From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz of Bialaרבי דוד מתתיהו רבינוביץ מביאלאProfile ›
Faith and Trust: The Holiness of the Chanukah Lights
The She'iltos places the householder in his tzitzis between the mezuzah and the Chanukah lamp: what links the three? Why do we call the lights “holy” when the Gemara asks, “Does a lamp have holiness?” And what has the copper serpent to do with Chanukah?
Name a tzaddik: tap for who he wasTitle a sefer
Shabbos 22a
אָמַר רַבָּה: נֵר חֲנוּכָּה מִצְוָה לְהַנִּיחָהּ בְּטֶפַח הַסָּמוּךְ לַפֶּתַח. וְהֵיכָא מַנַּח לֵיהּ? רַב אַחָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרָבָא אָמַר: מִיָּמִין. רַב שְׁמוּאֵל מִדִּפְתִּי אָמַר: מִשְּׂמֹאל. וְהִילְכְתָא מִשְּׂמֹאל, כְּדֵי שֶׁתְּהֵא נֵר חֲנוּכָּה מִשְּׂמֹאל וּמְזוּזָה מִיָּמִין.
Rabbah said: It is a mitzvah to place the Chanukah lamp within the handbreadth next to the doorway. And where does one place it? Rav Acha the son of Rava said: on the right. Rav Shmuel of Difti said: on the left. The halachah is: on the left, so that the Chanukah lamp is on the left and the mezuzah on the right.
1“It is a mitzvah to place the Chanukah lamp within the handbreadth next to the doorway … The halachah is: on the left, so that the Chanukah lamp is on the left and the mezuzah on the right.”
נֵר חֲנוּכָּה מִצְוָה לְהַנִּיחָהּ בְּטֶפַח הַסְּמוּכָה לַפֶּתַח, וְכוּ׳, וְהִילְכְתָא מִשְּׂמֹאל, כְּדֵי שֶׁתְּהֵא נֵר חֲנוּכָּה מִשְּׂמֹאל וּמְזוּזָה מִיָּמִין (שבת כב, א).
Sources here
In shortThe Chanukah lamp stands at the left of the doorway, the Gemara rules, with the mezuzah on the right.
2The She'iltos says: “The mezuzah on the right, the Chanukah lamp on the left, and the master of the house, in a garment with tzitzis, between them.”1 What do tzitzis and mezuzah have to do with the Chanukah lamp?
אִיתָא בַּשְּׁאִילְתּוֹת (שאילתא כו), מְזוּזָה מִיָּמִין וְנֵר חֲנוּכָּה מִשְּׂמֹאל וּבַעַל הַבַּיִת בְּטַלִּית מְצוּיֶּצֶת בֵּינֵיהֶן. וְיֵשׁ לְהָבִין, מַה שַׁיָּיכוּת יֵשׁ לְצִיצִית וּמְזוּזָה, עִם נֵר חֲנוּכָּה.
- She'iltos of Rav Achai Gaon, She'ilta 26. ↩
In shortThe She'iltos puts the householder, in his tzitzis, between mezuzah and Chanukah lamp; how are the three connected?
3In HaNeiros Halalu, recited after the lighting, we say, “These lights are holy.” But why do we call the lights holy? After all, Chazal said, “Does a lamp have holiness?”2
וְהִנֵּה אָנוּ אוֹמְרִים ׳הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ קוֹדֶשׁ הֵם׳, וְיֵשׁ לְהָבִין מַדּוּעַ קוֹרְאִים לְהַנֵּרוֹת ׳קוֹדֶשׁ׳, הֲרֵי אָמְרוּ חז״ל (שבת כב, א) וְכִי נֵר קְדוּשָּׁה יֵשׁ בּוֹ.
- Shabbos 22a. Shmuel asks this about the rule against counting money by the light of the Chanukah lamp. ↩
In shortWe call the Chanukah lights “holy,” yet the Gemara asks, “Does a lamp have holiness?”
4Let us also first cite the words of the holy R' Moshe of Kozhnitz, zt"l, son of .3 He taught that the verse “Make yourself a saraf, a fiery serpent, and set it upon a nes, a pole … and he shall look at it and live”4 hints at the blessings we say when we light the Chanukah lamp. Saraf, “burning,” hints at the blessing “to kindle”; nes, which also means “miracle,” hints at the blessing “Who performed miracles”; and vachai, “and live,” hints at the blessing Shehecheyanu, “Who has kept us alive.” But what does this verse, which speaks of the copper serpent, have to do with Chanukah?
