The Reasons for the Customs of Chanukah - Rabbi Shmuel Mekamel shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to the “Lema’an Yishme’u” podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 As Chanukah approaches, today we’ll look at several Chanukah customs and learn the reasons behind them. The days of Chanukah were established to commemorate the miracles that happened to the Jewish people, to our ancestors, toward the end of the Second Beis Hamikdash period. The wicked Greek kingdom had conquered many lands and taken control of vast parts of the world. Eretz Yisroel was, of course, among its conquests, and the Greeks came to impose their laws on the Jewish people. What’s interesting is that precisely in a time of darkness and concealment, we were granted such bright, joyous days—days that bring so much light into every part of life. The special quality of these days is that they illuminate the darkness. When the Beis Hamikdash stood, there were three pilgrimage festivals: Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos. Three times a year, we merited to appear before the Shechinah. After Sukkos, each person would go his own way, “each man under his vine and under his fig tree,” and return to everyday life. He knew that the next time he would take part in that holy experience of ascending and appearing before Hashem would be Pesach, half a year after the great pilgrimage for Sukkos. There are no festivals throughout the winter. But precisely out of the darkness and concealment of the winter months, through the Jewish people’s firm, steadfast stand with mesirus nefesh, they succeeded in overcoming the darkness and bringing bright, festive days into the winter, into the days of darkness and concealment. In fact, this began with Purim, during the period between the First and Second Beis Hamikdash. In the midst of the Babylonian exile, the Jewish people stood firm with mesirus nefesh, and through that we merited the extraordinary miracle of Purim and this special, joyous festival. But also

02:28 Speaker 2 when the Second Beis Hamikdash was built, the revelation of G-dliness there was on a lower level than in the First Beis Hamikdash, especially after the Greek decrees came. They wanted “to make them forget Your Torah and transgress the statutes of Your will,” and they did everything they could to prevent us from observing Torah and mitzvos. The Jewish people stood stubbornly, with mesirus nefesh, and under no circumstances allowed anyone to pull us away from our attachment to Hashem. That is why we merited this luminous festival, Chanukah. The days of Chanukah were established as days of praise and thanksgiving. In fact, Chanukah includes two central miracles: the victory in the war and the finding of the flask of oil. Both were miracles that overturned the natural order—events that, by any ordinary reckoning, made no sense. How could the few defeat the many? “You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, and the wicked into the hands of those who study Your Torah.” That describes how little chance the Jewish people had when they went to war. And then, of course, there was the miracle of finding the flask of oil, which burned for eight days—another miracle completely beyond the laws of nature. Why did we merit these extraordinary miracles? Chassidus explains that it was precisely because the Jewish people stood with mesirus nefesh against those who tried to make them forget Hashem’s Torah. A Jew says, “Under no circumstances will I allow myself to be cut off from G-dliness,” and goes into the fight with full force. Had they stopped to ask and consult, perhaps the Jews would not have had to go to war. There was no chance of winning a war in which a handful of people faced such a vast empire. And from the standpoint of halacha, we know that—

04:46 Speaker 2 “You shall live by them.” We know that one must safeguard life, and that a blessing rests on an effort when, in the natural order, there is a chance of victory. Yet they asked no questions. They knew that a battle was being fought here: would we remain connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu or not? There was no room for questions or deliberation. When the question is whether or not to remain connected to Hashem, there is no question: you go into the fight with everything you have, even if the battle seems hopeless. When Hakadosh Boruch Hu saw that fight, the Jewish people’s determination to remain attached to Him, He performed a wondrous miracle: He truly delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak and the many into the hands of the few. Afterward, they came to the Beis Hamikdash and saw that the Greeks had defiled all the oil. It seemed that not even one flask of pure oil remained. And seemingly, by the rules of halacha, had they asked a rabbi, they would have been told that communal service can proceed despite impurity, or that impurity is permitted in communal service. They could have lit the menorah with impure oil. But after Hakadosh Boruch Hu had performed such a miracle for them—a miracle they merited because of their determination to stand with mesirus nefesh, without compromise, refusing to yield even on the tiniest detail and following through to the very last point—they said, “We won’t give up a single detail. We want to be completely attached to Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” Having merited such a miracle, they said, “Now we won’t compromise. Halachically, we may be able to light the menorah with impure oil, but after a miracle like this, we want our expression of thanks to Hashem to be

