By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
Shabbat 21b "What is Chanukah? Our Rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth
of Kislev begin the eight days of Chanukah; we may
not eulogize on these days nor may we fast on them. When the Greeks entered the
Temple, they defiled all the oil in the
Chanukah, the Festival of Light, is among the most widely celebrated of the Jewish holidays. It is a time for happy family gatherings around the menorah, for children's songs and sizzling potato latkes and games of "dreidle." For many of us, it brings back fond memories of childhood, or serves to renew our sense of Jewish identity.
Chanukah celebrates the victory of the Maccabee family (a family of Kohanim who served in the Beit HaMikdash) against the Syrian Greeks. It was a physical as well as spiritual war fought against a perverse culture which had four main targets in mind. The first target was the Beit HaMikdash -- to change it from the House of HaShem into a Greek temple, complete with total idolatry and the worst kind of immorality. The three other targets were:
One may ask: do the last three have any connection with the
Beit HaMikdash itself? The answer is: definitely yes! Let us start with
Shabbat. The verse "My Shabbatot (sabbaths) you
shall observe and My Sanctuary you shall revere"
which appears twice in the Torah (Vayikra
Shemot (Exodus) 12:43-48
And the HaShem said unto Moses and Aaron, This [is] the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: But
every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him,
then shall he eat thereof. A foreigner and an hired
servant shall not eat thereof. In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not
carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break
a bone thereof. All the congregation of
Concerning the proclaiming of the new
moon, it was done by the Sanhedrin of 71 sages who sat in a special
chamber, the chamber of hewn stone, half in and half out of the Beit HaMikdash, the
The Four Exiles
Our Sages teach that the Jewish People will experience four
exiles. The second verse of creation says, "And the land was desolate and
void and darkness was on the face of the deep." The Midrash
says these four expressions, desolate, void, darkness and deep, correspond to
the four kingdoms which exiled
The opening verse of Bamidbar (Numbers) 33 alludes to all of the major exiles that Bnei Israel were destined to undergo in their history: The initial letters of "Eleh masei Bnei Yisrael" / "These are the journeys of Bnei Israel" allude to the four exiles of the Jewish people: alef-Edom (Rome - our current exile); mem-Madai (Persia); beit-Bavel (Babylon); and yud-Yavan (Greece).
Four Chanukahs
The festival that we call Chanukah is really the fourth Chanukah. The word Chanukah means dedication.
The first of the three previous dedications was in the desert when Moshe dedicated the Mishkan, the Tent of Meeting. The components of the Mishkan were really completed by the 25th of Kislev (which is Chanukah). However the Mishkan was not to be set up until the month of Nisan. Since the month of Nisan was the month that Yitzchak Abinu was born. For he was the greatest role model in history of someone willing to sacrifice himself to HaShem. The Bet HaMikdash, which was a place of sacrifice from abroad, needed to be put up in his month. To show that ultimately a human being should sacrifice his whole life to HaShem, not just the sacrifice of animals and birds. In honor of the almost human sacrifice, his month was the perfect time to set up the Bet HaMikdash.
The second Chanukah was the dedication of the First Beit HaMikdash.
The third Chanukah is the subject of the Haftorah for the first Shabbat during Chanukah, Zechariah 2:14 - 4:7. It refers to the times of the Second Beit HaMikdash and the inauguration of the Menorah at the time of Yehoshua the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, and the nation's leader, Zerubavel, who is referred to in "Maoz Tsur," the traditional Chanukah song (we will look at this song later in this study).
Chanukah celebrates two miracles: The
victory of the Jews over their Syrian-Greek persecutors and the ability of one
small flask of oil to remain lit in the Menorah in the
Chanukah is the only feast, which runs for over a week; the only other feast, which comes close, is Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles. In fact, the celebration of Chanukah was a belated celebration of Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles, which the Maccabees had missed due to their fight with the Syrians. It is also the only feast to span two different months. It seems to need to draw influence from two zodiac signs to make itself happen. These anomalies serve to highlight a basic distinction between Chanukah and all other holidays. On Pesach, the Feast of Passover, we are not celebrating miracles, even as we relate them; the holiday commemorates freedom. Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, commemorates the giving of the Torah, Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets, is the Day of Judgment and HaShem's kingship, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and Succoth celebrates the presence of HaShem and His providence. The miracles associated with those events served as means to achieve a goal, but the holiday celebrates the goal itself, the spiritual state, which is a permanent and necessary component of the existence of HaShem's people. The Torah defines for us the crucial stages of HaShem's people: you must experience freedom, you must experience Torah, you must experience majesty, judgment and repentance, and you must experience HaShem's presence.
Chanukah, as the Sages define it, celebrates the event of the miracle itself, the bare fact that a small cruse of oil kept burning. As various commentators have pointed out, the net result of this miracle was not particularly significant, the menorah could have been lit with impure oil if no pure oil were available, and, in any event, after eight days, the menorah would have been lit, one way or another. In other words, this holiday celebrates the process, the means, the fact that HaShem performs miracles and that that is the background to the existence of HaShem's people, rather than a particular state or result. The eighth day forces us to concentrate on that point, forces us to continue Chanukah beyond a natural cycle.
There is a month of freedom, Nisan, which is defined by Pesach; there is a month of High Holy days. There is no month of Chanukah.
There is, however, a connection to agricultural cycle as there is with the other festivals. One of the special laws of the shmita (the seventh year) year is the prohibition of grains and vegetables which were not planted in the seventh year but rather grew by themselves after the sixth year. For most produce, the prohibition of grains and vegetables extends until Chanukah[1]. In the time of the Beit HaMikdash, Chanukah was also the latest date for bringing bikkurim, the firstfruits[2].
So, as you light all eight candles on Chanukah, remember one more theme of Chanukah. As we practice it, each day, the miracle is measured in the relative increase compared to the previous day, more light, brighter light, in the continued process of learning and its deepening. The eighth day, the extra day, when every candle is lit, carries over to the entire year.[3] This reflects the difference between the bulls offered during the festival of Succoth, which parallel the seventy nations of the world,[4] which are reduced in number each day,[5] and the approach of holiness, which as reflected in the number of Chanukah candles we light every night, follows a pattern of continual increase.[6]
Chanukah begins on Kislev 25 and ends on Tevet 2 or 3 depending on whether Kislev has 29 or 30 days. Chanukah always lasts for exactly eight days.
Dates for Chanukah:
5770: Begins sundown on December 12, 2009
5771: Begins sundown on December 02, 2010
5772: Begins sundown on December 21, 2011
Chanukah is celebrated for eight days because that was how long it took to rebuild and recreate the altar Additionally, this is how long it took to prepare the oil.
Now, what is interesting is that the dedication of the altar in the Mishkan (The Tabernacle) and the dedication of the altar in the Beit HaMikdash both took seven days! This suggests that there is something very unique about the Chanukah altar that alludes to a time beyond all time, a time that transcends this world.
* * *
There seems to be a “missing festival” at the time of Chanukah. After all, the other three tekufot (equinoxes and solstice) have festivals – why not the winter solstice? And the other demarcators of the agricultural year have holidays: beginning and end of the crop harvest (Pesach and Succoth) and beginning of fruit harvest (Shavuot); why not the end of the fruit harvest, Chanukah, when the last olives are gathered and can be brought as bikkurim?
The word Chanukah means dedication (referring either to the rededication of the altar and the Temple by the Chashmonaim or to the dedication of the Temple on the same date years earlier, by Haggai the prophet, or to the date the Mishkan in the desert had been completed) and comes from a root word which means to educate[7]. Note that all three events took place on Kislev 25.
Chanukah can also mean: Chanu - They rested, kah - on the twenty-fifth, according to the Abudraham in Seder Tefilot Chanukah. In addition, the Abudraham says, the word Chanukah stands for “eight lights, and the ruling is according to the opinion of Beit Hillel”, that we increase the number of chanukiya each night).
Chanukah is also called:
1. Feast of Dedication
2. The Feast of Lights (Hag HaNeroth)
3. The Feast of the Maccabees
Hannukah,
Hanukkah, Chanukah
One of the great Jewish arguments of all times is - "How do you spell "Chanukah" in English?" Chanukah is a Hebrew word spelled: vfbj. This is the correct spelling! The English spelling is derived from the sounds that the Hebrew letters make. So, how we spell it, in English, depends on what English characters we think should be used to represent the Hebrew sound of the word. But all of the variant spellings listed above have eight letters, and we need eight letters, one for each of the eight days. There are several other variants that do not use eight characters:
Hanuka
Hannuka
Hanukah
Hannukah
Chanukah
Channuka
Chanukah is an observance commemorating the rededication
(164 BC) of the Second Temple of Jerusalem after its
desecration three years earlier by order of Antiochus
IV Epiphanes; the Syrian king was thus frustrated in his attempt to extirpate
the Jewish faith. Though modern
The Talmud[9] emphasizes primarily the spiritual aspect of the Chanukah miracles. Our Sages ask: What is Chanukah? Meaning, for which miracle was the holiday instituted?[10]
Their answer recounts the episode of the Menorah without elaborating on the military victory over the Greeks. Although the miracle of the Menorah could not have taken place without the military victory, the victory itself does not define Chanukah.
Chanukah is a holiday of spiritual light; even the war against the Greeks was essentially spiritual, since it was a struggle to preserve the Torah heritage from the taint of secular influence. This is why the prayer beginning VeAl HaNissim, which expresses thanks to HaShem for the military victory, does not mention the spiritual miracle of the Menorah, for the latter eclipses it and is deserving of separate mention.[11]
There is thus a separate means of commemoration for each of these two miracles. The Rambam describes the Chanukah miracle as follows:[12]
1. In [the era of] the Second Beit
HaMikdash (Literally House of The Holy One, the second
2. When the Jews overcame their enemies and destroyed them, they entered the Sanctuary. They could not find any pure oil in the Sanctuary, except for a single cruse. It contained enough oil to burn for only one day. They lit the lamps with it for eight days until they could crush olives and produce pure oil.
As may be seen from the wording of the Rambam, there are two miracles: the military victory in which HaShem delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, and the many into the hands of the few,[13] and the miracle through which the oil in Menorah burned for eight days, rather than one.
Relating to the Material
and the Spiritual
The Rambam concludes[14] that, in commemoration of these miracles, our Sages instituted the observance of the eight days of Chanukah as "days of happiness and praise [to HaShem]," on which "lights should be kindled in the evening." The commentaries on the Rambam[15] infer that "happiness and praise" represent two different modes of commemorating the miracles: "happiness" refers to the custom of holding celebratory feasts[16] during Chanukah, and "praise" refers to the recitation of the Hallel.[17]
Since the military victory was material, it is celebrated physically, through eating and drinking; the miracle of the Menorah was spiritual and therefore, it is commemorated through spiritual activities, kindling lights and reciting the Hallel.[18] Light is the most spiritual element in our material world; though visible, it is not governed by the conventional laws of physical matter.[19] The spiritual aspect of the victory over the Greeks therefore found expression in the miracle of the lights of the Menorah of the Beit HaMikdash, and we commemorate this miracle by lighting Chanukah candles every year.
Throughout the ages, Chanukah has signified the miraculous triumph of the weak over the strong, the pure over the impure, the righteous over the wicked. Whenever the integrity of the Jewish people is under siege, no matter how dark the night, the Chanukah lights proclaim with confidence that the dawn of deliverance is near.
The number Eight[20]:
Eight is a significant number. Since seven represents the days of the week and, thus, the natural order, eight represents the supernatural or metaphysical. Accordingly, the brit milah (the covenant of circumcision), whose significance is the metaphysical modification of our physical nature, occurs on the eighth day. The Torah is given after completion of seven weeks following the exodus from Egypt, because it represents the metaphysical covenant with Israel. The High Priest changes garments eight times on Yom HaKippurim in his attempt to transcend the physical.
Not surprisingly, therefore, the oil which should have lasted one day in the Chanukah miracle lasted for eight. HaShem's message was that the military victory should not be explained in material, political or in other physical terms. The number eight points to the intervention of the supernatural. It reminds us that the invisible hand of HaShem is at work in all human enterprises, no matter how mundane.
The Chanukiyah is a nine-branched candelabrum used by Jews during the eight-day festival of Chanukah. It has taken many forms throughout the ages, but its essential feature has always been eight receptacles for oil or candles (one lit the first day, two the second, etc.) and a further receptacle for the shamash ("servant") light, which is set apart and used for kindling the other lights in Ashkenazim households. The shamash is not used in Sefardi households.
Bereshit
(Genesis) 32:22-31 And he rose up
that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the
brook, and sent over that he had. And Jacob was
left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his
thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with
him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let
thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What [is] thy name? And he
said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and
with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked [him], and said, Tell [me], I
pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore [is] it [that] thou dost ask after
my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place
Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he
passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
After Jacob and his family had crossed the river Yabok,
Jacob returned alone to see if he had forgotten anything. He found that
he had left some small containers of oil. Why did he bother to risk his
life (he was by himself) for such seemingly insignificant pots of oil? We
are told that a tzaddik values the smallest of his possessions and would not
let anything go to waste, as each of his belongings has been acquired
honestly. Indeed, there is an opinion that these containers were the pots
of oil that lasted for eight days, that comprised the miracle of Chanuka in the
THE HISTORY OF CHANUKAH
Under Syrian Rule[21]
It was in the time of the
The Jewish people had returned to the
The Talmud relates that when Alexander the Great and his conquering legions advanced upon Jerusalem, they were met by a delegation of elders, led by the High Priest Shimon HaTzaddik. When Alexander saw Shimon approaching, he dismounted and prostrated himself before the Jewish Sage.
