Chanukah

The Rebbe says:

1. The lights of the Chanukah Menorah are different than any other lights. Even the lights of Shabbos (which women light before Shabbos begins) or the lights that the Priests lit in the Beis Hamikdash (the Temple) are not like the lights of the Chanukah Menorah!

The reason the Chanukah Menorah’s lights are different than other lights is that they are not a means to an end. The only reason we light the Chanukah Menorah is for it to be lit. However the other lights are supposed to do something.

Meaning: With regards to the lights of Shabbos the Talmud says that they bring peace into the home. So the Shabbos lights aren’t there for themselves, they are there for something else- to bring peace into the home.

Also, with regards to the lights in the Beis Hamikdash (the Temple ) the Talmud tells us that it was to serve as a witness for everyone in the world to see that Hashem’s presence (Shechinah) rests with the Jews. Again we see that the lights weren’t there for themselves, they were there for something else- to let the world know that Hashem is with the Jews.

But the lights of the Chanukah Menorah are there for themselves only.

2. We begin to explain the inner reason why specifically the lights of the Chanukah Menorah are only there for themselves and nothing else:

Everything that had to do with the festival of Chanukah showed the connection of Jews with Hashem which is higher then reason and logic. The decrees of the greeks, the Mesiras Nefesh (totally nullifying one’s self to Hashem) of the Jews which brought about the miracle of Chanukah, the actual Miracle of Chanukah and the Mitzvah (commandment) of our Sages to light a Menorah in memory of the miracle of Chanukah are all things which are higher then logic.

3. We explain how each one these things are higher then logic:

The decrees of the greeks: The point of the greek’s decrees was to wipe out the Jews’ belief that the Torah is Hashem’s Torah which is a holy thing that is higher then understanding. The greeks did not mind (so much) that the Jews learnt Torah as long as the Jews learnt Torah only because it had great wisdom and logic. Even the commandments in the Torah which have no understandable reason (called Chukim) did not bother the greeks (so much) if the Jews would agree that they only do those commandments because whoever wrote the Torah must have been a brilliant man and he for sure had a reason. But as long as the Jews believed that the Torah is Hashem’s Torah which is intrinsically higher then understanding, and the Jews only did the commandments because Hashem told them to do it, the greeks would persecute them. [And this is why the greeks came into the holy Temple and made all the oil ritually impure. The fact that certain things make objects ritually impure (for example touching a dead person), and certain things make them pure again (for example a Mikvah, a ritual cleansing bath), does not make any sense at all. Jews only followed the rules of impurity and purity because Hashem told them so. Therefore the greeks went and made all the oil in the Temple ritually impure for the Jews to use for their Menorah, because this was exactly what they were fighting against]. So we see clearly that the decrees of the greeks had to do with the connection the Jews have with Hashem which is higher then logic.

The Mesiras Nefesh (totally nullifying one’s self to Hashem) of the Jews then: The Jewish army (called the Maccabees) paled in comparison to the greek army. The greek army grossly outnumbered the Jewish army. Never the less the Jews went and fought with the massive greek army because this was for Hashem and his Torah and Mitzvos (commandments). So we see that the actions of the Jews then showed their connection with Hashem which is higher then logic.

The miracle of Chanukah: When the Maccabees came into the holy Temple after miraculously winning the wars against the greeks they found their Temple desecrated and all their oil unfit for use to light the Menorah (because the oil was ritually impure). They (miraculously) found a jug of oil which was hidden in the ground and therefore was not ritually impure and could be used to light the Menorah. However this one jug of ritually pure oil only contained enough in it to light the Menorah for one night. Hashem made a miracle that the oil lasted for 8 days! When Hashem made this miracle He clearly showed the world that His connection with the Jews is not a logical connection. So we clearly see how the miracle of Chanukah had to do with the connection between Jews and Hashem which is higher then understanding.

The Mitzvah from our Sages to light a Menorah in memory of the miracle of Chanukah: We light the Menorah today in memory of the great miracle that happened with the Menorah in the Beis Hamikdash. And since the miracle that happened then showed that the connection of Hashem and the Jews is higher then logic, obviously the lighting of the Menorah today (which is a remembrance to the Menorah then) shows that the Jews’ connection to Hashem is higher then logic.

4. Now we see the inner reason why specifically the lights of the Chanukah Menorah are only there for themselves and nothing else:

The lights of the Chanukah Menorah show the connection (of the Jews) with Hashem Himself (Atzmus). Therefore obviously there cannot be any other point of the lights!

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos Chanukah, first Sicha, second half.