06:45 Speaker 2 complete.” So they insisted—just as they had insisted on going to war—on lighting specifically with pure oil. When Hakadosh Boruch Hu saw His children’s determination to light specifically with pure oil, He performed a miracle for them: the flask that held enough oil for one day burned for eight days. Interestingly, the sefarim point out that the oil was impure in the first place because, as Tosafos in Tractate Shabbos says, the Sages decreed that all non-Jews have the impurity of a zav. In other words, the only reason the oil became impure when the Greeks touched it was the Sages’ decree that anything a non-Jew touches acquires that impurity. The impurity was entirely rabbinic. We see that when a person takes even one rabbinic mitzvah, even a fine point of the Sages’ words, and follows it through to the end, Hakadosh Boruch Hu grants such help from Heaven that this fine point can bring about a miracle that completely overturns the natural order. The entire miracle of the flask burning for eight days instead of one came through their determination to uphold even a fine point of the Sages’ words. That is a very powerful lesson of the Chanukah miracle. We also saw that the Greeks’ main attack was directed against three very precious mitzvos: Shabbos, the new month, and bris milah. They wanted Jews to stop keeping Shabbos, and of course they wanted to abolish bris milah, the covenant between us and Hakadosh Boruch Hu. They also wanted us to forget that precious mitzvah. And then there was the mitzvah of sanctifying the new month, entrusted to us in the words “This month shall be for you”—the mitzvah of establishing the months, which is “your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations.” It is the special wisdom with which the Jewish people were blessed: to add leap months to years and establish the months. We know that this mitzvah was observed steadfastly,

08:52 Speaker 2 With mesirus nefesh throughout the generations, through those who received semichah one from another in an unbroken chain back to Moshe Rabbeinu, the Jewish people faithfully preserved this mitzvah. They passed on semichah, the tradition of ordination from one person to the next, and the court of ordained judges would sanctify the new month based on the testimony of eyewitnesses who had seen the new moon. After conducting all their inquiries, they would sanctify the month. The Greeks wanted to make us forget those wonderful mitzvos that connect us with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The sanctification of the months determines all the festivals. And, of course, there is Shabbos—the sign between Me and you—and the sign of bris milah. But the Jewish people do not give in or become intimidated by everything the nations want to make us forget. The Jewish people press on faithfully and stubbornly, ultimately overcoming the darkness of Greek impurity and meriting the great miracle, the miracle of Chanukah. And when the days of Chanukah were established, what is interesting is that, as part of these days of thanksgiving and praise, we see that we retained all three of these mitzvos. We know that Chanukah lasts eight days, corresponding to the eight days before a bris milah. In addition, we know that every Chanukah must include at least one Shabbos. Within eight days, there has to be a Shabbos. Sometimes, when the first day of Chanukah falls on Shabbos, there are two Shabbos days during Chanukah, the first day and the eighth. But every year must certainly have one Shabbos, Shabbos Chanukah, and, of course, Rosh Chodesh. Rosh Chodesh Teves always falls during Chanukah. Sometimes Rosh Chodesh is one day and sometimes it is two, but there must be eight days corresponding to the days before a bris milah, there must be Shabbos Chanukah, and there must be Rosh Chodesh. And so we

10:52 Speaker 2 see that precisely because of the Jewish people’s struggle and victory over those who wanted “to make them forget Your Torah,” who wanted to make us forget those mitzvos, we merited a festival that expresses these three precious mitzvos. The Sages established the days of Chanukah as days of praise and thanksgiving. We express our thanks to Hashem each day in the blessing of thanksgiving. In Shemoneh Esrei we say the Modim blessing, and in Birkas Hamazon we say, “We thank You, Hashem our G-d.” In both Birkas Hamazon and Shemoneh Esrei, they instituted an expression of thanks to Hashem for the miracles of Chanukah. We say Ve’al Hanissim. That text was composed by Yochanan the Kohen Gadol, and the sefarim say that his name is alluded to in it: the number of words in Ve’al Hanissim is 124, the numerical value of Yochanan. But because of his humility, Yochanan did not want his name mentioned, even by allusion. So he added one more word, and according to some versions, the passage has 125 words, the numerical value of kohanim. That is why some versions read “me’al chukei retzonecha”: “to make them forget Your Torah and turn them away from the statutes of Your will.” In the Alter Rebbe’s siddur, however, we know that the wording is “to make them forget Your Torah and turn them from the statutes of Your will”—“mechukei retzonecha.” There is no additional word there. In other words, the passage has only 124 words, not 125. The reason is that we do not need to conceal Yochanan the Kohen Gadol’s name on account of his humility. Yochanan himself did not want his name mentioned because of his humility, but we have no reason to avoid it. On the contrary, we do want to make his name known, so we retain the version with 124 words. That is how the Shaar