To his astonished men, Alexander explained that each time he went into battle, he would see a vision in the likeness of this High Priest leading the Greek troops to victory.
In gratitude, and out of profound respect for the spiritual power of the Jews, Alexander was a kind and
generous ruler. He canceled the Jewish taxes during Sabbatical
years, and even offered animals to be sacrificed on his behalf in the
Unfortunately, history would show that Alexander's heirs failed to sustain his benevolence.
Though at first, the rule of the Seleucids was rather benign, there soon arose a new king, Antiochus IV, who was to wage a bloody war upon the Jews, a war which would threaten not just their physical lives, but also their very spiritual existence.
Over the years of Greek domination, many Jews had begun to embrace the Greek culture and its hedonistic, pagan way of life. These Jewish Hellenists became willing pawns in Antiochus's scheme to obliterate every trace of the Jewish religion. The Temple was invaded, desecrated, and looted of all its treasures. Vast numbers of innocent people were massacred, and the survivors were heavily taxed. Antiochus placed an idol of Zeus on the holy altar, and forced the Jews to bow before it under penalty of death. And he forbade the Jewish people to observe their most sacred traditions, such as the Sabbath and the rite of circumcision.
Antiochus went so far as to proclaim himself HaShem, taking the name "Antiochus Epiphanies" - the Divine. But even his own followers mocked him as "Antiochus Epimanes" - the madman.
Jason and Menelaus
His Hebrew name was Joshua. But he
changed his name, as did many among the Hellenists, to Jason. And he offered
King Antiochus a generous bribe to depose the High Priest and appoint him to
the coveted position. It was the beginning of the end to the integrity of the
The "High Priest" Jason erected a gymnasium near
the
Jason then amassed an army and attacked Menelaus in the
In every city and town, altars were erected with statues of the Greek gods and goddesses. Soldiers rounded up the Jews and forcibly compelled them to make offerings, and to engage in other immoral acts customary to the Greeks. As Antiochus's troops tightened their grip on the nation, the Jews seemed incapable of resistance.
It was in the small
The army of Mattityahu, now under the command of his son Yehuda Maccabee, grew daily in numbers and in strength. With the Biblical slogan, "Who is like You among the mighty ones, O HaShem?" emblazoned on their shields, they would swoop down upon the Syrian troops under cover of darkness and scatter the oppressors, then return to their encampments in the hills. Only six thousand strong, they defeated a heavily armed battalion of forty-seven thousand Syrians.
Enraged, Antiochus sent an even larger army against them,
and in the miraculous, decisive battle at Bet Tzur, the Jewish forces emerged
victorious. From there, they proceeded on to
A central part of the daily service in the
Undaunted, in joy and
thanksgiving, the Maccabees lit the lamps of the menorah with the small amount
of oil, and dedicated the Temple anew. And miraculously, as if in confirmation
of the power of their faith, the oil did not burn out, and the flames shone
brightly for eight full days. The following year, our
Sages officially proclaimed the festival of Chanukah as a celebration lasting
eight days, in perpetual commemoration of this victory over religious
persecution.
The essentials of Chanukah are given to us in the books of
the Maccabees:
1 Maccabees 4:36-59 But Judah
and his brothers said, "Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go
up to
Then
Then early on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, the month Kislev, in the year [164 BCE] sacrifice was offered as the law commands on the newly made altar of burnt-offering. On the anniversary of the day when the Gentiles had profaned it, on that very day, it was rededicated, with hymns of thanksgiving, to the music of harps and lutes and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves, worshipping and praising Heaven that their cause had prospered.
They celebrated the rededication of the
altar for eight days. There was great rejoicing as
they brought burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings and thank
offerings. They decorated the front of the
Then Judah, his brothers, and the whole congregation of Israel decreed that the rededication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness at the same season each year, for eight days, beginning on the twenty-fifth of Kislev.
II Maccabees 10:1-8 Maccabaeus
with his men, led by the Lord, recovered the
The following passage is from the work of Josephus, a Jewish general of the 1st century CE, who deserted to the Romans and wrote the definitive history of the Jewish people:
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews,
Book 12, 6:7 Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of the
sacrifices of the temple for eight days; and omitted no sort of pleasures
hereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid sacrificed; and he
honored HaShem, and delighted them, by hymns and
psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs when after
a long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had regained the freedom of their worship, that they made it law for
their posterity, that they should keep a festival
on account of the restoration of their temple worship for eight days. And from
that time to this we celebrate this festival and call it Lights. I suppose the
reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that
thence was the name given to that festival. Judas also rebuilt the wall round
about the city, and reared towers of great height
against the incursions of enemies, and set guards therein. He also fortified
the city of
Dates:
To help understand a bit of the time frame for these Chanukah events, it is usefull to look at the essential events that led up to this time of great miracles:
333 BCE Alexander the Great conquers Eretz Israel.
175 BCE Antiochus Epiphanes comes to power.
168 BCE Antiochus Epiphanes in Jerusalem; desecration of the Temple; Antiochus' edicts Mattityahu the Hasmonean leads the revolt against the Greeks.
164 BCE Judah Maccabee enters the
160 BCE Death of
152 BCE Jonathan the Hasmonean leads the people.
142 BCE Shimon the Hasmonean becomes ruler and High Priest.
135 BCE Jonathan Hyrcanus (son of Shimon) - ruler and High Priest.
103 BCE Alexander Yannai is king and High Priest.
76 BCE Salome Alexandra (Shlomzion - Yannai's wife) comes to the throne.
67 BCE Civil war for control of Judea; Pompey, the
Roman commander, conquers
37 BCE Death of Antigonus, last of the Hasmonean kings
Daniel the Prophet spoke of the desecration of the Beit HaMikdash in a way that suggests the events of Chanukah:
Daniel 11:29-32
"At the appointed time he will invade the South
again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before.
Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then
he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant.
He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. "His armed forces will rise up to
desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they
will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will
corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know HaShem will firmly resist him.
This sounds a lot like what Antiochus Epiphanies did. Although it is obvious that Antiochus did not completely fulfill this prophecy. Perhaps he was a 'type' of the coming anti-Mashiach. We know that the events of Chanukah did not the fullfill Daniel’s prophesy because of what His Majesty King Yeshua said:
Matityahu (Matthew) 24:15-25
"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes
desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand--
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof
of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field
go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant
women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in
winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be
great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never
to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would
survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Mashiach!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For
false Mashiachs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and
miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. See, I have told you
ahead of time.
I have noticed that HaShem has ‘appointed’ days for certain events. I wonder if the above passage will be fulfilled on Chanukah:
The second Temple was desecrated
by Antiochus Epiphanies on Kislev 25, on the date
when Chanukah begins, according to the historical record in Maccabees. I would
also bet that the anti-Mashiach will desecrate the future
* * *
In Bereshit Rabbah the expression “miketz yamim” (at the end of some days) which describes when Cain murdered Abel is understood to refer specifically to Chanukah![22] So this terminology also hints at a festival-like status for Chanukah.
* * *
One of its outstanding features of Chanukah is that it was the last holiday to be established in the Jewish calendar. As such, it completed the cycle of dates and times that would last until the end of days ("at the end of days" meaning just prior to the messianic era.). As we say in Maoz Tzur - "az egmor b'shir mizmor chanukat ha-mizbeiach" - thus I will conclude with a song about the dedication of the altar. In other words, the dedication done by the Hasmoneans would be the final piece in the bridge that would connect Jewish history to the end of days. With Chanukah, the path connecting the past to the future was completed.
* * *
The days of Chanukah, with its root chinuch are days of education of messianic times. A time of redemption and restoration.
The word Mikeitz, the annual Torah portion read during Chanukah, hints to the keitz (end) of Golut (the exile), and to the end of days, the keitz (ultimate time) of the Redemption!
* * *
The Persian dream of succeeding where others failed will recur at the great trial at the end of days, as described by our Sages (Avodah Zarah 2b).
* * *
The Name Maccabee:[23]
There are several versions of the meaning of the name “Maccabee”. When spelled:
MA-KAW-BEE
it
means MALLET or HAMMER and refers to the hammer-like blows that
MAC-BEE
it means EXTINGUISHED or VANQUISHED. It was also an acrostic for the first letters of the verse in Exodus 15:11, which read:
MI
CHAMOCHA BAELIM ADONAI -
WHO
IS LIKE UNTO THEE, HaShem, AMONG THE MIGHTY.
These words were also used as
This phrase is part of the synagogue
service today.
Where in the Tanach is the miracle of Chanukah alluded? Actually, why ask such a question? The Midrashic Sages, Kabbalists, and Rabbinic Authorities have dealt extensively with this question. We know that nothing in Jewish history happens haphazardly, there must be a connection in the Torah. Every letter of the Torah represents a number as well as the letter and by using associations even vague or obscure references can be derived. The following is the result of investigations into the Miracle of Chanukah and Post Chanukah in the Tanach:
In Vayikra (Leviticus) 23 the Torah mentions all the festivals of the year; Shabbat
(Sabbath), Pesach (Passover), Shavuot
(Feast of Weeks), Rosh HaShanah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom HaKippurim (Day of Atonement),
and Succoth (Feast of Tabernacles). This section
concludes with "thus Moshe declared to the children of
Vayikra (Leviticus) 24:1-4
HaShem said to Moses, "Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of
pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually.
Outside the curtain of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting,
Aaron is to tend the lamps before HaShem from evening till morning,
continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations
to come. The lamps on the pure gold lampstand before HaShem must be tended
continually.
Here we have an allusion to Chanukah, hundreds of years before the Maccabees! Also notice that Succoth is EIGHT days long (with Shemini Atzeret), so too is Chanukah. Why don't we add an extra day in the Diaspora? Because the festival is of Rabbinic ordinance the Authorities did not want to add an extra day. Furthermore, in Vayikra 24:4, we encounter the phrase ".. to cause the light to burn", followed by the phrase "... he shall prepare the lights". The singular followed by the plural teaches us that we light one light on the first day and on subsequent days we light one more.
The twelfth rule of Ishmael tells us that we can understand one passage by understanding the passages that come before it and after it. Thus we understand that Vayikra 24 is related, and explains Vayikra 23.
Rav Yitzchak Goldwasser (in his "Shir u'Renanim," Bnei Brak 1997), among others, suggests that it is indeed appropriate for HaShem to have demonstrated His presence in the Jewish salvation through a miracle that involved the incessant burning of the Menorah. The Gemara tells us that when HaShem was pleased with the actions of His nation, one of the seven lamps of the Menorah would miraculously burn for twenty-four hours, instead of the normal twelve hours, in order to demonstrate that HaShem's Divine Presence dwelled among His people. The fire of the Menorah would make clear to all that the figurative "fire of HaShem" ("HaShem your G-d is a burning fire" – Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:24; Ketubot 111b) rested with His people. Similarly, the incessant burning of the Menorah after the victory against the Greeks was meant to demonstrate that HaShem's presence, that dwelled with the Jews, brought about the victory.
We may add our own insight to that observation. When Moshe was sent to free the Jews from their Egyptian bondage, HaShem appeared to him in a fire that was seen to burn without using up its supply of fuel (i.e., without devouring the bush in which it raged). According to the Midrash (Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer #40), this was meant to symbolize that "the wicked will not extinguish the flames of the righteous, which are their fear of heaven and their good deeds." Similarly, the flame of the burning Menorah demonstrated that HaShem did not let the righteous, who defied the Greek idolaters' evil decrees, succumb to the evildoers in battle.
It is interesting to note that, as pointed out in "Nifla'os mi'Toratecha" (Rav Mordechai Aran, 1997), in the incident of the burning bush the Torah tells us, "HaShem saw that Moshe turned to see [the marvel of the bush], and He called out to him from the bush: and said Ki Sar Lir'ot, Vayikra (Shemot 3:4). These four words provide the only incidence in the Torah of consecutive words which spell, by acronym, the word, "Kislev," or the name of the month in which the Chanukah miracle took place!
The twenty-fifth word of the Torah is:
Bereshit (Genesis) 1:1-3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of
the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said,
"Let there be light," and there was light.
Light, the Hebrew word ohr, is the 25th word in the Torah. This alludes to Kislev 25 when the events of Chanukah took place. In fact, in the beginning of creation, when HaShem first shone the holy, supernal light onto creation, He said, "Yehi Ohr," which translates as, "Let there be light." However, the word "yehi" can be understand literally "let there be," or as a gematria (i.e., it can be translated into its numerical value: yud, heh, yud, or 10+5+10), which is exactly! Twenty-five!
The light created by HaShem on the first day of Creation was not the light of the sun, moon or stars; those heavenly bodies were not created until the fourth day.
The light of the first day was a spiritual light, hidden when Adam and Eve sinned and which will be revealed for eternity in the Messianic Era. Within each Jew is a spark of this holy and eternal light, which will ultimately be fully revealed within each of us, with the imminent revelation of Mashiach.
