for other purposes — even for purposes of mitzvah, such as learning Torah by their light. Since the light of the Menorah in the Beis Hamikdash may not be used for any other purposes, so too, the Chanukah lights, which are modeled on the Menorah, are excluded from any other use. Indeed, this idea is expressed in the paragraph Haneiros Halalu that we recite when lighting:

וכל שמונת ימי חנוכה הנרות הללו קודש הם ואין לנו רשות להשתמש בהם אלא לראותם בלבד.

For the eight days of Chanukah, these lights are holy, and we do not have permission to use them, only to see them.

With these words, we indicate that the reason we may not use the lights is because “they are holy,” i.e., the Sages bestowed upon them the laws of sanctity that pertained to the light of the Menorah in the Beis Hamikdash.[5]

There was another aspect to the original mitzvah of lighting the Menorah: It was performed inside the Sanctuary of the Beis Hamikdash. And this is why the house is critical to our mitzvah every year, for it parallels that aspect of the Menorah. In other words, the person’s house replicates the Beis Hamikdash in which the Menorah was lit.[6]

There is a most profound message here. We may ask: If we are looking for a place that reflects, at least in part, the sanctity of the Beis Hamikdash, would a shul not be the natural choice? Instead, the mitzvah of Chanukah lights emphasizes that a Jewish home also reflects that sanctity. Chanukah is a celebration of the fact that the Divine Presence is with us wherever we are; not only in our shuls, but also in our homes. The house is a “kedushah-embassy”! That is the message of Chanukah lighting in our homes. Can there be a more elevating message? It is both moving and inspiring to reflect on the fact that the full response to Greece breaching the Sanctuary of the Beis Hamikdash was not merely to restore and rededicate the Beis Hamikdash itself, but to “expand its borders” by charging Jewish homes throughout the world to represent its purpose and message. 

Not Missing the High-Lights

The Gemara states that if Chanukah lights are placed at a height of more than twenty amos (cubits) above the ground, one does not fulfill the mitzvah.[7] The basis of this ruling is that a person’s scope of vision does not extend higher than twenty amos, and hence he will not notice the lights. There is a very important message here. The lights of Chanukah commemorate the miracles that occurred at that time. If a person elevates those lights beyond his range of vision, he is thereby expressing that the miracles they represent are likewise beyond his scope.[8] This person has missed a fundamental point regarding the festival: The actions of the Chasmona’im, which brought about the miracles of Chanukah, are meant to be the basis not just of commemoration, but also of emulation. As we say in the Al Hanisim prayer, “In those days — at this time!”

There is surely no time more appropriate for reflection than when one is in the presence of light. Chanukah returns every year to remind us what each and every one of us is capable of. Keeping the lights of Chanukah squarely in our field of vision, as lights that guide us in our own experience, we can draw heroically on our own strengths, allowing each of us to step forward and make our unique contribution to the banishing of darkness in all its forms from our world.

May we merit to make our contribution to this process – and to see its fulfilment – speedily in our days!

[1] Some have the custom of lighting a menorah at public gatherings during Chanukah. This practice, however, while commendable, is not a fulfillment of the actual mitzvah of Chanukah lights.

[2] Rav Uri Yungreis, Ori Ve’Yishi, Moadim.

[3] See Minchas Shlomo 2:58; Mikra’ei Kodesh, Chanukah 8; Tzitz Eliezer 15:29.

[4] See Commentary of Ran to Rif, Shabbos, chap. 2.

[5] See Binyan Shlomo 2:62.

[6] Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Halichos Shlomo 13:2.

[7] Shabbos 22a.

[8] Derashos of Rav Yosef Nechemiah Kornitzer, Chanukah