13:10 Speaker 2 Hakollel explains it. In addition to saying Ve’al Hanissim in Shemoneh Esrei or Birkas Hamazon, they instituted the recitation of the complete Hallel every day. We say all of Hallel, with every section, without skipping anything, on all eight days of the festival. The reason we do not skip any of it, but say the complete Hallel, is that the offerings we mention are different each day. Each day we mention the offerings of the nesi’im; each day’s offerings are those of a different nasi. In addition, with the mitzvah of Chanukah, we add another light each day. There is a further, visible increase. Each day is visibly different from the next, and so we say Hallel every day, and we say the complete Hallel because of what is new and different about each day. These days were therefore established as days of praise and thanksgiving, and we must say Hallel with joy and gratitude to Hashem for the miracles. We know what our Sages said: “Anyone who says Hallel every day is a blasphemer.” Why a blasphemer? Because when it is time to say Hallel, we should say it with feeling, as a special expression of praise and thanks to Hashem. It should move us. If we said Hallel every day, we might lose that feeling. That is why the Sages said this. So on each day of Chanukah, when we are indeed meant to say Hallel, we should say it with feeling and joy in our hearts, as a song of praise. And, as we know, Hallel is said on each day of Chanukah after Shemoneh Esrei. The Sages established the days of Chanukah as days of praise and thanksgiving. This differs from Purim, which was also established as days of feasting and rejoicing, with mishloach manos, which is likewise part of the feasting and rejoicing. This

15:30 Speaker 2 is why the halachic authorities discuss at length the difference between Chanukah, which was not established as days of feasting and rejoicing, and Purim, which was established as days of feasting and rejoicing. The Levush explains—and all the later authorities cite this—that it really depends on what led to each miracle. What brought about the miracle of Chanukah, and what brought about the miracle of Purim? What was the decree, what was the mesirus nefesh, and what was the outcome? On Purim, the decree was against the body. The wicked Haman sought “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, from young to old, children and women, on one day.” He wanted to destroy and kill them all. Whom did he want to kill? Every single Jew. It made no difference whether a Jew observed Torah and mitzvos or not; he wanted to kill the body. Unlike the wicked Haman, the Greeks’ decree was not aimed at killing people. On the contrary, they greatly admired the wisdom of the Jewish people and very much wanted them to remain and continue advancing the world with their beautiful wisdom—but not to study Torah as Hashem’s Torah. They wanted “to make them forget Your Torah.” They wanted to remove Hashem’s name, to put an end to the mention of His name. “Write on the horn of an ox that you have no share in the G-d of Israel,” Heaven forbid. They wanted to sever the Jewish people’s connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. They wanted their bodies to remain. So on Purim, when the decree was against the body, once the decree was overturned and the miracle was established as a festival, it was established with a joy that the body, too, could experience. That is why feasting and rejoicing were instituted for Purim. But on Chanukah, when our victory concerned the soul—when the struggle was over the Jewish soul and a Jew’s connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu—they established

17:37 Speaker 2 That the miracle should be commemorated and celebrated specifically by giving thanks to Hashem—with Torah and prayer, lighting the candles, reciting Hallel, praise and thanksgiving—and not necessarily with feasting and rejoicing. When you think about it, on a physical level, since the decree affected everyone equally, when people sit down to celebrate, everyone says l’chaim together and everyone eats together. As far as eating is concerned, everyone is equal. But when it comes to the victory—the spiritual victory of Chanukah—each person experiences it according to how much he invested and how much self-sacrifice he showed. That is how deeply he feels the victory in his prayer and in his thanks to Hashem for the miracles. That is why Chanukah was established as a time to thank Hashem for the miracles, rather than necessarily for feasting and rejoicing. At the same time, we know that the halachic authorities write that when people hold meals on Chanukah and say words of praise and thanks to Hashem for the miracles, they turn the meal into a seudas mitzvah. Especially in our generation, the Rebbe constantly encourages holding farbrengens, meals and Chanukah parties, publicizing the miracle at them and speaking about pirsumei nisa, publicizing the miracle. We also know that our Rebbeim would gather their families on Chanukah evenings and tell stories. These days are especially suited to farbrengens. In particular, there are the third and fifth nights of Chanukah, the latter of which chassidim mark as the day the Alter Rebbe was freed from his second imprisonment. We also know that the Alter Rebbe’s liberation from his first imprisonment in 5559 reached its completion during Chanukah. Chanukah is connected with the inner dimension of Torah—the oil of Torah, the deepest secrets of Torah. It is a particularly auspicious time to study the inner dimension of Torah, and of course that includes the chassidic farbrengens held