We find yet another allusion to Chanukah in the Torah:
Bereshit (Genesis) 46:29
Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to
This place,
Now, let's look at an insight from Rabbi Daniel Lapin:
... The Talmud says the following: HaShem made this light - a certain type of light. It was too penetrating. So He only let it last for thirty-six hours. And after thirty-six hours He took it away and hid it for sometime in the future that has not yet come. And He replaced it with a weaker merely physical aspect of that light. But that as long as that light was there, for those thirty-six hours, Adam by means of that light was able to see from one end of the world to the other, and from the beginning of time to the end of time. So that light was the light of total understanding. Isn't that what light signifies? The Talmud says anytime that the word "light" is used anyway in the Torah or Rabbinic text, that "light" always means knowledge and wisdom and understanding.
* * *
Parshas Vayaishev
The Page Of Enlightenment
By Rabbi Pinchas Winston
Ya'akov settled in the land of the sojournings of his
fathers in the
This year, 5761, has already been a special year as far as the holidays are concerned, with many falling on Shabbos (double-holiness), and, now, with Chanukah spanning two Shabbasos. That's a lot of extra holiness and light to be gained for the spiritual opportunist.
These parshios are full of hints to the holiday of Chanukah, though they occurred long before there was even a Jewish people to leave a Greek exile. However, even history yet to be lived out, including Mashiach's arrival, is in the Torah as well, for, as the Midrash explains, the Torah is the blueprint for creation, and therefore, all of history, every last detail of it, by definition, must be there on some level.
For example, Yosef "goes out" from Ya'akov at the age of seventeen years of age, just like a flame is supposed to do, as Rashi re-quotes again in parshah Vayyeshev. Now, seventeen is a special number in Kabbalah, because, it is the gematria of the word "tov," which, of course means "good."
But, more importantly, it is the word used to describe the creation of light on the first day of creation, the First Light, the Primordial Light -- the Ohr HaGanuz -- the "Hidden Light" of creation. This light, says the Talmud Yerushalmi (Berachot 8:5), shone for Adam HaRishon, erev Shabbat on Day Six and Shabbat itself, at total of thirty-six hours altogether -- the number of candles we light over the course of the eight days of Chanukah (not including the Shamashim, which are not really part of the mitzvah). The word "light" appears in the Torah thirty-six times (Rokeach).
Even in "Mispar Katan," a form of gematria that pursues the "root" of an idea by reducing a gematria to a number less than ten, for example, 17 = 1 + 7 = 8. Eight, as we have already said is the number of days it takes to light all thirty-six candles, and, as is well known, is a number that symbolizes the supernatural, and, the day of Bris Milah -- which Yosef symbolized. As well, it is pointed out, the "tes" of "tov" has four tagim (crowns) upon it (in a Sefer Torah), and when multiplied by the numerical value of the tes itself (nine) yields the number thirty-six.
Yosef is a flame alright -- a Chanukah flame!
Then there is this unusually long Rashi on the first posuk of the parshah:
AND YA'AKOV SETTLED: A certain flax-seller brought camels laden with flax (into the city), and, a blacksmith wondered (out loud), "Where will he put all that flax?" A wise guy answered, "One spark from your bellow will burn all of it up!" Thus, Yaaqov saw all the chieftains (of Eisav) mentioned previously (in Chapter THIRTY-SIX), and wondered, "Who can conquer all of them?" What is written after? "There are the generations of Yaaqov: Yosef," and it is written, "The House of Yaaqov will be fire, the House of Yosef will be a flame, and, the House of Eisav will be straw." (Ovadiah 1:18): a spark will go out from Yosef and burn them all up! (Rashi)
Is Rashi's parable original? Perhaps not completely, for, we find a similar case in a Mishnah:
Bava Kamma 62b If a camel laden with flax pushed into the doorway of a store and
caught fire from the storekeeper's candle, burning down the entire building,
the camel owner is responsible. However, if the storekeeper left his candle
outside, the storekeeper is culpable. Rav Yehudah says: If it was a Chanukah
Candle, he is not responsible.
Why such a strong connection between these parshios, and Chanukah specifically? And, what is it about Yosef that makes him a living example of the light of the Chanukiah, which, in itself, is an expression of the Hidden Light of creation, as it says:
The Original Light of creation was hidden in the thirty-six candles of Chanukah. (B'nei Yissachar)
Because, Yosef HaTzaddik, as his name implies, was about Jewish identity, and so is the story of Chanukah. It was only one parshah ago that Yaaqov entered the "darkness" of exile and fought with the Angel of Eisav, who embodied all the ideals of an Eisavian way of life. After a long, bitter struggle, Yaaqov emerged as "Israel," the namesake of the truly fulfilled and completed Jew.
Israel is not merely a name, it is a title, and a blessing, something to be achieved, and therefore, something that can be lost as well. This is why unlike Avraham, Yaaqov can be called either Yaaqov or Israel. When a descendant of Yaaqov acts like the twin brother of Eisav -- mimicking his behavior and idolizing his ideals -- then he is, at best, a Yaaqov, and, at worst, an Eisav.
However, when a Jew maintains his Torah integrity and godly-identity, then, he is, at least, a Yisroel, and at most whatever spiritually-elevated level of greatness he is able to achieve. The sky's the limit for such a Jew, and even higher for that matter. Then a person emanates the Divinely-cherished light of creation, which burns from within our Ner Chanukah.
That is the light of the tzaddik, of Yosef HaTzaddik, which went out in this week's parshah, via the city of Shechem, and burned so brilliantly within the darkness of Egyptian exile.
* * *
On Chanukah we light one candle the first night, two the second night, etc., thus:
Candles:
1
12
123
1234
12345
123456
1234567
12345678
A total of thirty-six
candles!
Remember that we do not "use" the Chanukah light. This is a reminder that this is not physical light.
Current mazal (frozen at about
the time the
7198 qesheth, keh'-sheth; from 7185 in the orig. sense (of 6983) of bending; a bow, for shooting (hence fig. strength) or the iris:-X arch (-er), + arrow, bow ([-man, -shot]).
The Torah translates it as:
Bereshit (Genesis)
Water and light are both metaphors for wisdom. So, the rainbow fits well with Chanukah.
The tribe associated with the third month was Levi from:
Bereshit (Genesis) 49:1-7
Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you
in days to come. "Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your
father Israel. "Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in
power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto
your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it. "Simeon and Levi are
brothers--their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and
hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their
fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in
Levi was the third born and the third to be blessed by Yaacov.
So, which tribe is associated with the events of Chanukah?
(hint: Maccabees). The Maccabean kings were all descended from Levi. Some have
speculated that the reason that they did not endure is due to the fact that the
Torah indicates that the descendents of
Notice the name of the twenty-fifth
camp of the Israelites after leaving
Bamidbar (Numbers) 33:1
Here are the stages in the journey of the
children of the one who will rule as God (Israelites) when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of the
one who was drawn out of the water (Moses) and the enlightened one (Aaron). At HaShem's command the one who was drawn out of water
(Moses) recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 33:29
They left the place of sweetness (Mithcah) and camped at the fruitfulness place
(Hashmonah camp #25).
The 25th place where they encamped was Hashmonah. Mattityahu, the head of the Hasmonean family which led the revolt against the Greeks, was from Hashmonah, therefore, he was called the Hasmonean.
The Sanctuary in the desert was
completed on the 25th of Kislev, eight months after
the Exodus from Egypt. But it was not dedicated
until three months later. Jewish teachings explain
that the 25th of Kislev was set aside for the future rededication of the
Chanukah is called the Festival of Lights, 'Hag Urim' by the great historian Josephus:
Antiquities of the Jews - Book XII 7:7.
Now Judas celebrated the festival of the
restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for eight days, and omitted no sort
of pleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid
sacrifices; and he honored God, and delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of
their customs, when, after a long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had
regained the freedom of their worship, that they
made it a law for their posterity, that they should keep
a festival, on account of the restoration of their temple worship, for eight
days. And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it
Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes
appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival. Judas also
rebuilt the walls round about the city, and reared
towers of great height against the incursions of enemies, and set guards
therein. He also fortified the city Bethsura, that it might serve as a citadel
against any distresses that might come from our enemies.
One of the most fundamental reasons for this appellation is a Talmudic passage about Adam, the very first human being:
Avodah Zarah 8a Said
R. Hanan b. Raba: KALENDA is kept on the eight days following the [winter] equinox. SATURNALIA on the eight days preceding the
equinox. As a mnemonic take the verse, Thou hast beset me behind and before.
Our Rabbis taught: When primitive
Adam saw the day getting gradually shorter, he said, ‘Woe is me, perhaps
because I have sinned, the world around me is being
darkened and returning to its state of chaos and confusion; this then is the
kind of death to which I have been sentenced from Heaven!’ So he began keeping
an eight days’ fast. But as he observed the winter equinox and noted the day
getting increasingly longer, he said, ‘This is the world's
course’, and he set forth to keep an eight days’ festivity. In the following
year he appointed both as festivals. Now, he fixed
them for the sake of Heaven, but the [heathens] appointed them for the sake of
idolatry.
On the Shabbat during Chanukah, in the annual cycle, we usually read the Torah portion of Miketz.
The Torah portion Miketz almost always falls during the week of Chanukah. In some years it is read after the end of the festival.
For Miketz to fall after Chanukah, three events have to coincide: Yom Teruah must fall on a Shabbat, and both the months of Cheshvan and Kislev must have only 29 days instead of 30.
There is obviously a very strong link between the portion of Miketz and Chanukah.
In Miketz, Yosef rises to power in
Our Sages have often compared the Jewish people, the Ben Ish Chai writes, to grape vines. One reason for this is that the people, as vines, are weak and delicate. However, just as the weak vines produce sumptuous fruit, so too does the Israelite nation bear fruit, in their performance of mitzvot (commandments) and study of the Torah. The three vine branches described in the butler's dream represent the three ingredients necessary to properly carry out HaShem's dictates contained in the Torah. One must have his thought, his speech, and his actions dedicated to the service of HaShem. If any one of these three elements is lacking, so too will a person's devotion to HaShem.
This theme is reiterated in:
Yochanan (John) 15:1-8
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every
branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are
already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I
will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the
vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine;
you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much
fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is
like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up,
thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me
and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to
be my disciples.
The threefold significance of the vine holds true for another item as well. Our Sages compare the performance of mitzvot to a lamp. Why a lamp? In order for a lamp to function properly, it needs three components: the lamp itself, fuel, and a wick. Similarly, as we said, to perform a mitzva properly, one's thoughts, speech, and actions all have to be directed toward this goal. Our lighting of the menorah on Chanukah serves to remind us of this lesson. When we light the menorah, we recall the miracle that happened in the Temple: only one small flask of pure oil was found, and it miraculously sufficed to keep the menorah lit for eight days. Why did a miracle occur through the menorah? HaShem was sending the people of the time a message. HaShem was telling them that they merited the miracle because their service of HaShem was complete. They dedicated every fiber of their being to the proper service of HaShem. The menorah, a lamp, signified this total dedication.
In order to appreciate the nature of the Chanukah miracle,
we should examine other, similar miracles. Let us begin with the first
The parasha of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle in the wilderness) does not conclude with the finishing touches to the construction of the edifice and its vessels, nor even with the commencement of the sacrifices during the seven days of dedication. The whole enterprise peaks on the eighth day,
Vayikra (Leviticus) 9:4
"for today God is revealed to you".
Without this eighth day, the entire construction of the Mishkan is meaningless:
"For all seven days of dedication ... the Shekhinah did not rest there, and benei Yisrael (Sons of Israel) were saddened and said to Moshe, 'Moshe Rabbeinu, all the labor that we performed [was] in order that the Shekhinah should dwell amongst us..." (Rashi).
Even after Benei Yisrael had completed all the preparations as commanded, the Mishkan remained an empty shell until the moment of revelation:
Vayikra (Leviticus)
Correspondingly, we find in the case of the first Temple:
II Divre Hayamim (Chronicles) 7:1-3
"And when Shlomo had finished his prayer,
the fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt
offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of God filled the House ... and all of Benei Yisrael saw the descent of
the fire and the glory of God upon the House, and they prostrated themselves
upon the floor, and bowed and thanked God for He is good, for His mercy is
forever".
So long as HaShem's glory is
revealed in the
Eichah (Lamentations)
Strangers enter the
Eichah (Lamentations)
How remote is the era of the destruction from that eighth
day when Aaron's sons were punished! HaShem's glory, which was once manifest so
clearly, is perceptible no longer. For this reason, when the nation returned
from
In the book of Maccabees we read as follows:
II Maccabees 2:1 "And now that our hearts desire to celebrate the day of the rededication of the altar ... you shall celebrate it, like the day upon which Nehemiah found the holy fire when he returned to build the Temple ... For when our fathers were exiled, the holy Kohanim secretly took the fire and hid it ... and it came to pass after many days that the king sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem ... they could not find the fire, and found only freezing water instead ... and it happened that when they offered God's sacrifice, he commanded them to sprinkle some of the water on the wood and on the sacrifice which was upon the altar, and they did so. When they had finished, and the sun shone upon the earth and the clouds were scattered, behold a heavenly fire ignited the sacrifice, and the entire nation surrounding it was astonished, and the Kohanim and all the nation fell upon their faces ... and the Kohanim sang praise and thanks to God."
