The Mitzvah of Chanukah Candles is Exceedingly Strict - Parashat Vayeshev-Chanukah 5776 - December 4, 2015
Morah Anat Kampf invited me to share words of Torah this week with the Junior High School. What an outstanding group of students! They certainly have excellent skills and were very attentive. What impressed me most was their thoughtfulness and depth in working through the material that I presented. My article this week, based on that class, is drawn primarily from a shiur that Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik – the Rav – taught regarding Chanukah.
Chanukah commemorates the miracles that Hashem did for the Jewish People in saving them from the hand of Antiochus. This miracle created the opportunity for them to subsequently rededicate the Beit HaMikdash. The Rabbis of that generation created the holiday of Chanukah to serve as a time dedicated to reflecting on those miracles and praising and thanking Hashem for His miracles. HaRambam, Maimonides, teaches, “the commandment of Chanukah candles is a very beloved and precious mitzvah. A person must be careful to publicize the miracle and add praise and thanks to Hashem for the miracles that He did for us. Even if a person subsists off of charity, he or she should borrow money or sell his or her clothes to buy oil and candles in order to light Chanukah candles.”
The last portion of HaRambam’s law is surprising. On what basis does the halacha demand that a person borrow money or sell his clothing in order to fulfill this mitzvah? This law is particularly perplexing when we consider the following universal principle in halacha – a person should not spend more than 20% of his assets on the performance of a mitzvah (hamebazbez, al yevazbez yoter mechomesh). Consider as an example the mitzvah of lulav. If a person had only has $100 to his name, halacha would demand only that he spend up to $20 – no more. Applying this principle to the case of Chanukah candles, one would expect that a person would only be obligated to spend up to 20% of his or her assets – not to borrow or sell one’s clothing! Why is a person held to a higher expectation for the mitzvah of Chanukah candles than for other mitzvot?
In fact, there is one other case in which a person has to sell his clothing or borrow money to fulfill a mitzvah – purchasing wine for the four cups on Seder night. What is the commonality between the mitzvot of Chanukah candles and wine for the four cups?
Both mitzvot are designed to publicize a miracle – to accomplish pirsumei nisah. However, our question still stands – why do mitzvot that accomplish pirsumei nisah have such a strict standard?
The Rav explains that when we publicize the miracles that Hashem did for the Jewish People we accomplish another mitzvah – kiddush haShem – sanctifying G-d’s Name. He explains that the strict standard that the Torah has for sanctifying G-d’s Name is directly connected to the strict standard that the Torah has for someone who is confronted with a choice to profane G-d’s Name or die – he should not profane His Name even on pain of death. The Rav explains that the Torah obligates a person not to miss the opportunity to sanctify G-d’s Name even at great cost. For this reason, halacha demands that we even borrow money, if necessary, to publicize the miracle of Chanukah.
With the lighting of the Chanukah candles, we sanctify Hashem’s Name by reminding ourselves and projecting to the world the Torah values of holiness and morality and the sanctity of the Jewish People and of life itself. May this coming Chanukah usher in a renewed commitment to these values by our families, community and for the entire world.
Shabbat Shalom.
Chanukah commemorates the miracles that Hashem did for the Jewish People in saving them from the hand of Antiochus. This miracle created the opportunity for them to subsequently rededicate the Beit HaMikdash. The Rabbis of that generation created the holiday of Chanukah to serve as a time dedicated to reflecting on those miracles and praising and thanking Hashem for His miracles. HaRambam, Maimonides, teaches, “the commandment of Chanukah candles is a very beloved and precious mitzvah. A person must be careful to publicize the miracle and add praise and thanks to Hashem for the miracles that He did for us. Even if a person subsists off of charity, he or she should borrow money or sell his or her clothes to buy oil and candles in order to light Chanukah candles.”
The last portion of HaRambam’s law is surprising. On what basis does the halacha demand that a person borrow money or sell his clothing in order to fulfill this mitzvah? This law is particularly perplexing when we consider the following universal principle in halacha – a person should not spend more than 20% of his assets on the performance of a mitzvah (hamebazbez, al yevazbez yoter mechomesh). Consider as an example the mitzvah of lulav. If a person had only has $100 to his name, halacha would demand only that he spend up to $20 – no more. Applying this principle to the case of Chanukah candles, one would expect that a person would only be obligated to spend up to 20% of his or her assets – not to borrow or sell one’s clothing! Why is a person held to a higher expectation for the mitzvah of Chanukah candles than for other mitzvot?
In fact, there is one other case in which a person has to sell his clothing or borrow money to fulfill a mitzvah – purchasing wine for the four cups on Seder night. What is the commonality between the mitzvot of Chanukah candles and wine for the four cups?
Both mitzvot are designed to publicize a miracle – to accomplish pirsumei nisah. However, our question still stands – why do mitzvot that accomplish pirsumei nisah have such a strict standard?
The Rav explains that when we publicize the miracles that Hashem did for the Jewish People we accomplish another mitzvah – kiddush haShem – sanctifying G-d’s Name. He explains that the strict standard that the Torah has for sanctifying G-d’s Name is directly connected to the strict standard that the Torah has for someone who is confronted with a choice to profane G-d’s Name or die – he should not profane His Name even on pain of death. The Rav explains that the Torah obligates a person not to miss the opportunity to sanctify G-d’s Name even at great cost. For this reason, halacha demands that we even borrow money, if necessary, to publicize the miracle of Chanukah.
With the lighting of the Chanukah candles, we sanctify Hashem’s Name by reminding ourselves and projecting to the world the Torah values of holiness and morality and the sanctity of the Jewish People and of life itself. May this coming Chanukah usher in a renewed commitment to these values by our families, community and for the entire world.
Shabbat Shalom.
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