20:03 Speaker 2 during Chanukah. The halachic authorities say that when words of praise and thanks to Hashem are said, and the miracles are publicized, the meals become seudos mitzvah. We also know the Jewish custom of eating foods made with oil—fried in oil or kneaded with oil—in remembrance of the miracle of the flask of oil. So when we eat those foods, which remind us of the miracle, and observe this Jewish custom, there is certainly something very significant in it. And if we mention the miracle while serving those foods, we turn the meal into a seudas mitzvah. We also know the custom, mentioned by the halachic authorities, of eating dairy foods on Chanukah. This commemorates the miracle of Yehudis, who saved the Jewish people by feeding that tyrant dairy foods. When he became thirsty, she gave him something to drink. Then he fell asleep, and she was able to overpower him; that is how the victory came about. So the miracle came through Yehudis feeding him dairy foods, and the custom of eating dairy foods on Chanukah was established to commemorate it. When we serve these special foods, they remind us of the miracle. Each time we mention the miracle during Chanukah, the meal becomes a seudas mitzvah. The central mitzvah of Chanukah is lighting the Chanukah candles. Its purpose is pirsumei nisa, to publicize the miracles Hashem performed. For that reason, every detail of the mitzvah was established to publicize the miracle as widely as possible. That includes choosing the time to light: it should be precisely when people are around. On the one hand, we want it to be

22:14 Speaker 2 a time when the sun has already set so people can see the lights. As the saying goes, “What good is a lamp in daylight?” You cannot see a candle at midday. So we want a time after sunset, when people can see the candles and be reminded of the miracle. On the other hand, we do not want it to be too late, because we want people to see them. The same applies to choosing where to light: we look for the most central, visible place, where the miracle will be publicized. In the past, people would light—as it says, “The mitzvah of the Chanukah candle is at the entrance to one’s home, outside.” Some would light in a window to publicize the miracle to people in the public domain. But during times of persecution, people began lighting the Chanukah candles inside their homes. The halachic authorities wrote that this was so the miracle would be publicized to the members of the household, and therefore care is taken to light indoors while they are awake. So every detail of lighting the Chanukah candles is tied to the time and place that will publicize the miracle to the greatest extent possible. As the Rebbe says, the time for lighting—from sunset—teaches us a wonderful lesson. We light the Chanukah candles specifically when the sun sets, when it becomes possible to benefit from their light. When a candle burns at midday, you cannot see its light or benefit from it; there is no need for it. It is precisely when darkness falls, at sunset, that we seek out the candles to benefit from their light. Yet that is when we say, “These lights are sacred, and we have no permission to make use of them, but only to look at them.” The Chanukah candles thus teach us a wonderful lesson. Usually, the approach is that “from doing something not for its own sake, one comes to do it for its own sake.” At first, we encourage children to study Torah by giving them various incentives, even if they begin not for its own sake. But from doing it not for its own sake, they come to do it for its own sake.

24:30 Speaker 2 The Chanukah candles, however, teach us a wonderful approach to serving Hashem: we can begin from the outset for its own sake. We light them at a time when we could benefit from them, yet we do not. From the very beginning, we serve Hashem for His sake. The mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah candles is known for how beloved it is. As the halachic authorities write, it is “an exceedingly beloved mitzvah.” We know that the Jewish people take particular care to perform this mitzvah in the finest way. The idea of beautifying a mitzvah is especially apparent here. Our Sages say that the basic requirement for the Chanukah candle is one candle for a person and his household, while those who perform the mitzvah more beautifully light one candle for each person. But for those who go beyond even that, the number of candles changes on each day of Chanukah. There is a well-known disagreement between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel. Beis Shammai say to light eight candles on the first day and decrease the number each day. Beis Hillel, by contrast, say to add candles each day: one on the first day, two on the second, and so on. So we see that this mitzvah has not only a basic requirement but also a more beautiful way to perform it—and beyond that, a way for those who go the extra mile. What is remarkable is that with this particular mitzvah, which has all these levels and enhancements, no one among the Jewish people is content with the basic requirement, or even with the next level. Instead, the entire Jewish people have taken on the highest level. Everyone wants to perform it in the most beautiful way. Both the opinion of Beis Shammai and the opinion of Beis