Aside from this miracle which took place at the time of the
rededication of the
Shabbat
22b "It was testimony to the
entire world that the Shekhinah rested with Israel.
What was this testimony? Rav said: This refers to the western lamp (the
western-most light of the menorah in the Temple),
which received the same amount of oil as all the other lamps, and from which
the kohen would light the others, and it lasted the
longest."
According to the Gemara, in Yoma
39a, this miracle occurred even during the period of the
In all of the above cases, the significance of the miracle
is that it bears testimony to the fact that the Shekhinah dwells amongst
Thus the miracle, which follows the construction of the
"and I shall dwell amongst them."
It is only through this miracle which testifies that the
Shekhinah dwells amongst
"Let them make Me a
At the beginning of the period of the second
When HaShem took pity on His
nation and the Chashmonaim prevailed, they purified the
In light of the above it becomes clear that although the actual event which was celebrated was the rededication of the altar, our Sages understood that the significance of this rededication rested on the miracle of the cruse of oil. This miracle returned the glory of the nation to its stature from the days of Shimon Ha-Tzaddik. In the words of the Penei Yehoshua:
Shabbat
21b "Therefore it would seem
that the crux of the miracle was that it was performed only to show God's love
for them ... For this reason this miracle, too, was performed for them
concerning the lights, which was testimony for Israel that the Shekhinah dwelt
amongst them, as we have explained with regard to the western light. But after
the death of Shimon Ha-Tzaddik, even the western light sometimes was
extinguished. Therefore a miracle was performed regarding this exact matter, at
that time which was a time of Divine favor, in order to show that they had
returned to their original status of being beloved in God's eyes. This appears
to me the correct interpretation."
Hence, it is not surprising that the story of the miracle of
the cruse of oil is absent from the books of the Maccabees. For it was not for
this miracle that Chanukah was established, but rather for the rededication of
the actual altar. But following the desecration of the
During the time of Antiochus, HaShem's glory is absent from
the
II Maccabees 5 "And
Antiochus destroyed all the holy vessels with a wicked
hand ... and were it not for God's anger against His nation because of their
many sins, the hand of God would have struck him as it
did Heliodoros when he went, by order of Silikus, to rob the treasury of the Temple. But because God did not choose His nation
because of His city, but rather chose His city because
of His nation, and because He watched over His nation, therefore He watched
also over the
And with the victory of the Chashmonaim, they returned and
purified the
II Maccabees 10 "From God
this thing came about, to purify the
Chanukah celebrates not merely the rededication of the
altar, but also the glory of HaShem, which once again
became manifest in the
The conclusion, which arises from the above discussion, is that there is no contradiction between the Book of Maccabees and the version recorded by the Sages.
The book of Maccabees makes reference to the historical
event upon which Chanukah was established. From this perspective, Chanukah was
indeed in honor of the rededication of the altar by the Chashmonaim, but our
Sages perceived the profound significance of the moment. After the defilement
of the
In the Nazarean Codicil we have another association of the Shekhinah with the eighth day:
Luqas (Luke) 9:27:36 I tell you the truth, some who are standing
here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." About eight
days after Yeshua said this, he took Peter, John and
James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became
as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and
Elijah, Appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Yeshua. They spoke about
his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when
they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As the men were leaving Yeshua, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for
us to be here. Let us put up three shelters--one for
you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was
saying.) While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they
were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying,
"This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." When the voice
had spoken, they found that Yeshua was alone. The disciples kept this to
themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.
Notice again, that we have the Shekhinah, the glory of HaShem, associated with the eighth day. From Peter's desire to build three succoth, tabernacles, we can surmise that this is the eighth day of Succoth which is called Shemini Atzeret.
Keep in mind that HaShem and Yeshua are to be in place of
the
Revelation 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
In this pasuk the male (HaShem) and the female (Yeshua – the body of Mashiach composed of Israel and Mashiach) have joined together to become one. In this sod level picture we have the soul (HaShem) and the body (Yeshua) joined together. So, this transfiguration could be seen as the Shekhinah filling the Temple.
Bava
Kama 60b May our eyes merit
seeing the return of God to Zion with mercy, and the fulfillment of God's promise:
"And I shall build it with fire, as it is written,
'And I shall be unto her (Jerusalem) a wall of fire
round about, and My glory shall be within her'".
So on the eighth day of the Mishkan's dedication, fire from HaShem appeared.
On the eighth day of the Temple's dedication, fire from HaShem appeared.
The one day supply of oil in the Menorah lit by the Maccabees, burned for eight days, the eight days of Chanukah.
Thus the miracle of fire was
seen in the dedication and the re-dedication of the Mishkan, the first Temple,
and the second Temple.
It is noteworthy that Mashiach ben Yosef, the "light of the world", was conceived on the festival of lights (Chanukah)!
Luqas (Luke) 1:26-38
In the sixth month, HaShem sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in
Galilee, To a virgin pledged to be married to a man
named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went
to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with
you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of
greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid,
Mary, you have found favor with HaShem. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Yeshua.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. HaShem will give
him the throne of his father David, And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a
virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will
be called the Son of G-d. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child
in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For
nothing is impossible with HaShem." "I am the Lord's servant,"
Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel
left her.
In this next scripture we can see that Yeshua was called the Light of the World:
Yochanan (John) 9:1-7
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him,
"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that
he was born blind?" "Neither
this man nor his parents sinned," said Yeshua, "but this happened so
that the work of HaShem might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day,
we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While
I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said this, he spit on the ground, made
some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes.
"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word
means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
So, on the "Feast of Lights" Yeshua brings literal light to the blind. This event precedes this biblical statement:
Yochanan (John)
We can see the relationship of Chanukah to Succoth by the statements of Yeshua. In the previous verses He was the "Light of the world" at Chanukah, In this next verse we see Him as the "Light of the World" at the end of Succoth:
Yochanan (John) 7:37-38
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Yeshua stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone
is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the
Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."...
Then:
Yochanan (John)
So, The "Light of the World" gives "light" (sight) to man, on the festival of Lights.
Yeshua also taught near the altar that was desecrated in:
Yochanan (John) 8:12-20
When Yeshua spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life." The Pharisees challenged
him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not
valid." Yeshua answered, "Even
if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came
from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am
going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do
judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father,
who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the
testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies
for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me." Then they asked him, "Where is your
father?" "You do not know me or my Father," Yeshua replied.
"If you knew me, you would know my Father also." He spoke these
words while teaching in the temple area near the
place where the offerings were put. Yet no one
seized him, because his time had not yet come.
He also removes the light for judgment:
Yochanan (John) 9:39-41
Yeshua said, "For judgment I have come into this world,
so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." Some Pharisees who were with him heard him
say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?" Yeshua said, "If you were blind, you
would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you
can see, your guilt remains.
There is a certainty that if we do not listen to His voice, we are NOT His sheep:
Yochanan (John) 10:24-30
The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in
suspense? If you are the Mashiach, tell us
plainly." Yeshua answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe.
The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe
because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and
they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they
shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my
Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
This story of sheep in a pen seems consistent with winter.
Then our story ends with water as Yeshua returns to the
Yochanan (John) 10:40-42
Then Yeshua went back across the
We also have a verse, which indicates that we, too, are to be the light of the world:
Matityahu (Matthew) 5:13-19
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how
can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be
thrown out and trampled by men. "You
are the light of the world. A city on a hill
cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good
deeds and praise your Father in heaven. "Do not think that I have come to
abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill
them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any
means disappear from the Law until everything is
accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of
heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great
in the kingdom of heaven.
Here it is very plain that even as the Chanukah light does not represent light in the plain sense, but, rather light is the sense of wisdom, knowledge, and truth, so too is our light! This is also illustrated in one other place:
Ephesians 5:1-14 Be
imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children And live a life of love,
just as Mashiach loved us and gave himself up for
us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint
of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these
are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk
or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this
you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an
idolater--has any inheritance in the
This may explain why there is more wickedness at night, for we remember that the "lesser" light governs the night:
Bereshit (Genesis)
Here we have another link between Chanukah and Succoth. The Temple that Solomon built was dedicated on Succoth. Remember that the Maccabees re-dedicated the altar on Chanukah:
II Divre Hayamim (Chronicles)
7:8-10 So Solomon observed the festival
at that time for seven days, and all Israel with
him--a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. On the
eighth day they held an assembly, for they had
celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival
for seven days more. On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the
people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things HaShem had
done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.
The Tur, in Shulchan Oruch O.Ch. #684, brings in the name of the P'sikto that the reason we read the chapters of Bamidbar 7:1 - 8:4 during Chanukah is because the creation of all items needed for the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, were completed on the 25th day of Kisleiv, the first day of Chanukah.
Today, the Chanukah lights have special relevance. Many among us despair of ever witnessing the dawn of redemption. After nearly two thousand years, it may seem that the cold, hard realities of exile have all but erased our age-old faith in the coming of Mashiach, who will lead us toward a perfect world. But Chanukah reminds us that HaShem grants redemption in the blink of an eye, that the light of Godliness can brighten even the darkest night.
With every lamp we kindle, with each good deed we do, we shed more light upon the world, and the darkness has already begun to disperse. Who could have imagined, a few short years ago, that communism would crumble, that entrenched totalitarian regimes would turn toward democracy, that hundreds of thousands of oppressed Jews would suddenly be free to emigrate to the Promised Land? Isaiah's messianic prophecy was that the nations of the world will "beat swords into plowshares." It's been our dream for centuries; it may well be tomorrow's headline.
* * *
The Torah records that the flood in the days of Noah began in Cheshvan (Marcheshvan):
Bereshit
(Genesis) 7:10-12
And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the
earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on
the seventeenth
day of the second month--on that day all the springs of
the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens
were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty
days and forty nights.
It rained
for forty days and forty nights, stopping on Kislev 28, the fourth day of
Chanukah.
* * *
December 23 (24 kislev, 3241) 519 BCE
Supported by Haggai and Zechariah, the
December 24 (25 kislev 3595) 165 BCE
This is the first of the eight days of Hanukkah, celebrating the victory of the Hashmonaim under Mattiyahu against the Selucid Greeks. The victory was both physical in terms or regaining independence and spiritual against the Helenizaion of Judaism.
* * *
The following chart lists all of the Biblical events, that I am aware of (see my paper at FEASTS for mre on different events), that occurred during Chanukah:
Kislev
25th Moon
is in Bethulah.
Death of Abel - Bereishit Rabbah (chap. 22)
(might have been Sivan 6)
The construction of the Tabernacle is complete. Numbers Rabbah 13
Antiochus Epiphanes offers a pig to Zeus on
the altar of Temple in 168 BCE.
Chanukah (Feast of Dedication / Light) First day. (25th - Tevet 3).
Day 38 of HaShem's rain
in Noah's day. Genesis 7:4
Issachar is conceived. Bnei Issachar
Mary gets pregnant
with Yeshua. Luke 1:26
Mary
visits
Yeshua
gives sight to the blind. John chapters 8-10
Yeshua
is the light of the world. John 8:12
Yeshua celebrates while Pharisees try to
kill Him. John 10:22-33
Maccabees light the ner tamid.
Torah section is Numbers 7:1-17.
There is no Haftorah .
26th
Chanukah Second day.
Day 39 of HaShem's
rain in Noah's day. Genesis 7:4
Torah section is Numbers 7:18-23.
There is no Haftorah .
27th
Chanukah Third day.
Day 40 of HaShem's rain in Noah's day. Genesis 7:11-12
Torah section is Numbers 7:24-29.
There is no Haftorah .
28th
Chanukah Fourth day.
The rain ends in Noah's day. Rashi Genesis 7:11-12
Torah section is Numbers 7:30-35.
There is no Haftorah .
29th
Chanukah Fifth day.
Water swells on the earth in the days of
Noah. Day 1. Genesis 7:24
Torah section is Numbers 7:36-41.
There is no Haftorah .
30th
Chanukah Sixth day.
Water swells on the earth in the days of
Noah. Day 2. Genesis 7:24
Torah section is Numbers 7:42-47.
There is no Haftorah .
Tevet - Always
has 29 days. Mazal is Gedi (Goat). Tribe is Asher.
1rst
New Moon. Numbers 10:8-10
Chanukah Seventh day.
Water swells on the earth in the days of
Noah. Day 3. Genesis 7:24
Plague of hail
and fire falls on
Nebuchadnezzar sends King Jehoiachin and
10,000 Jews into captivity in 597 BCE. 2 Kings 24:11-14; ZYO
Ezra and the people begin to investigate
foreign wives. Ezra 10:16
The appointed time
for the family of Parosh (tribe of
Nehemiah
10:34, Taanis 26a
Esther is taken to Xerxes residence. Esther
2:16
Torah section is Numbers 7:48-53,
Numbers 28:1-15. Haftorah is Isaiah 66:1-24.
2nd
Chanukah Eighth day.
Water swells on the earth in the days of
Noah. Day 4. Genesis 7:24
Torah section is Numbers
These lights we kindle to recall the miracles and the wonders and the deliverance and the victories that our ancestors accomplished in those days, at this season, through the hands of Your holy priests. And throughout all eight days of Chanukah these lights are sanctified and we may not use them in order to thank and praise Your great name for Your miracle and for Your wonders and for Your deliverance.
