Chanukah 5778-The famous question of the Bet Yosef

The Talmud Bavli(Shabbat 21b) when discussing Chanukah, makes the following introduction:

מאי חנוכה דתנו רבנן

Dayan  S. Baumgarten zal (of Vienna and London) commented that this introduction encapsulates the essence of the joy of the Chanukah celebration:

‘What is Chanukah? The Rabbis taught……’  This means that Chanukah represents a holiday of great revelation of Torah ideas and concepts and this has become the continual “ma’alin bakodesh’- increase in holiness, of every Torah scholar adding to the literature and beauty of this special holiday.

Of all the famous questions on Chanukah, the outstanding observation was made by R’Yosef Karo in the commentary ‘Bet Yosef’ on the Tur on Hilchot Chanukah. If there was enough oil for one day, then the miracle really lasted only 7 days. So why do we keep Chanukah for 8 days? Why add the extra day?

It is interesting to note that in Megilat Antiochus, found in many versions of the Chanuka service, the telling of the story is that there was not enough oil found ’even for one day’s light.’ This immediately changes the whole story and answers the Bet Yosef’s question in the simplest way possible. Even day 1 was a miracle as the oil lasted all day, even though there was not enough oil found to achieve even this amount of light.

However for those who follow the Talmudic tradition that one day’s oil was found, the question still stands. Why the extra day? Of all the hundreds of answers to this question(look at Sefer Toda’ah of Eliahu Ki Tov, who gives a wonderful array of answers both halachic and hashkafic in nature) my favorite answer is that attributed to R’Chaim Soloveichik. He explains that the miracle was one of quality (aichut) and not of quantity (kamoot). It is comparable to petrol/gas which is supercharged as opposed to regular strength. The oil was supercharged with holiness and even on day one it burned in a different way, reflecting the message of quality which Chanukah has come to represent. The quality of our lives as Jews was saved from foreign influence and this challenge has been with us ever since, to preserve our Jewish identity in the face of outside influences.

I would like to suggest another reason which is reflected in the ‘extra’ day of Chanukah, and this is connected to the fact that the whole event happened in Eretz Yisrael. We know that our whole attachment to Mitzvot outside Israel is only to remind us as to how to perform the Mitzvot when we return to Israel after the exile. The Ramban (Bamidbar 33:53)is very adamant that the Mitzva to live in Israel is absolutely incumbent on every Jew, and our preparation for Aliya includes keeping Mitzvot in the Diaspora in order to return to Israel and perform them there according to the Biblical requirement.

I believe that the Rabbis stressed this aspect of the Chanukah Mitzvot by focusing on the clarity of Mitzvah observance in Israel. For example,in the laining there are 2 traditions, one for Israel and one for the golah. In the golah version there seems to be introduced a sense of ‘sfeka deyoma’, by laining the 3rd call up with the next day’s sacrifice. In Israel the 3rd call up repeats the exact day of Chanuka, as already referred to in the first 2 call ups. The obvious question is that if this is a Rabbinic holiday anyway, why would we want to interject a sense of doubt in the laining, which is not necessary. I believe the answer is that the Rabbis were telling us that outside Israel everything for the Jew is a situation of doubt, as with general Mitzvah observance. It is only in Israel where true clarity exists. It may be because of this that an extra day of Chanuka was added to celebrate the ‘Jew in Eretz Yisrael’, as with the original Chanuka story. Our true place of clarity as Jews is in Israel and the ‘light of Torah’ shines from Zion (and not Brooklyn as some people seem to think). To celebrate Eretz Yisrael is even more important in the times in which we are living and every Chanukiah lit should be a connection for us to the country and status, which we aspire to achieve, to bring the light of Mashiach speedily in our days.

Rabbi Ian Shaffer                    Cherry Hill/SCW