26:39 Speaker 2 Hillel—“Both these and those are the words of the living G-d.” Both teach us a path and a lesson in serving Hashem. Beis Shammai teach us that when it comes to matters of this world, we should decrease them step by step, until the darkness is completely driven away. And Beis Hillel teach us that when adding light, we should keep increasing: every day, add in holiness; every day, add in light. Don’t be satisfied with where I was yesterday, but add and advance each day, going from strength to strength. Before lighting the Chanukah candles, we recite three blessings. The first is, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the Chanukah candle.” In some versions, the wording is “to light the candle of Chanukah,” but we say “to light the Chanukah candle,” without the word “of,” because we want to preserve the wording of the blessing with thirteen words, corresponding to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. So we omit the word “of” and say only “to light the Chanukah candle.” The second blessing is, “Who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time.” Some versions say “and at this time.” The meaning is that we thank Hashem not only for the miracles He performed then, but also for the miracles He has performed in our own time. A person must thank Hashem for all the miracles, from the beginning until the present day. But in practice, the halachic authorities write that there is no need to say “and at this time.” We know, for example, that among the blessings over miracles there is a blessing connected to the time when the miracles occurred, and a blessing connected to the place where one occurred—

28:52 Speaker 2 “Who performed a miracle for me in this place.” We don’t find versions that mention all the other miracles. Rather, we mention only the particular miracle we’re talking about. So when speaking about the Chanukah miracle, we mention only the miracles He performed “in those days, at this time,” without saying “and at this time.” The third blessing recited on the first day before lighting the Chanukah candles is Shehecheyanu. It is called the blessing over time. As with every mitzvah that comes around from time to time, we thank Hashem for having “kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time.” Our Sages said that even candles and oils that may not be used for Shabbos lights may be used for Chanukah lights. The reason for the distinction is that Shabbos lights are meant to be used for our benefit, whereas all oils and wicks are suitable for Chanukah lights. The whole purpose of the mitzvah of Shabbos lights is Shabbos delight and peace in the home, so that people won’t stumble over wood or stone, and so that the place where we eat the Shabbos meal will be lit. “You shall call Shabbos a delight”—the place where we enjoy the meal should have light, adding to our Shabbos delight. So Shabbos lights are meant to increase our delight and to benefit us. Because they are meant for our benefit, there is a concern that if they do not burn properly, someone might adjust the lamp to make it burn better and, G-d forbid, violate the Shabbos prohibition against kindling a fire. That is why oils and wicks that might cause such problems were prohibited, lest someone, G-d forbid, come to adjust the lamp. Chanukah lights, by contrast, are not meant for our benefit from the outset; we are not permitted to make use

30:52 Speaker 2 of them. So there is no concern that someone will adjust a lamp to make it shine more brightly in order to benefit from it, since the lights were never meant for that purpose. Nevertheless, the halachic authorities say that the preferred way to fulfill the mitzvah is to light with olive oil. We know that the miracle of the flask of oil took place with oil lamps, and olive oil is the finest oil. We also know that it says, “Beautify yourself before Him through mitzvos.” We choose the finest oil and the most attractive wicks—cotton wicks—and try to have a beautiful menorah. The Rebbe also says that care should be taken for the menorah to resemble the menorah of the Beis Hamikdash. The menorah in the Beis Hamikdash had straight branches. Every mitzvah we perform should be done with beauty and care: “Beautify yourself before Him through mitzvos.” We place the Chanukah menorah below ten tefachim, and according to Kabbalah it should be between three and seven tefachim. But there is a wonderful lesson in lighting the Chanukah candles below ten tefachim. We know that the Gemara says in tractate Sukkah that the Shechinah never descended below ten tefachim. We know the dimensions of the Ark in the Holy of Holies, and the Gemara says that the Shechinah never descended below ten. Yet on Chanukah, we see that the lighting of the Chanukah candles, the resting of the Shechinah during Chanukah, takes place specifically below ten tefachim. The Chanukah lights have the power to break through the darkness and bring the Shechinah even to the lowest places, even below ten tefachim. That is why we light the Chanukah candles specifically within ten tefachim, not above them. We light the Chanukah candles using an additional candle called the shamash. The shamash is like the kohen who lights the lamps. And we know the verse, “Seraphim stood above Him”—the Hebrew word for “Him,” lo, also has the numerical value of thirty-six, the number of Chanukah candles.

