24 Kislev 5780 | December 22, 2019
Chanukkah
Rabba Yaffa Epstein
Advanced Kollel: Executive Ordination Track
Class of 2015
The Talmud in the midst of its conversation regarding lighting Hanukah and Shabbat lights quotes a puzzling statement:
אמר רב הונא: הרגיל בנר הויין ליה בנים תלמידי חכמים הזהיר במזוזה זוכה לדירה נאה הזהיר בציצית זוכה לטלית נאה הזהיר בקידוש היום זוכה וממלא גרבי יין.
Rav Hunah said: One who regularly lights a candle will merit to have children who are Torah scholars. One who is meticulous in performing the mitzvah of mezuza merits a beautiful house on which to affix his mezuza. One who is meticulous in performing the mitzvah of ritual fringes merits a beautiful garment. One who is meticulous in performing the mitzvah of kiddush of the day merits to fill jugs of wine.
The lighting of which particular “candle” is rewarded by children who are Torah scholars? Rashi comments that the candle referred to here is that of Shabbat and Hanukah. Other manuscripts specify Hanukah lights alone. But still the question remains, what is the link between lighting candles and studious children?
While there are several answers offered in the commentaries, the answer offered by Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg-Alter, the First Rebbe of the Hasidic Dynasty of Ger, is remarkable. He asks us to pay close attention to the language of Rav Hunah in the Gemara. While with the other mitzvot, the word used to describe the mitzvah-action in question is Hazahir – one who is meticulous – the phrase used for lighting Hanukah lights is Haragil – one who regularly lights. In other words, this is a regular, constant behavior for a person; it is a habit. To translate it into terms that work in 2017, it is like a person who regularly turns on a light when they walk into a room.
However, the Alter Rebbe continues, and explains there is a hidden explanation in Rav Hunah’s words. He says that it is the job of the lighter להביא ההארה והתחדשות אל ההרגל – to bring light and renewal to the habitual. There is something specific in lighting the Hanukah lights that has the potential to bring newness and freshness to an act that can at times feel so constant, and habitual.
The Sfat Emet, Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, the grandson of the Alter Rebbe, continues his grandfather’s line of thinking and explains that this is why one may light Hanukah lights עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק – until people have left the market place. However, he reads this as עד שתכלה הרגל – until regularity has stopped. Again, the job of Hanukah is to shake us up from our regular routines and to make us think about our behavior.
But what is it about Hanukah that actually contains this potential and how does this connect to children? I’d like to suggest that if we look carefully, we can understand that the holiday of Hanukah is inherently connected to the word chinuch – education. They both come from the same root – חנכ. In the Torah, this word – חנוך, חנוכת – is used to connote a beginning or a dedication. The dedication of the Temple, the education of children, these things are about new beginnings and fresh starts. They are also about commitment and steadfastness to one’s practice.
So in essence, what Hanukah is asking of us is to make a serious commitment. To form real habits that are steeped in Jewish tradition, but not to allow these habits to become dull, routine or meaningless. The real work of Hanukah is to continue to infuse our commitments with light and with new potential. And so, this Hanukah, as we kindle our lights, may we bring our full selves, and commit to bring more light and more consciousness to bear on our behavior.