Mitzvoth:[24]
the message of the Chanukah lights affects the entire scope of our service of HaShem throughout the year, for:
Mislei (Proverbs)
Tehilim (Psalms) 119:105 {Nun} Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my
path.
Though every mitzva is a lamp, which lights up the darkness of our material world, this illumination is more manifest in those mitzvot which are associated with visible light.
The spiritual implications of the Chanukah lights are reflected in the halachic details that regulate the performance of the mitzva.
Rav Moshe Harari, in Sefer Mikraei Kodesh, states that the accepted practice is that the head of the household and each member of the family in an Ashkenazim home will light with a blessing, while in Sefardim homes only the head of the household will light with a blessing. the rest of the family generally do not light, and if they do, they do so without a blessing. However, if a Sefardi student is in Israel and his parents are elsewhere (or any situation where there is a difference in time), there are those who claim that he should light for himself with a blessing, as his parents are not lighting for him at the moment when he is supposed to light (and may not do so for many hours).
His Eminence Hakham Ovadia Yosef, in Teshuvot Yechave Daat 1:75, rules that at home one recite Havdalah and subsequently kindle Chanukah lights.
1. It is a mitzva to observe Chanukah for eight days. The Hakhamim taught: "Commencing with the 25th of Kislev, there are eight days upon which there shall be neither mourning nor fasting." The Talmud, in Shabbat 21b, further says that shiva (the seven day mourning period for a close relative) is not suspended but the eulogy is omitted.
Each night of Chanukah, we add another light to the menorah, until all eight lamps shine on the eighth night. This signifies that in matters of holiness, we must always be on the increase. With every added flame, we go from strength to strength in deepening our commitment to the values and traditions of our Biblical way of life.
2. It is a mitzvah to kindle the Chanukah lights in one's home with the appropriate blessing. Sukkah 46a
3. It is customary to place the chanukiyah (Chanukah menorah) where its lights will be visible from the outside. Shabbat 24a
4. The custom in all Jewish homes is to add one candle every night to the number of candles lit the previous night. This custom is universal, even though technically, the minimum halachic requirement may be satisfied by lighting only one candle on each of the nights of Chanukah.[25] Our practice thus follows the style of the mehadrin ("those who are lovingly punctilious") and who embellish the mitzva by sparing neither expense nor effort in observing it. There is, moreover, a higher level of fulfilling the mitzva, the manner of those who are mehadrin min hamehadrin ("the most punctilious of all"), who display a level of hiddur which surpasses the above-mentioned level of the mehadrin. Performing the mitzva on the superior level of mehadrin min hamehadrin involves adding a new candle every night for each member of the household.[26] Significantly, it is common practice today for everyone to kindle the Chanukah lights in this fashion.[27] Throughout the world, even in circles where the observance of many other mitzvot leaves room for improvement, this mitzva is commonly observed on the level of mehadrin min hamehadrin.
It is permitted to work during Chanukah but women are of the custom not to work for the first half hour that the menorah is alight, since women were an integral part of the miracle[28] (Yehudit killed the Greek general). In some Sefardic communities women do not work at all during the first and last days of Chanukah[29].
Our ability to fulfill the mitzva of lighting in this manner was bequeathed to us by the Maccabees. When they rededicated the Beit HaMikdash, Torah law would have permitted them to light the golden Menorah with ritually impure oil. For the obligation to kindle the Menorah in a state of ritual purity is, as we also find with regard to the communal offerings, waived when there is no alternative.[30] The Maccabees, however, refused to be satisfied with the minimum fulfillment of the mitzva. Determined to kindle the Menorah as perfectly as possible, as befits "mehadrin min hamehadrin", they decided to use only pure oil. To make this possible, since preparing fresh oil took eight days, HaShem intervened in the natural order and performed the Chanukah miracle: a single cruse with enough pure olive oil to last one day remained burning for eight days.
We commemorate this miracle by following the Maccabees' example and kindling our Chanukah lights in the manner of mehadrin min hamehadrin.
Adding a new Chanukah candle every night teaches us that every day we must increase our endeavors to spread light throughout the world. Though we lit up our environment on the previous night, even at the level of mehadrin min hamehadrin, we cannot rest content. As our Sages explain,[31] lighting the Chanukah candles exemplifies the principle, "Always advance higher in holy matters." Beginning with the second night of Chanukah (the first time we add a candle), we express this principle for an entire week, increasing the number of candles every night. A week is a complete time cycle[32], which contains in potential form all the possible situations a person might encounter. Adding a new light on every night of Chanukah demonstrates, and reinforces, a commitment to progress continuously, come what may.
The lessons we learn from the Chanukah lights should be
applied in every aspect of our lives. Every day should lead us to further
growth and create new opportunities for spreading Godly light in our homes and
in the world. Thus understood, the kindling of the Chanukah lights will serve
as a catalyst to bring about the ultimate light that will illuminate the world
in the Era of the Redemption. Chanukah is bound
to the Era of Redemption by the number eight, which is both the number of
nights on which we light Chanukah candles and a number intimately associated
with that ultimate age.[33] Our kindling of Chanukah candles both
anticipates and precipitates the Era when "a priest
will appear in
5. One's
chanukiyah should be prepared in advance of candle lighting. This has the
practical benefit of not delaying candle lighting, and the symbolic reason of
simulating the procedures of preparation of the Menorah in the Beit HaMikdash known as Hatavat HaNerot. Many people
have the custom of ritually washing their hands before candle lighting (without
a bracha) to honor the mitzva (and possibly as a further simulation of Temple service).
According to Maimonides, the mitzvot to light the chanukiyah is extremely important:
"One should carefully fulfill it in order to publicize the miracle and to offer additional praise and thanksgiving to HaShem for the wonders which He did for us"
"Even if a person has no food to eat, he should beg or sell his garments in order to buy oil and lamps and light them." Hilkhot Chanukah 4:12
The oil:
Most early chanukiyot burned olive oil and were made from either stone or metal. Back walls were added during the 13th century to facilitate the hanging of the chanukiyah on a wall or door post.
Oil, upon which the miracle of Chanukah is based, is an interesting substance. It is not required for our day-to-day existence and is never served alone as a food. It is used to add flavor and is thus associated with pleasure.
Oil has the potential to illuminate. When we light a candle in a room, the contents of the room are revealed.
The Syrian-Greek desecration of the
The Torah tells us that "the soul of man is the lamp of HaShem." Just as oil permeates the olive, the Divine soul permeates the Jew; and just as the oil burning in the menorah spreads light, the Jewish soul illuminates the world in the performance of good deeds. In defiling the sacred oil of the menorah, the Greeks tried to destroy the Jewish soul.
But the soul cannot be
extinguished. Miraculously, despite the best efforts of the oppressors, one
cruse of pure oil remained in the
While eight lights are required on the chanukiyah, one lit each night of Chanukah, it is customary for the chanukiyah to have a place for nine flames. The ninth flame is called the shamash or servant flame. It's sole purpose is to light the others, in Ashkenazim households, (Sefardim do not even use the shamash to light the other lights) in order to avoid the possibility that the others might be used...they are NOT to be used, even for light, this is the halakah!
This law reflects the unique nature of this mitzvah. Though every mitzva earns a reward, in certain cases the reward is spiritual, while in others it is also manifest in the material world. The visible light of the Chanukah candles indicates that the positive effects generated by this mitzva are apparent in our material world as well as in the spiritual realm. However, just as we do not make use of the light of the Chanukah lights for mundane purposes, our goal in performing this mitzva is not material reward. We fulfill it only because "You have sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us,"[35] without thought of reward or any other ulterior motive. This level of performance, avodah lishmah ("divine service for its own sake"), is the highest that can be attained through our own spiritual endeavors.[36] Like many human behaviors, even our divine service may be motivated by a desire for spiritual, if not physical, rewards. The Chanukah lights teach us to transcend our tendencies toward self-interest and dedicate ourselves to serving HaShem for His sake alone. The Chanukah lights, which burn in the darkness of the night, demonstrate moreover that we can reach this advanced level of divine service, not only during daylight (which symbolizes manifest Godliness), but also in times when effort is necessary to transform the darkness around us.
Chanukah Gelt:
On Chanukah, it is traditional to give all children Chanukah gelt (money). Of course, this beautiful custom adds to the children's happiness and festive spirit. In addition, it affords us an opportunity to give them positive reinforcement for exemplary behavior, such as diligence in their studies, and acts of charity.
IT'S A MATTER OF
TIMING[37]
"Pirsumei
nisa" (publicizing the miracles) helps determine the location of the
Chanukiyah, the timing of the lighting, and other halachic
details.
Since
the light of a candle is not readily visible during the daytime, the mitzva is to light at nightfall. There is a dispute among authorities as to when this
occurs, at sunset or stars-out. Jews around the
world and in many places in
The
common opinion as to when stars-out occurs are 20 and 35 minutes after sunset.
Candles may be lit anytime thereafter, but the closer to the aforementioned
times, the better.
The
Gemara teaches us that candles were to be lit until
"the last footfall leaves the marketplace". This means that as long
as people are outdoors, there is a mitzva to light candles
"announcing" to them the Chanukah miracles. During the time of the Gemara, people were
still in the streets for a half-hour after dark. Beyond that time, there would
be no mitzva to light. Today, people are around much later. Consequently, we
have permission to light Chanukah candles later into the night, but one should
try to light during the "prime time" of the Gemara. The "half
hour after dark rule" still applies today, even with changed nightlife
habits. This means that candles (or oil) must last at least a half hour after
dark, but need not last longer even though "pirsumei nisa", in our
time, would continue much later.
Candles
lit anytime from about an hour before sundown (this being plag-mincha, the
earliest allowable time for lighting Chanukah candles - also, BTW, the earliest
time for Shabbat candles and Arvit) sundown, must
burn at least a half hour after dark. Candles lit after sundown must burn for a
minimum of one half-hour. In our time, it is praiseworthy to surpass the
half-hour limit (a bit) in order to extend "pirsumei nisa".
The chanukiyah should not be moved after it is lit. Normally one candle is kindled the first night, two for the second night, three for the third night, and so on.
Chanukah
candles on Friday should be lit right before Shabbat candles (even if different
people are lighting). Since Chanukah candles are lit significantly earlier on
Friday-Chanukah, care must be taken to use bigger candles or sufficient oil to
last until approximately a half-hour after sundown. It is preferable to pray
mincha before lighting Chanukah candles, if a minyan is available. There is a
custom of saving Maoz Tsur for the
Shabbat table.
There
is a dispute as to which goes first, Havdalah or Chanukah candles. Logic dictates
that one would finish with Shabbat before lighting Chanukah candles. This is
also consistent with the general rule that when two mitzvot
are to be performed, the more frequent mitzvah goes first, tadir v'she'eino
tadir, tadir kodem. Accordingly, those who say Havdalah first should light
Chanukah candles as soon as possible thereafter. Some light the Shamash from
the Havdalah candle before extinguishing the latter so that one mitzva leads to
another.
Minhag
Yerushalayim (followed by many Jerusalemites, but not all, and by some Jews elsewhere) is to light Chanukah candles first. (In
which case one can light the Havdalah candle from the Shamash, but NOT from the
Chanukah candles.) If this practice seems strange, remember that Shabbat is
over when one says the "Havdalah passage" in Arvit or "baruch
hamavdil bein kodesh l'chol". By lighting Chanukah candles immediately
upon the conclusion of Shabbat, without even
delaying to say havdalah, one has maximized the "prime time" for
Chanukah candles (namely, the half-hour after dark).
Sefardim
say havdallah and then light the Chanukah candles.
The
Shulchan Aruch states that one may follow either opinion. In either case, the
custom in Jerusalem is to pray Arvit 10-12 minutes
before Shabbat-out time so that one can hurry home for Chanukah candle
lighting. Individuals who end Shabbat according to Rabeinu Tam should consult a
posek as to the proper procedure for Motzaei Shabbat Chanukah.
Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)
O mighty stronghold of my
salvation,
to praise You is a
delight.
Restore my House of Prayer
and there we will bring a
thanksgiving offering.
When You will have
prepared the slaughter
for the blaspheming foe,
Then I shall complete with
a song of hymn
the dedication of the
Altar.
My soul had been sated
with troubles,
my strength has been
consumed with grief.
They had embittered my
life with hardship,
with the calf-like
kingdom's bondage.
But with His great power
He brought forth the
treasured ones,
Pharaoh's
army and all his offspring
Went down
like a stone into the deep.
To the holy abode of His
Word He brought me.
But there, too, I had no
rest
And an oppressor came and
exiled me.
For I had served aliens,
And had drunk benumbing
wine.
Scarcely had I departed
At Babylon's end Zerubabel
came.
At the end of seventy
years I was saved.
To sever the towering
cypress
sought the Aggagite, son
of Hammedatha,
But it became [a snare
and] a stumbling block to him and his arrogance was stilled.
The head of the Benjaminite
You lifted
and the enemy, his name
You obliterated
His numerous progeny - his
possessions -
on the gallows You hanged.
Greeks gathered against me
then in Hasmonean days.
They breached the walls of
my towers
and they defiled all the
oils;
And from the one remnant
of the flasks
a miracle was wrought for
the roses.