33:09 Speaker 2 That is thirty-six. We know that this is the total number of candles lit over all the days of Chanukah. So the number thirty-six, represented by the word lo: “Seraphim stood above Him.” The shamash corresponds to the seraph standing above the Chanukah candles, and that is why it is raised higher than they are. These, of course, are the deeper meanings behind the shamash. Besides that, there are the straightforward explanations in halachah. We know that it is forbidden to benefit from the light of the candles, so we light an additional candle. If there is a need for light, we should not, G-d forbid, benefit from the Chanukah candles, from which benefit is forbidden, but from that additional candle we lit. There is another explanation as well: when lighting several Chanukah candles, one may not light one Chanukah candle from another. So we need a shamash; if another candle needs to be lit, we use the shamash rather than, G-d forbid, a Chanukah candle. On the first day of Chanukah, we place the candle on the right side of the menorah, because the right side has greater importance. On the remaining days, though, we begin lighting from left to right. The reason is that each day we want to light the new candle first, the one that makes the addition visible. On the first day there was only one candle. On the second day, we want to show that the flask lasted for the second day too, so we light two candles. That means the main new element is the second candle, and that is the one with which we want to begin lighting after reciting the blessings. There is another explanation: if we begin with the candle on the left, then immediately afterward we turn toward the candle on the right. We know that whenever we turn, we should turn to the right. If we light the candle on the right first, we will have to turn left. But since we want to turn right,

35:16 Speaker 2 So we start on the left, and that way we always turn first to the right. The Rebbe Maharash says that we need to listen to what the Chanukah lights tell us. The Chanukah lights tell us about mesirus nefesh. We know that we should spend time beside the lights—except on Friday afternoon, when we light them before the Shabbos candles and do not linger beside them. But otherwise, we spend time beside the lights and listen to the message they tell us. In the time of the Geonim, it was instituted that Chanukah lights should also be kindled in the shul. The reason is pirsumei nisa, publicizing the miracle: many Jews are present when the Chanukah lights are kindled there. So beyond the publicizing of the miracle that each person does when lighting at home, there is an added publicizing of the miracle when the lighting takes place in the presence of ten people. It is well known that in our generation the Rebbe urged us to go out into the streets and help Jews fulfill the mitzvos of Chanukah, including holding gatherings with public menorah lightings. Their purpose is to publicize the miracle everywhere, on the broadest possible scale, so that every single Jew hears about the miracle and there is no place the joy and light of Chanukah do not reach. After lighting the Chanukah lights, we say the text of Haneros Halalu. Haneros Halalu tells us about the wondrous miracle of Chanukah. What is interesting is that we can also learn a lesson from the order in which it lists the events for which we give thanks. The Rebbe says that at the beginning of the text it says, “for the salvations, for the miracles, and for the wonders,” while at the end it says, “for Your miracles, for Your wonders, and for Your salvations.” We see that the order has changed. The Rebbe explains that at first, the order follows the way things happened. We know that the Chashmonaim first fought in Modiin, their own town, where there were fewer Greeks,

37:41 Speaker 2 so their deliverance was in the category of a salvation. It was still a success brought about by Hashem, but it was a salvation. Afterward, when “You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, and the many into the hands of the few,” a miracle occurred. That is why we then say “for the miracles.” After that we say “and for the wonders,” alluding to the discovery of the flask of oil—the very flask the Greeks had not touched, which was itself a wonder. But when we reach the end of the text, where we come to “give thanks and praise to Your great name,” there is a different order. When we stand ready to give thanks and praise to Your great name, we begin with what catches our attention. The most striking thing is a miracle. When a miracle happens, I immediately take it to heart and give thanks for that great miracle. So we give thanks “for Your miracles.” Then we look a little more deeply and say that we also want to thank Hashem for the wonders—things that are wondrous, even if they are not miracles. But when we look really deeply, we realize that even “for Your salvations,” even for the small successes that come our way in the course of life, we need to take notice and thank Hashem for them. So the order, too, teaches us that we must thank Hashem even for the small things. It is very interesting that Chanukah was established as an eight-day festival, even though we know that, according to the natural order, the flask they found on the first day was not a miracle. Its burning that day was not miraculous, because it contained enough oil for one day. This is the famous question already asked by the Beis Yosef, and hundreds of answers have been written to resolve it. It is a well-known question with its own name:

