5784/2023

The P’nei Yehoshua asks a sweeping question: Was the oil even necessary? We have a concept of טומאה הותרה בציבור, that things that are Tamei can be made pure by Klal Yisrael when needed. Couldn’t the Chashmonaim simply have used impure oil and purified it בציבור? 

The famous Gemara in Shabbos quotes a Braita which discusses the different levels of lighting Chanukah candles: “מצוַת חנוכה - נר איש וביתו, והמהדרין - נר לכל אחד ואחד, והמהדרין מן המהדרין - בית שמאי אומרים: יום ראשון מדליק שמונה, מכאן ואילך פוחת והולך; ובית הלל אומרים: יום ראשון מדליק אחת, מכאן ואילך מוסיף .והולך”

The baseline Halacha is נר איש וביתו, one candle per house. The next level up, Mehadrin, requires one candle per person of the household. The optimal way to fulfill the Mitzvah, however, is a matter of great dispute. Clearly, Mehadrin min Mehadrin requires the number of candles to correlate with which day of Chanukah it is. Beit Shammai assert that they should convey the number of days that remain of Chanukah; Beit Hillel argue that they represent the days of Chanukah that have passed. The Gemara notoriously defends Beit Hillel with the principle of מעלין בקודש ואין מורידין—we only ascend in spiritual items, not descend—and we Paskin like Beit Hillel, as per usual.

What is much less well known, however, is the ensuing machlokes between Tosafot and the Rambam about what to do within the Mehadrin min Mehadrin framework of Beit Hillel. Tosafot says that Mehadrin min Mehadrin simply means that we should light one Menorah which signifies the night using the appropriate number of candles. 

The Rambam argues that Mehadrin min Mehadrin means one should light the number of candles of the night per person in the household - a combination of both the Mitzvah M’Ikar HaDin and the Mehadrin level.

We take on the Rambam L’Halacha, as indicated in the Rama.

There is yet a key difference between the Rama’s Psak Halacha and the Rambam. According to the Rambam, the man of the house lights all these extra candles for everyone in the family. But, according to the Rama, each and every person lights for themselves.

The Rav expounded on this distinction between the Rama and the Rambam: The Rama is using the standard הידור מצוה of מצוה בו יותר מבשלוחו, a mitzvah is better if performed by the subject himself, rather than a שליח, a messenger. Hence his Psak Halacha that each and every household member light for themselves. Contrarily, the Rambam is referring to a distinct הידור מצוה that is unique to נר חנוכה. 

Chanukah was an assault on our religion, not our lives. The Greeks attempted to Hellenize us—they wanted us to live, but not to live as Jews. When someone threatens the spiritual quality of our way of life, we increase the quality! By no other Mitzvah do we have a concept of מהדרין מן מהדרין—only by נר חנוכה. This unique level of מהדרין suits the holiday perfectly - we light according to the highest standard possible, we go above and beyond what we are commanded to do to show any enemy of our religion that we will not compromise.

With this in mind, perhaps we can return to the question of the P’nei Yehoshua: why weren’t we just מתיר the oil using the concept of טומאה הותרה בציבור? The impure oil would have been sufficient to last the week which it was needed before we could resume with the traditional oil.

We needed this miracle because after we just defeated the Greeks in their attempt to compromise our spiritual condition, the last thing we will do is be complacent with different התרים for our sacred oil. 

This inaugural week of Menorah lighting set a standard for the next 200 years in the Beis HaMikdash, and the next 2,000 years of Menorah lighting in the homes of Jews across the globe.

Today, we find ourselves again the victims of a similar spiritual attack. Hamas is physically attacking us on the ground and calling for our annihilation, and they must be eliminated, but anti-Semites around the world want to compromise our way of life. Our job this Chanukah is to send a message that we will not compromise, and we will not back down.