Men of insight - eight
days
established for song and
jubilation
Bare Your holy arm
and hasten the End for
salvation -
Avenge the vengeance of
Your servants' blood
from the wicked nation.
For the triumph is too
long delayed for us,
and there is no end to
days of evil,
Repel the Red One in the
nethermost shadow
and establish for us the
seven shepherds.
It
is noteworthy that we sing Maoz Tzur on Chanukah and also read about the
crossing of the Yam Suf (Reed Sea) in the septennial cycle
Torah reading for the first triennial cycle.
The reading on the Shabbat closest to Chanukah is: Shemot
(Exodus) 14:15 – 16:3. In this reading we read of Pharaoh’s
army sinking in the Yam Suf. From this we understand that the triennial
cycle contains links to the time of the year and the
events that take place during that time.
On Erev Shabbat Chanukah one must be particularly careful to pray Mincha before lighting the Chanukah lights. And these, in turn, must be kindled before those of Shabbat.
Kindle the Chanukah menorah on each of the eight nights of Chanukah. Use olive oil with cotton wicks (the preferred way) or paraffin candles, large enough to burn until half an hour after nightfall, for the lights of the menorah. Wicks may be reused and leftover oil from a previous day may also be used.
Ashkenazim use a "Shamash" (service candle) to kindle the lights, and place it in its special place on the menorah.
For the blessings and number of lights and the order of kindling, see below.
Before kindling, recite the appropriate blessings, and after kindling recite, "We kindle these lights..."
All members of the family should be present at the kindling of the Chanukah lights. Ashkenazim should have all young boys kindle their own Chanukah menorahs and all young girls light their own Shabbat candles. Students and singles, who live in a dormitory or in their own apartments, should kindle menorahs in their own rooms.
The Chanukah lights are kindled either in the front window or by a doorway.
On Friday afternoon the Chanukah lights (which will burn until 1/2 hour after nightfall) are kindled before the Shabbat candles are lit.
NOTE: From the time the Shabbat candles are lit until Shabbat ends and the Havdalah (separation between Shabbat and weekday) prayer is recited, the Chanukah menorah should not be relit, moved or prepared. After Shabbat ends, the Chanukah lights for Saturday night are kindled.
The ritual of lighting the chanukiyah is simple if you remember the following two rules:
Set the candles to the left.
Light to the right.
The basic pattern of placing the candles is:
1. Set the shamash in its holder.
2. Place
the candle(s), for the appropriate night, starting on the far right.
The procedure for kindling the lights is:
1. Rabbenu
Moshe Isserles, z"l, (the Rama) whom the Ashkenazim follow when he
disagrees with Maran Yosef Karo, says that in [Ashkenazi] lands, they do not
add one more candle as Maran mentioned, but use the Shammash to light all the
other candles and then put it in the place reserved for the additional
light. Light the shamash.
Maran Yosef Karo, z"l, whom the Sephardim
follow, writes in the Shulhan 'Arukh (the Code of Jewish Law) that this
additional light is lit LAST and should be placed slightly further away from
all the other candles.
2. Chant
the candle blessing for Chanukah followed by the Sheh'asah nissim la'avoteinu,
followed by the Shehekiyanu on the first night. On each subsequent night chant
just the candle blessing and the sheh'asah nissim la'avoteinu.
3. Ashkenazim
use the shamash to light the newest candle first. Sefardim light the shamash
last and do not use it to kindle the other lights.
4.
When all the lights are kindled, Ashkenazim replace the shamash in its
holder. Sefardim now light the shamash in its place.
5. After this, the Minhag of Ashkenazim is to
sing Maoz Tzur. The Sefardim recite Tehilim 30 ( Mizmor Shir Chanukas..) and
Tehilim 67 (Lamnatzayach Binginot)
After
lighting the candles, it is traditional, for Ashkenazim, to sing Maoz Tsur.
This poem, composed approximately 700 years ago by a person named Mordechai
(whose name appears as the initial letters of the first five stanzas), traces a
series of redemptions from villains that have
threatened us throughout Jewish history, including Paro, Nevuchadnetzar, Haman,
and of course, Antiochus and the Y'vanim. The final stanza, of more recent
vintage, expressed the hope and prayer for the coming of Mashiach
and the Final Redemption.
During the eight days of Chanukah, we recite the "V'Al HaNissim" liturgy in the Amidah (Silent Prayer) for morning, afternoon, and evening, as well as in the Grace After Meals. In the morning service, we also say Hallel (Psalms 113-119), songs of praise taken from the Psalms of David. In addition, there is a special reading from the Torah Scroll each morning in the synagogue.
Sefardi Checklist
Every night, when lighting the Chanukah lights, I recite:
1) Lehadiq Ner Hanukkah. (Not Ner Shel Hanukkah. (Ashkenazim [most] say Ner Shel Hanukkah.)
2) Hanneroth Halalu.
3) Mizmor Chanukah Habbayith.
4) Wihi No'am (7 times).
5) Yosheb Besether 'Elyon.
Q. When are the Chanukah lights lit?
A. The Talmud says the proper time for kindling the Chanukah lights is "from the time the sun sets." Defining what is meant by this time varies according to whom one asks. Some authorities prefer lighting immediately at the beginning of sunset. Others prescribe 13 to 40 minutes after sunset. Since there is no prohibition against kindling lights on the holiday itself, the exact minute of candle lighting is not especially important. If one is not able to kindle lights after sunset, it is permissible to light before sunset, but only if the lights themselves will last the half-hour after sunset. If one forgets to light at the proper time, lights may be kindled any time during the evening.
Q. May I light one Chanukah candle with another?
A. No, this is the reason d'etre for the shamash in Ashkenazim households. Sefardim use matches or another candle (not the shamash) to light.
Q. If we are lighting more than one chanukiyah, does each
one have to have a shamash?
A. Yes, in order to ensure that the Chanukah candles are not used for lighting each other.
Q. What do I do if the shamash goes out?
A. Relight it with a match. Don't use one of the Chanukah candles.
Q. What do I do if one of the Chanukah candles goes out?
A. Since the primary mitzvah is the lighting itself, if a light should go out after the blessings are said, it is not necessary to rekindle the flame.
Q. May I blow the candles out?
A. No. The lights are to be left alone to burn out. Each night new candles should be used. If, however, there is more oil than needed for the minimum half-hour of burning, you may extinguish the wicks in an oil burning chanukiyah after the required half-hour and relight them the next evening.
Q. May longer candles than the standard Chanukah candles
be used?
A. Yes, the candles are to last a minimum of one half-hour.
Q. Do the colors of the candles have any significance at
all?
A. No, they just add to the joy of the holiday.
Q. Why is the Shehekiyanu recited only on the first night
of Chanukah while the Sheh'asah nissim is said each night of the festival?
A. The Shehekiyanu prayer thanks HaShem for enabling us to reach this special time, and thus is said only on the first night. The Sheh'asah nissim is said every night because a "miracle" occurred each day of the holiday.
Q. When Shabbat candles are
lit, the custom is to block one's view of the lights while saying the blessings.
Why don't we do the same when lighting the chanukiyah?
A. The usual practice of Jewish ritual is to say the blessings first, followed by the act itself. For example, we recite the Ha-Motzi and then eat bread. Recall that on Shabbat, once we say the blessing, it is Shabbat and we cannot light a fire. That is why the Hakhamim developed the strategy of preparing the lights before saying the blessing on Shabbat. But, on Chanukah, this is unnecessary and thus, we say the blessings and then kindle the lights.
Q. Speaking of Shabbat, when are the Chanukah lights lit
on Friday evening?
A. With the prohibition against lighting fire on Shabbat, Chanukah lights are kindled immediately before the Shabbat candles on Friday evening. So, the procedure would be to first, set up the Chanukah candles, recite the Chanukah blessings, and then light the Chanukah candles. Next kindle the Shabbat candles and recite the blessing for the Shabbat lights. Since we light Shabbat candles at least 18 minutes before sunset, some use extra long candles for the chanukiyah on Shabbat Chanukah so that they last at least thirty minutes after sunset.
Q. What about lighting the chanukiyah on Saturday night?
Which comes first, Chanukah lights or Havdalah?
A. Most Rabbinic authorities hold that Chanukah lights are lit after Havdalah. This guards against the possibility of violating the Shabbat by lighting a fire. Havdalah marks the separation between the sacred time of the Sabbath and the "ordinary" time of the work week, physically demonstrated by the lighting of the Havdalah candle. Chanukah candles are lit immediately after the conclusion of the Havdalah service. In the synagogue the Chanukah lights are lit before the recitation of Havdalah.
Q. Are there any other adaptations of home rituals during
the Chanukah celebration?
A. Yes, during the Birkat ha-Mazon, the prayer Al ha-Nissim is added before the section V'al ha-Kol. Also, since the Rosh Chodesh Tevet (the first of the Hebrew month of Tevet) always occurs during Chanukah, we add the paragraph for Rosh Chodesh in Birkat ha-Mazon as well on those days. Al ha-Nissim is also added to the Amidah in the daily prayers.
Q. Must I light the chanukiyah if I see it lit in the
synagogue?
A. It is true that most synagogues light a chanukiyah during the eight days of the holiday. However, this does not release one from lighting at home.
Q. How long must the Chanukah lights burn?
A. The legal requirement is that the candles burn "until the time that people cease to walk about in the street" (Shabbat 21a). Before the advent of street lighting, people did not usually walk about at night long after nightfall. In fact, it was somewhat dangerous to do so. Since the practice of the people was to be in their homes within one-half hour after nightfall, and the primary mitzvah was "publicizing the miracle of Chanukah", the practice of displaying the Chanukah lights was designed for pedestrian traffic. Therefore, the rabbis decided that the Chanukah lights should last one-half hour after three stars appear.
Q. Where is the chanukiyah placed?
A. The Talmud specifies where the Chanukah menorah is to be located:
"One should place the Chanukah lamp by the door of the house, on the outside, within a handbreadth of the door, so that it is on the left side (The Rabbis ordained that the Chanukah lights be lit at the left side of the entrance to our homes in order to correct the "left side," the source of the potential for evil in the world. By placing the Chanukah menorah opposite the public domain, we refine and spiritualize even the material domain - the natural domain of multiplicity which conceals the Unity of G-dliness.) of a person entering the house, the mezuzah on the right and the Chanukah lamp on the left. If one resides in an upper story, the lamp should be placed in a window overlooking the public domain... In times of danger, one may place the Chanukah lamp inside the house, on the table..." Shabbat 21b
Today many people place the chanukiyah in a window facing the street to comply with the requirement to "publicize the miracle". Other families interpret the need to "publicize the miracle" to refer to one's own family and create a Chanukah candle lighting center somewhere within the home, often on a low counter or table where children can reach the chanukiyah.
It is significant that the original formulation of the mitzvah of Chanukah lights included lighting out-of-doors, facing the public domain. Generations and centuries of exile, most often among hostile peoples, drove the chanukiyah into the privacy of the home. But this is contrary to the original idea and purpose. We are privileged to be able to once again bring the lights of the chanukiyah back outdoors and into the public eye.
The practice of some groups to make a public spectacle of candle lighting (often on public and government sites) is derived from this mitzva "to publicize the miracle".
Q. Who is obligated to light the chanukiyah?
A. The Talmud specifies three options. At the very least, each household is to light a single candle on each of the eight nights. In the home of the "zealous" each member of the family lights one candle on the first night and one additional candle is added each subsequent night.
Our practice is that of the most zealous, that is, we add a light each night of the holiday until we reach the required eight. Many families acquire a chanukiyah for each person to light, although others light only one chanukiyah according to this practice.
Q. Is there any requirement that a woman or a man is to
light the chanukiyah?
A. Women and men are equally obligated to kindle Chanukah lights. In fact, men and women who are single or single parents are required to light a chanukiyah.
Q. May children light their own chanukiyah?
A. Yes, in fact if children have made a chanukiyah at religious school, encourage them to use it. However, the adults in the family may not transfer their obligation to light a chanukiyah for themselves. Some authorities would say that the obligation for children to light the chanukiyah begins with their becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.
Q. What if I'm visiting another family? Should I bring
our family chanukiyah to light?
A. According to Jewish law, you could join in the lighting and the blessings of the chanukiyah in someone else's home. But, most families would consider the addition of your Chanukah menorah(s) an enhancement of their celebration.
Q. Can an electric menorah be used as a chanukiyah?
A. According to nearly all authorities, an electrified menorah may not be used to fulfill the mitzva of kindling the Chanukah lights. While electric bulbs undoubtedly five off light, the filaments are not considered a "flame". Moreover, a requisite amount of fuel must be available when the lights are kindled. An electric menorah depends on continuous generation of power to remain lit. Thus, the act of kindling in itself is insufficient to cause the lamp to burn for the prescribed period of time. Since the halachic principle governing the chanukiyah is "kindling constitutes the performance of the mitzvah," turning on an electric light would not fulfill the commandment.
Q. Some oil chanukiyot have one reservoir for oil and
separate wicks. Is this permitted?
A. Yes, as long as the wicks are separated so they appear as separate lights and not like a torch.
Q. May I read by the light of the chanukiyah?
A. No, unlike the Shabbat candles, the Chanukah lights are not used for any purpose other than to publicize the miracle of Chanukah. So, do not eat your Chanukah dinner by the candlelight of the chanukiyah. If you would enjoy a candlelit home, light separate tapers in addition to the chanukiyah.