39:40 Speaker 2 the Beis Yosef’s question. In his sichos, the Rebbe explains this by referring to the well-known story of the Alter Rebbe during his imprisonment, when he stopped a boat in order to recite Kiddush Levanah. When the guards did not want to let him recite Kiddush Levanah, he stopped the boat. After the guards saw that the Alter Rebbe had the power to stop it, they told him he could recite the blessing. But the Alter Rebbe did not want to recite Kiddush Levanah then. He wanted the boat to start moving again and the guard himself to stop it, and only then did he stand up to recite Kiddush Levanah. Why did he need to wait for the guard himself to stop the boat? After all, the boat had already come to a stop through the Alter Rebbe’s power. The Rebbe explains that he wanted the blessing to take place within the natural order, so that it would permeate the framework of the world. When the blessing permeates the framework of the world, it fulfills the purpose of creation: Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants a dwelling place in the lower realms, for the Divine Presence to dwell within the framework of the world. Not by breaking the framework of the world or overturning the order of nature, but by having nature itself serve as a vessel for the Divine Presence. So, too, with the Chanukah miracle: the miracle of the first day was an entirely natural one. They found a flask of oil that was supposed to burn for one day, and it did indeed burn for one day. Seemingly, there was no miracle on the first day—but that is the greatest miracle of all. The greatest miracle is nature: the way Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world and everything in it. We need to recognize that the laws of nature themselves are the greatest miracles. Our goal is to work together with the laws of nature—not to break nature or overturn it, but to bring nature itself to an awareness of G-dliness. As for the obligation

41:41 Speaker 2 of women to light the Chanukah candles, we know that the halachic authorities write that women, too, are obligated in this mitzvah, because they, too, were part of that miracle. We know that the Greeks’ decree also targeted the daughters of Israel, and the miracle was that they were saved from the Greeks. And, as is known, the miracle also came about through Yehudis, who showed courage and determination and helped bring about victory in the war through her mesirus nefesh. So women played a very decisive role in the victory and are therefore included in the mitzvah of Chanukah. Nevertheless, we find that women generally do not light for themselves. Instead, they hear the blessing and are present when their husbands light, or their fathers in the case of unmarried women. Of course, women who live alone must light the Chanukah candles; they are obligated in the mitzvah. But when they live in a home where their husband lights, or, in the case of unmarried daughters, where their father lights, they do not light for themselves. Rather, they hear the blessing from the man who lights. The halachic authorities explain that they do not light for themselves because, as we know, the mitzvah of the Chanukah light is to place it “at the entrance to one’s home, on the outside,” whereas for women, “all the honor of a king’s daughter is within.” Accordingly, it is not fitting for them to stand outside, and so the practice was established that women do not light the Chanukah candles. We know that it is told of the Rebbe Rashab that when he went away, he would instruct the Rebbetzin to light, but to hear the blessing from someone else. In any case, the mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah candles certainly applies to women. In particular, we know that women are careful not to do work while the candles are burning. This means the kinds of work not done on Chol Hamoed, such as sewing, ironing, and laundry—all those things

43:55 Speaker 2 Women refrain from work while the candles are burning, because they had a significant part in the miracle of Chanukah. The word Chanukah is related to chinuch, education, and this is an especially fitting time to hold gatherings for children, tell them about the mitzvah of Chanukah, and encourage and strengthen them in everything connected with increasing their Torah study and mitzvos. We know there are many customs involving children, and customs connected with the days of Chanukah. There is the well-known game of dreidel, with the letters nun, gimmel, hei, shin on it, reminding us that “a great miracle happened there,” at the Beis Hamikdash. Many reasons have been given for this custom. Great Torah sages would play this game, and of course it is another way to connect children with the mitzvah of Chanukah and the special light of the festival, and to add to their education. It is a Jewish custom to give children Chanukah gelt on each day of Chanukah. As the Rebbe encourages, one should give every day: a husband should give to his wife, siblings should give to one another, and a wife should also give to her husband. Educational institutions should give to their students. Of course, the main custom, as it originally stood, was for a father to give his children Chanukah gelt. Many reasons have been given for it. I want to mention a few things written by Reb Levik, the Rebbe’s father, the gaon and chossid Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, a chossid and kabbalist, in his explanation of this custom. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak says that we can see a very early source for the custom of giving Chanukah gelt. The Gemara already says that one may not count coins by the light of the Chanukah candles, expressing the prohibition against using or benefiting from their light. The wording is “one may not count,” and the example the Sages use is counting coins. That

