Chanukah day 1

One of the things that makes Chanukah different than all other Jewish holidays is that on Chanukah there is no specific commandment to eat.  All other Jewish holidays require that you eat a big meal in order to fulfill your obligations for that holiday, but that is not the case with Chanukah. Not that I don’t love to eat potato latkes, I do, they are one of my all time favorite foods (I’m not such a big fan of Jelly donuts though), it’s just that eating a Chanukah banquet is not part of the ritual laws pertaining to the holiday. 

What is the reason for this difference in holiday observance?  A simple explanation is that many of the other holidays celebrate our physical survival (i.e. Passover – saved from Egypt; Sukkoth – being provided with physical sustenance in the desert; Purim – saved from Haman’s wicked plan), but the importance of Chanukah is not the Jewish people’s physical survival.  On Chanukah, the Assyrian-Greeks (the bad guys in the story of Chanukah) weren’t trying destroy the Jewish people by killing all the Jews and destroying their Temple, they were trying to destroy Judaism by assimilating the Jewish people and converting the holy temple in Jerusalem into a temple for idol worship.  This is why the physical act of eating is not a proper commemoration of the holiday. 

The candle lighting ritual of Chanukah is a proper way to commemorate the Jewish people’s victory over Greek culture because of its symbolism.  A flame is symbol for its ability to dispel darkness.  On Chanukah the Jewish people commemorate the Jewish people’s ability to dispel the darkness of the Greek culture being forced upon them. 

Another way we can celebrate the victory of Judaism as a culture and religion on Chanukah is to make an extra effort to learn even a little bit of Torah each night.  Torah is often compared to a flame because just like a flame can pass itself onto another object but not lose anything from itself, similarly, when Torah is passed from one person to another it has the potential to ignite interest in the other person without any loss incurred by the one who shares.  The flame of the menorah is a symbol for the Torah as manifested in Jewish culture, identity and religion. 

Therefore I will be emailing a short Chanukah dvar Torah every day of Chanukah for all who are interested.  Please send me an email at rabbilevitt@sherithisrael.com if you are interested in getting this for the rest of the holiday.