Q. Is it true that I should not do any work while the
Chanukah lights are burning?
A. Yes, Our attention should be focused on the lights during the half-hour they burn.
One of the most commonly asked questions about this is: Why
did our sages make the
Our sages have given MANY answers to this question and this question is still being asked and answered with many NEW insights from generation to generation even to this very day.
One answer given is that the limited "one day supply of oil" was divided into eight parts and each day only 1/8th of the needed quantity was poured into the Menorah and although it was only 1/8th, it burned a full day and the same thing took place on each and every one of the eight days so the miracle took place one the first day exactly the same way as on all other seven days.
The following are some of the answers our sages have given as to how the miracle of oil was visible even on the first day of Chanukah, although there WAS enough oil to light the Menorah for the first day. One answer is:
On the first day they poured in all the oil they had into the Menorah but the oil was not used up. Although the fire was burning all day, the quantity of oil did not diminish and the Menorah remained completely full all the time so the miracle was clearly visible even on the first day.
Another answer given is that oil was being consumed normally all night but when they looked again in the morning the Menorah was miraculously found full again. Another answer given is that each day the oil burned up ALMOST all the way down but not completely to the bottom, as was usually the case. This small amount that was left received HaShem's blessing to be able to burn also each one of the next seven days. Our sages explain that this was so because HaShem's blessing is to INCREASE something that is there already but not to create it from scratch.
Shabbat
21b Rab said that, “If the Chanukah lights go
out, they do NOT require attention, and one may not make use of its light.”
“The
Chanukah light must be lit, and should remain lit until there is no wayfarer in
the street. Until when [is that]? Until the Palmyreans have departed.”
“Our
Rabbis taught: The precept of Chanukah [demands] one light for a man and his
household; the zealous [kindle] a light for each member [of the household]; and
the extremely zealous...”
“Beth
Hillel says: On the first day one is lit and thereafter they are progressively
increased (up to eight).”
“Our
Rabbis taught: It is incumbent to place the Chanukah lamp by the door of one’s
house on the outside; if one dwells in an upper chamber, he places it at the
window nearest the street. But in times of danger it is sufficient to place it
on the table.”
“What
is [the reason of] Chanukah? For our Rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth of
Kislev [commence] the days of Chanukah, which are eight, on which a lamentation
for the dead and fasting are forbidden (this is an extract of the Megillat Ta’anith, literally ‘the
scroll of fasting’.). For when the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all
the oils therein, and when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed against and defeated
them, they made search and found only one cruse of oil which lay with the seal
of the High Priest, but which contained sufficient for
one day’s lighting only; yet a miracle was wrought therein and they lit [the
lamp] therewith for eight days. The following year
these [days] were appointed a Festival with [the
recital of] Hallel (Psalms 113-118) and thanksgiving.”
“(This lighting took place in 165 BCE Exactly three years before, on the same day, Antiochus Epiphanies had a pagan altar erected in the Temple, upon which sacrifices were offered. Apart from the Talmudic reason stated here, Judas Maccabeus chose the 25th of Kislev as the anniversary of the Temple’s defilement, and the dedication of the new altar was celebrated with lights for eight days, similarly to the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasted eight days and was celebrated with illuminations.)”
“We learnt elsewhere: If a spark which flies from the anvil goes forth and causes damage, he [the smith] is liable. If a camel laden with flax passes through a street, and the flax overflows into a shop, catches fire at the shopkeeper’s lamp, and sets the building alight, the camel owner is liable; but if the shopkeeper placed the light outside, the shopkeeper is liable. R. Judah said: In the case of a Chanukah lamp he is exempt. Rabina said in Rabbah’s name: This proves that the Chanukah lamp should [in the first instance] be placed within ten (handbreadths from the ground). For should you think, above ten, let him say to him, ‘You ought to have placed it higher than a camel and his rider.’ Yet perhaps if he is put to too much trouble, he may refrain altogether from the [observance of the] precept.”
Shabbath
21b “R.Kahana said, R Nathan
b.Minyomi expounded in R.Tanhum’s name: If a Chanukah lamp is placed above
twenty cubits [from the ground] it is unfit, like Sukkah
and a cross-beam over [the entrance of] an alley.”
“Rabbah
said: The Chanukah lamp should be placed within the handbreadth nearest the
door (if it was placed further away, there is nothing to show that it was set
there by the owner of the house). And where is it placed?... R.Samuel of Difti
said: On the left hand side. And the law is, on the left, so that the Chanukah
lamp shall be on the left and the mezuzah on the
right.”
“It was stated: Rab said: One must not light
from lamp to lamp.” (One Chanukah lamp must not be lit from another. Or, when a
lamp with several branches is used, in accordance with the practice of the
‘most zealous’, one branch must not be lit from another.”
(The
essence of the Chanukah lamp is to advertise the miracle.) If one lights it
within and then takes it outside, he does nothing. Now, it is well if you say
that the kindling constitutes the precept; [for this reason] we require the
kindling to be [done] in its proper place, [and] therefore he does nothing. But
if you say that the placing constitutes the precept, why has he done nothing?
There too an observer may think that he lit it for his own purposes....
Moreover since we pronounce a benediction, ‘Who sanctified us by His
commandments and commanded us to kindle the lamp of Chanukah,’ it proves that
the kindling constitutes the precept. This proves it.”
“And
now that we say that the kindling constitutes the precept, if a deaf-mute,
idiot, or minor lights it, he does nothing. But a woman may certainly light
[it], for R.Joshuab.Levi said: The [precept of the] Chanukah lamp is obligatory
upon women, for they too were concerned in that miracle.”
“R.Joshuab.Levi
said: All oils are fit for the Chanukah lamp, but olive oil is the
best....”“R.Hiyya b.Ashi said: He who lights the Chanukah lamp must pronounce a
blessing; while R.Jeremiah said: On the first day, he who sees must pronounce
two, and he who lights must pronounce three blessings; thereafter, he who
lights pronounces two, and he who sees pronounces one.
What is omitted? The miracle holds good for every day.”
“What
benediction is uttered: This: Who sanctified us by His commandments
and commanded us to kindle the light of Chanukah. And where did He command us?
R.Awia said: [it follows] from, thou
shall not turn aside [from the sentence which they shall shew thee
(Deuteronomy 17:11)]. R.Nehemiah quoted: Ask
thy father, and he will shew thee; Thine elders, and they will tell thee
(Deuteronomy 32:7). (Both verses teach that a Rabbinical observance has
biblical sanction, and thus roots subsequent tradition in the Bible itself.)”
Baba
Kama 62b MISHNAH.
IF A SPARK ESCAPES FROM UNDERNEATH A HAMMER AND DOES DAMAGE, THERE WOULD BE
LIABILITY. IF WHILE A CAMEL LADEN WITH FLAX WAS PASSING THROUGH A PUBLIC
THOROUGHFARE THE FLAX GOT INTO A SHOP AND CAUGHT FIRE
BY COMING IN CONTACT WITH THE SHOPKEEPER'S CANDLE, AND SET ALIGHT THE WHOLE
BUILDING, THE OWNER OF THE CAMEL WOULD BE LIABLE.[39] IF,
HOWEVER, THE SHOPKEEPER LEFT HIS CANDLE OUTSIDE [HIS SHOP], HE WOULD BE LIABLE.[40] R.
JUDAH SAYS: IF IT WAS A CHANUKAH[41] CANDLE THE SHOPKEEPER WOULD NOT BE LIABLE.[42]
GEMARA. Rabina said in the name of Raba: From the
statement of R. Judah we can learn that it is ordained to place the Chanukah
candle within ten handbreadths [from the ground]. For if
you assume [that it can be placed even] above ten handbreadths, why did R.
Judah say that in the case of a Chanukah candle there would be exemption? Why
should the plaintiff not plead against him: ‘You should have placed it above
the reach of the camel and its rider?’ Does this therefore not prove that it is
ordained to place it within the [first] ten
handbreadths? — It can, however, be argued that this is not so. For it could
still be said that it might be placed even above the height of ten
handbreadths, and as for your argument ‘You ought to have placed it above the
reach of the camel and its rider’, [it might be answered that] since he was
occupied with the performance of a religious act, the Rabbis could not
[rightly] make it so troublesome to him.[43] R.
Kahana said that R. Nathan b. Minyomi expounded in the name of R. Tanhum:[44] ‘If
the Chanukah candle is placed above [the height of] twenty cubits it is
disqualified [for the purpose of the religious performance],[45] like a Sukkah[46] and
an alley-entry.[47]
Sotah
41a THE PASSAGE ‘ON THE TENTH
DAY’, WHICH IS IN THE BOOK OF NUMBERS, HE READS BY HEART. Let him roll up the
Scroll and recite [the passage]![48] — R. Huna b. Judah said in the name of R.
Shesheth: Because we do not roll up a Torah-scroll
in the presence of a congregation.[49] Then
let another Torah-scroll be brought and read [it therein]! — R. Huna b. Judah
said: [No], because it would discredit the first.[50] R.
Simeon b. Lakish said: Because we may not pronounce an unnecessary benediction.[51] Do
we, then, pay attention to [the reason that it would] discredit [the first
Scroll]? Behold, R. Isaac the smith said: When the new
moon of Tebeth[52] falls
on the Sabbath, three
Scrolls are brought: the first for the lection of the
[Sabbath] day, the second for [the portion of] the new moon, and the third for
[the portion of] Chanukah![53] —
When three men [read] in three Scrolls, there is no fear about [a Scroll] being
discredited, but when one man [reads] in two Scrolls
there is this fear.
Rosh
HaShana 18a MISHNAH.
THERE ARE SIX NEW MOONS TO REPORT WHICH[54] MESSENGERS GO FORTH [FROM JERUSALEM[55] TO
THE DIASPORA]. [THE NEW MOON] OF NISAN ON ACCOUNT OF PASSOVER,[56] OF AB[57] ON
ACCOUNT OF THE FAST,[58] OF ELUL ON ACCOUNT OF NEW YEAR,[59] OF
TISHRI FOR THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE FESTIVALS,[60] OF
KISLEV ON ACCOUNT OF HANUKAH,[61] AND
OF ADAR ON ACCOUNT OF PURIM.[62] WHEN
THE TEMPLE STOOD, THEY USED ALSO TO GO FORTH TO REPORT IYAR ON ACCOUNT OF THE LESSER PASSOVER.[63]
The following are the prayers normally said during the time when the chanukiyah is lit:
For the sake of the
unification of the Holy One, Blessed is He, and his Presence, in fear and in
love to unify the Name Yud-Kei with Vav-Kei in perfect unity, in the name of
all Israel. Behold, I come to fulfill the
commandment of kindling the Chanukah light, to perfect its root on High.
May it be your will, HaShem, my Lord and the Lord of my ancestors, that this
be a favorable time before you for the observance of the Chanukah lamp
lighting, as if I had fathomed all the awesome secrets
that are sealed into it. May it ascend before You with the intent of the
commandment as it is performed by the children of Your beloved ones, who
concentrate on all Your sacred Names that are recalled by this lighting, who
elevate the unification and pairing of the holy, supreme Attributes, and
illuminate through Your powerful Presence the Great Luminaries. From there may
an emanation be directed to me, Your servant (Hebrew
name) son/daughter of (mother's Hebrew name) to illuminate through the Lights
of Life. 'For it is You Who will light my lamp, HaShem, my Lord, Who will
illuminate my darkness.'
Dispatch Your light
and truth - they shall guide me to fear and love of Your Name, to study and to
teach Your holy Torah, the Written Torah, and the Oral Torah, with great
diligence to give honor to Your blessed, exalted Name.
By virtue of the Chanukah lights' inherent power, make us wise through the
lights of Your Torah, us our children and grandchildren.
May this verse be fulfilled, as it is written: '"It shall not depart from
your mouth, from the mouth of your children and from the mouth of your
children's children", says HaShem, "from
now to eternity".' May my children and
grandchildren be Torah scholars and devout people, beloved above and cherished
below, and may You strengthen their resolve in Torah and service, all according
to Your good desire. May I deserve to see children and grandchildren engaging
in the Torah and commandments with sincerity.
Uncover our eyes that
we may perceive the wonders of Your holy Torah to define the truth of the Torah
and its mysteries. In the merit of Mattityahu, the great Kohen,
and his sons, show us wonders and through Your light may we see light. Purify
our hearts for Your service, distance us from evil
traits and foreign thoughts, may our eyes see Your return to Zion with mercy
when You will rekindle the lights. There we shall serve You as in days of old
and as in former years.
Light the first candle. Say the following blessing
while kindling subsequent candles:
These lights we kindle upon the miracles, the wonders, the salvations, and the battles which You performed for our forefathers in those days at this season through Your holy priests. During all eight days of Chanukah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them, but only to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for Your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
I.
O mighty stronghold of my salvation,
to praise You is a delight.
Restore my House of Prayer
and there we will bring a thanksgiving offering.
When You will have prepared the slaughter
for the blaspheming foe,
Then I shall complete with a song of hymn
the dedication of the altar.
II.
My soul had been sated with troubles,
my strength has been consumed with grief.
They had embittered my life with hardship,
with the calf-like kingdom's bondage.