46:17 Speaker 2 means we see that even then, it was customary to have something to do with money and coins near the Chanukah candles—though of course one must not do it by the light of the candles themselves. As we said, a shamash is placed there so that one does not benefit from the light of the candles themselves. But we see that this custom of distributing coins is very, very old. Another reason is that the days of Chanukah are days of education. We know that when we want to educate children, we give them an incentive. To encourage them, we give them money; so to encourage and educate them, we give them money during Chanukah, because Chanukah is a festival of education. In addition, we know that the days of Chanukah are connected with the left side. We place and light the candles on the left: a mezuzah on the right and a Chanukah candle on the left. We are working with the left, and the verse says of the Torah, “In its left hand are wealth and honor.” Since Chanukah is about illuminating and refining the left side, we also use money, which represents wealth. We need to educate children and accustom them to the idea that all the wealth Hashem gives is so they can serve Him properly and with peace of mind. We should accustom children to recognize that everything comes from Hashem, so that we can truly increase our Torah study and observance of mitzvos. During Chanukah we add especially in the mitzvah of tzedakah. The reason is that the Greeks sought to wage war against the three pillars on which the world stands. They wanted “to make them forget Your Torah”—that is the pillar of Torah. They laid hands on the Jews’ property—that is the pillar of acts of kindness. And, of course, they wanted to stop the offerings in the Beis Hamikdash—that is the pillar of avodah. Torah, avodah, and acts of kindness: in response, during Chanukah we increase our Torah study and our service of prayer, including the special additions of Hallel and thanksgiving in the prayers. And of course we increase our acts of kindness and our tzedakah. This is

48:29 Speaker 2 a very, very old custom: during Chanukah, people would go from door to door collecting money for tzedakah. The Sages instituted the reading of the offerings of the nesi’im in Parshas Naso on each day of Chanukah. The reason they instituted this reading each day is that the nesi’im brought these offerings at the dedication of the Mishkan. We know that after the Greeks defiled the Beis Hamikdash, and after everything they did there, the Chashmona’im came and rededicated the Beis Hamikdash. That is why we read this passage during Chanukah: it recalls the dedication of the Mishkan in the days of the nesi’im. In addition, we know that the dedication of the Mishkan was originally supposed to take place on 25 Kislev, but Hakadosh Boruch Hu told Moshe Rabbeinu to wait until Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the month in which the Patriarchs were born. Hakadosh Boruch Hu said, however, that He would make it up to 25 Kislev later: when the Chashmona’im came and defeated the Greek kingdom, their dedication would take place on 25 Kislev. So there is an essential connection between the dedication of the Mishkan and the days of Chanukah, and that is why we read about the offerings of the nesi’im at the dedication of the Mishkan during Chanukah. The last day of Chanukah is called Zos Chanukah. The straightforward reason for the name is that on every day of Chanukah we read from the Torah about the offerings of the nesi’im in Parshas Naso. The nesi’im brought their offerings over twelve days, one nasi each day, while Chanukah has only eight days. On the eighth day, we read about the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth days, and then add the passage that says, “This was the dedication of the altar.” We continue into the beginning of Parshas Behaaloscha, up to

50:53 Speaker 2 “so he made the menorah,” where the Torah speaks about the making of the menorah. That is, of course, connected with the menorah in the Beis Hamikdash, where the miracle of Chanukah took place. So, on a straightforward level, the day is called Zos Chanukah because we read the words “Zos chanukas hamizbeiach”—“This was the dedication of the altar.” But the Rebbe says that, on a deeper level, this day has a special quality: it contains within it all the days of Chanukah. Everything connected with Chanukah that one could have done during those wonderful days can still be made up on this day, and with even greater strength. Many things are recorded as having happened on this day of Chanukah, on Zos Chanukah. We know that after the incident on Shemini Atzeres in 5738, the Rebbe came out on Rosh Chodesh Kislev. The Rebbe held the thanksgiving farbrengen specifically on Zos Chanukah—the day that, as the Rebbe says, completes and encompasses all the days of Chanukah. So everything connected with Chanukah can be made up on this day with even greater strength and vigor, and the light of Chanukah can be carried through the entire year.