But with His great power
He brought forth the treasured ones,
Pharaoh's army and all his offspring
went down like a stone into the deep.
III.
To the holy abode of His Word He brought me.
But there, too, I had no rest
And an oppressor came and exiled me.
For I had served Aliens,
And had drunk benumbing wine.
Scarcely had I departed
At
At the end of seventy years I was saved.
IV.
To sever the towering cypress
sought the Aggagite, son of Hammedatha,
But it became [a snare and] a stumbling block to him
and his arrogance was stilled.
The head of the Benjaminite You lifted
and the enemy, his name You obliterated
His numerous progeny - his possessions -
on the gallows You Hanged.
V.
Greeks gathered against me
then in Hasmonean days.
They breached the walls of my towers
and they defiled all the oils;
And from the one remnant of the flasks
a miracle was wrought for the roses.
Men of insight - eight days
established for song and jubilation.
VI.
Bare Your holy arm
and hasten the End for salvation -
Avenge the vengeance of Your servants' blood
from the wicked nation.
For the triumph is too long delayed for us,
and there is no end to days of evil,
Repel the Red One in the nethermost shadow
and establish for us the seven shepherds.
Tehilim (Psalms) 90:17
May the favor of the Lord our HaShem rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us--yes, establish the work of our hands.
Tehilim (Psalms) 91:1-16
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of HaShem, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God,
in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from
the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings
you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You
will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, Nor the
pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at
Tehilim (Psalms) 67:1-8
{For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.} May
HaShem be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us,
<Selah> That your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all
nations. May the peoples praise you, O HaShem; may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and
guide the nations of the earth. <Selah> May the peoples praise you, O
God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and
God, our God, will bless us. HaShem will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
We beg You! With the
strength of Your right hand's greatness, untie the bundled sins. Accept the prayer of Your nation; strengthen us, purify us, O
Awesome One. Please O Strong One - those who foster Your Oneness, guard them
like the apple of an eye. Bless them, purify them, show
them pity, may Your righteousness always recompense them. Powerful Holy One,
with Your abundant goodness guide Your congregation. One and only Exalted One,
turn to Your nation, which proclaims Your holiness. Accept our entreaty and
hear our cry, O Knower of mysteries.
Blessed be the Name of
His glorious Kingdom forever and ever.
Tehilim (Psalms) 30:1-13
{A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.
Of David.} I will exalt you, HaShem, for you lifted
me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. HaShem my God, I
called to you for help and you healed me. HaShem, you brought me up from the
grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to HaShem, you saints
of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor
lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but
rejoicing comes in the morning. When I felt secure, I said, "I will never
be shaken." HaShem, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, HaShem, I called; to the
Lord I cried for mercy: "What gain is there in my destruction, in my going
down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your
faithfulness? Hear, HaShem, and be merciful to me; HaShem, be my help."
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me
with joy, That my heart may sing to you and not be
silent. HaShem my God, I will give you thanks
forever.
Tehilim (Psalms) 133:1-3
{A song of ascents. Of David.} How good and pleasant it is when brothers live
together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on
the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the
collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on
Tehilim (Psalms) 33:1-22
Sing joyfully to HaShem, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise
him. Praise HaShem with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of
HaShem is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. HaShem loves
righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. By the word
of God were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He
gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let
all the earth fear HaShem; let all the people of the world revere him. For he
spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. HaShem foils the
plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of
HaShem stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose HaShem is God,
the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven HaShem looks down and sees all mankind; From his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth-- He
who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything
they do. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his
great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great
strength it cannot save. But the eyes of HaShem are on those who fear him, on
those whose hope is in his unfailing love, To deliver them from death and keep
them alive in famine. We wait in hope for HaShem; he
is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy
name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, HaShem,
even as we put our hope in you.
Scripture readings for Chanukah:
FIRST DAY:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:1-17
When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he
anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings. He also anointed and
consecrated the altar and all its utensils. Then the leaders of
Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2-5
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the
deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said,
"Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was
good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light
"day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was
evening, and there was morning-- one day.
Bereshit (Genesis) 1:14-18
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate
the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to
mark seasons and days and years, And let them be
lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was
so. God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the
lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, To govern
the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it
was good.
Yochanan (John) 1:1-13
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the
light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not
understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He
came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men
might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the
light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did
not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not
receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--
Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's
will, but born of God.
SECOND DAY:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:18-23
On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, the leader of Issachar, brought his
offering. The offering he brought was one silver plate weighing a hundred and
thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both
according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with
fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; One gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
One young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; One male goat for a sin offering; And two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old,
to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Nethanel
son of Zuar.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 5:20-24
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and
light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those
who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who
are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, Who acquit the guilty
for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the
flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for
they have rejected the law of HaShem
Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Matityahu (Matthew) 6:22-23
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your
whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness,
how great is that darkness!
THIRD DAY:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:24-29
On the third day, Eliab son of Helon, the leader of the people of Zebulun,
brought his offering. His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and
thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both
according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil
as a grain offering; One gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
One young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; One
male goat for a sin offering; And two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five
male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the
offering of Eliab son of Helon.
Tehilim (Psalms) 115:5-7
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they
cannot see; They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; They
have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a
sound with their throats.
Iyov (Job) 24:13
"There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or
stay in its paths.
Iyov (Job) 24:17 For
all of them, deep darkness is their morning; they make friends with the terrors
of darkness.
Iyov (Job) 18:5-6
"The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out; the
flame of his fire stops burning. The light in his tent becomes dark; the lamp
beside him goes out.
Iyov (Job)
Yeremiyahu (Jeremiah) 25:10
I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and
the light of the lamp.
Yehezekel (Ezekiel) 32:8
All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken
over you; I will bring darkness over your land, declares the Sovereign HaShem.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 42:18
"Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!
Marqos (Mark) 8:14-21
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with
them in the boat. "Be careful," Yeshua
warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the
Pharisees and that of Herod." They
discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no
bread." Aware of their discussion,
Yeshua asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you
still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you
remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five
thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied. "And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls
of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven." He said to them, "Do you still not
understand?"
FOURTH DAY:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:30-35
On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur, the leader of the people of Reuben,
brought his offering. His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and
thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both
according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with
fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; One gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
One young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; One male goat for a sin offering; And two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old,
to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Elizur son
of Shedeur.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 42:5-7
This is what HaShem God says--he who created the heavens
and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: "I,
HaShem, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will
keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the
people and a light for the Gentiles, To open eyes
that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon
those who sit in darkness.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 45:7
I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, HaShem, do all these things.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 42:16
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I
will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the
rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Luqas (Luke) 2:25-35
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was
righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been
revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the
Lord's Mashiach. Moved by the Spirit, he went into
the temple courts. When the parents brought in the
child Yeshua to do for him what the custom of the Law
required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign
Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes
have seen your salvation, Which you have prepared
in the sight of all people, A light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel." The child's father and mother marveled at
what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:
"This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in
FIFTH DAY:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:36-41 On the
fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, the leader of the people of Simeon,
brought his offering. His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and
thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both
according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with
fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; One gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
One young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; One male goat for a sin offering; And two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old,
to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Shelumiel
son of Zurishaddai.
Tehilim (Psalms) 13:4
My enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice
when I fall.
Tehilim (Psalms) 139:12
Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Daniel
Tehilim (Psalms) 43:3
Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to
your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Tehilim (Psalms) 36:10
Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in
heart.
Tehilim (Psalms)
Proverbs
Tehilim (Psalms) 56:13
For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may
walk before HaShem in the light of life.
Iyov (Job) 33:29-30 "HaShem
does all these things to a man--twice, even three
times-- To turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on
him.
SIXTH DAY:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:42-47
On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel, the leader of the people of Gad,
brought his offering. His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and
thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both
according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil
as a grain offering; One gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; One young bull, one ram and one male lamb a
year old, for a burnt offering; One male goat for a sin offering; And two oxen,
five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as
a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.
Tehilim (Psalms) 27:1
{Of David.} HaShem is my light and my salvation--whom
shall I fear? HaShem is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?
Tehilim (Psalms) 104:1-2
Praise HaShem, O my soul. HaShem my HaShem, you are
very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in
light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens
like a tent
Tehilim (Psalms) 119:105
{Nun} Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for
my path.
Tehilim (Psalms) 19:9
The fear of HaShem is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of HaShem are sure
and altogether righteous.
Mishlei (Proverbs) 6:23-24
For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light,
and the corrections of discipline are the way to life, Keeping you from the
immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.
Yochanan (John) 9:1-7
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him,
"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born
blind?" "Neither this man nor his
parents sinned," said Yeshua, "but this
happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it
is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one
can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the
world." Having said this, he
spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's
eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this
word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
SEVENTH DAY:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:48-53 On
the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, the leader of the people of Ephraim,
brought his offering. His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and
thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both
according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil
as a grain offering; One gold dish weighing ten shekels,
filled with incense; One young bull, one ram and one
male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; One
male goat for a sin offering; And two oxen, five
rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a
fellowship offering. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.
Mishlei (Proverbs)
Tehilim (Psalms) 97:11-12
Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in
HaShem, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 9:1-2
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In
the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the
future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the
way of the sea, along the Jordan-- The people walking in darkness have seen a
great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has
dawned.
Shemot (Exodus)
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 60:1
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of HaShem rises upon you.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 2:5
Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of
HaShem.
Matityahu (Matthew) 4:12-17
When Yeshua heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to
EIGHTH DAY:
Bamidbar (Numbers)
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 30:26
The moon will shine like the sun,
and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full
days, when HaShem binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he
inflicted.
Zechariah 14:6-7 On
that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day,
without daytime or nighttime--a day known to HaShem. When evening comes, there
will be light.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 60:19-20
The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon
shine on you, for HaShem will be your everlasting light, and your HaShem will
be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more;
HaShem will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
Luqas (Luke) 1:67-79
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
"Praise be to the Lord, the God of
* * *
There are two Sabbaths during
Chanukah. There are special readings for each of these two
days. On the first Sabbath we read the regular weekly Torah portion, Bamidbar
7:1-11 plus the verses relating to the prince (nasi) of the day
corresponding to the day of Chanukah, from Bamidbar 7. The Ashlamata
/ Haftorah is Zechariah
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:1-11
When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed it and consecrated
it and all its furnishings. He also anointed and consecrated the altar and all
its utensils. Then the leaders of
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:12-59
The one who brought his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of
Amminadab of the tribe of
Zechariah 2:13 - 4:7
Be still before HaShem, all mankind, because he has
roused himself from his holy dwelling." Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of HaShem, and
Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. HaShem said to Satan,
"HaShem rebuke you, Satan! HaShem, who has chosen Jerusalem,
rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?" Now
Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel
said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy
clothes." Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you." Then I
said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on
his head and clothed him, while the angel of HaShem
stood by. The angel of HaShem gave this
charge to Joshua: "This is what God Almighty says: 'If you will walk in my
ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of
my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here. "'Listen, O high
priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic
of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I
have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on
that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says God Almighty,
'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. "'In that day each of you will invite
his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,'
declares God Almighty." Then the angel who talked with me returned and
wakened me, as a man is wakened from his sleep. He
asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a solid gold
lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to
the lights. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on
the right of the bowl and the other on its left." I asked the angel who talked with me,
"What are these, my lord?" He
answered, "Do you not know what these are?" "No, my lord,"
I replied. So he said to me, "This
is the word of HaShem to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,'
says God Almighty. "What are you, O
mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will
bring out the capstone to shouts of 'HaShem bless it! HaShem bless it!'"
A closing thought:
When the Maccabees fought the Syrians, they fought physically with no hint of repentance. This physical fight was their reaction to a spiritual battle being waged against them by the Syrians. The Syrians were not trying to physically destroy the Jews. They merely said that the Jews could not keep the time related mitzvot of circumcision, new moon, etc. This spiritual attack is what warranted a physical reaction. So, the rules are:
If HaShem’s people are attacked
spiritually, they should react physically.
If HaShem’s people are attacked
physically, they should respond spiritually (repentance).
At Purim time, Haman tried to destroy the Jewish people physically. Mordechai led the people in a total act of repentance. Of course, after this repentance they were called upon to defend themselves, but, this was a secondary rather than a primary response. This, by the way, was the same response the Jewish people took to the Gulf War, and the same raction they should have had to WW II.
The Dreidle:
Although normally frowned upon, games of chance emerged as
the most popular of the games of Chanukah. The best known of these involves a
spinning top, called a "dreidle" (Yiddish) or "s'vivon"
(Hebrew). On each of the four sides of the dreidle is one of the four Hebrew
letters: nun, gimmel, hey, and shin. The letters are the initials of the words:
"Nes gadole hayah sham" literally, "A great miracle happened
there." In
The rules of dreidle are:
1. Every player puts an equal share
of something - nuts, raisins, pennies, or chocolate coins - into the
"pot".
2. The first player takes a turn
spinning the dreidle. Depending on which letter is showing on the dreidle when
it lands, the player does the following:
נ Nun - Do nothing.
ג Gimmel - Get everything in the pot.
ה Hey - Get half the pot.
ש Shin - Shell out - put more in the pot - whatever number was agreed to at the beginning of play.
[ In
3. Play proceeds clockwise around
the circle of players, each person taking a turn. When gimmel lands and the pot
is taken, each player puts another share into the pot.