וְנַקְדִּים עוֹד אִמְרֵי הרה״ק רַבִּי מֹשֶׁה מקוזניץ זצללה״ה (דעת משה דרושים לחנוכה, הובא בדברי בינה מקץ, ועיין עוד במטה משה סימן תתק״פ) שֶׁהַפָּסוּק ״עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אוֹתוֹ עַל נֵס וְגוֹ׳ וְרָאָה אוֹתוֹ וָחָי״ (במדבר כא, ח), רוֹמֵז לַבְּרָכוֹת שֶׁמְּבָרְכִים בְּעֵת הַדְלָקַת נֵר חֲנוּכָּה, ׳שָׂרָף׳ מְרַמֵּז לְבִרְכַּת לְהַדְלִיק, ׳נֵס׳ רוֹמֵז לְבִרְכַּת שֶׁעָשָׂה נִיסִּים, ׳וָחָי׳ רוֹמֵז לְבִרְכַּת שֶׁהֶחֱיָינוּ. וְיֵשׁ לְבָאֵר מַה שַׁיָּיכוּת יֵשׁ בֵּין זֶה הַכָּתוּב דְּמַיְירֵי בְּעִנְיַן נְחַשׁ הַנְּחוֹשֶׁת, עִם עִנְיַן חֲנוּכָּה.
- Da'as Moshe, Derushim leChanukah, cited in Divrei Binah, Mikeitz; see also Mateh Moshe §980. ↩
- Bamidbar 21:8. Moshe made a copper serpent and set it on a pole, and those bitten by the serpents in the wilderness looked at it and were healed. ↩
In shortR' Moshe of Kozhnitz finds the three Chanukah blessings in the verse of the copper serpent; what links that episode to Chanukah?
5We can explain it this way. We know that the Chanukah lamp stands for faith in Hashem, the very faith the Greeks wanted to uproot. As Chazal said, they would tell Israel, “Write for yourselves on the horn of the ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel.”5 In this the Chashmona'im, the Hasmoneans, and Israel prevailed. As is well known, the name Maccabi is formed from the first letters of Mi chamocha ba'eilim Hashem, “Who is like You among the mighty, Hashem?”6 This was their way: to make known the greatness of Hashem's might and faith in Him. That is the purpose of lighting the Chanukah lamp: to remind everyone how, at the time of the miracle, the Chashmona'im and Israel were privileged to stand against the Greeks and to strengthen faith in Hashem and root it deep.
אָכֵן אֶפְשָׁר לְבָאֵר בְּדֶרֶךְ זֶה. דְּהִנֵּה נוֹדַע שֶׁנֵּר חֲנוּכָּה מוֹרֶה עַל אֱמוּנַת ה׳, שֶׁזֶּה מַה שֶׁרָצוּ הַיְוָונִים לַעֲקוֹר, כְּמַאֲמָרָם ז״ל (בראשית רבה ב, ד) שֶׁהָיוּ אוֹמְרִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל כִּתְבוּ לָכֶם עַל קֶרֶן הַשּׁוֹר שֶׁאֵין לָכֶם חֵלֶק בֶּאֱלוֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְעַל זֶה גָּבְרוּ הַחַשְׁמוֹנָאִים וְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וְ׳מַכַּבִּי׳ נוֹטָרִיקוֹן מִי כָמוֹכָה בָּאֵלִים ה׳ כַּיָּדוּעַ (סדר הדורות ג״א תרכב), שֶׁזֶּה הָיָה דַּרְכָּם לְפַרְסֵם אֶת גּוֹדֶל גְּבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל ה׳ וֶאֱמוּנָתוֹ. וְזֶהוּ עִנְיַן הַדְלָקַת נֵר חֲנוּכָּה, לְהַזְכִּיר לְכָל מַה שֶׁזָּכוּ בִּשְׁעַת הַנֵּס לַעֲמוֹד נֶגֶד הַיְוָונִים וּלְחַזֵּק וּלְהַשְׁרִישׁ אֱמוּנַת ה׳.
In shortThe Chanukah lamp recalls the faith that the Greeks tried to uproot and the Chashmona'im proclaimed, and it roots that faith in us.
6There are two ways to come to faith. The first is by contemplating the works and creatures of the One Who spoke and the world came into being, as the verse says, “Lift up your eyes on high and see Who created these.”7 The second is to believe through the power of mesoras avos, the tradition of the fathers, in the spirit of “Know the God of your father.”8 The Chanukah lamp hints at faith through the tradition of the fathers, for the Chashmona'im and Israel won their victory over the Greeks by rooting the tradition of the fathers deep in the people. That is why Al HaNissim mentions “Matisyahu the son of Yochanan, the Kohen Gadol.” The holy sefarim ask why Matisyahu is named together with his father, when on Purim we say “in the days of Mordechai and Esther” and do not call him “Mordechai the son of Yair.”9 Following our approach, we may say that the reason is this: on Chanukah the victory came through rooting the tradition of the fathers, so here Matisyahu is named with his father.
וְהִנֵּה יֵשׁ שְׁנֵי דְּרָכִים לְהַגִּיעַ לִידֵי אֱמוּנָה, הָאֶחָד עַל יְדֵי הַהִתְבּוֹנְנוּת בְּמַעֲשָׂיו וּבְרוֹאָיו שֶׁל מִי שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם, כְּמַאֲמַר הַכָּתוּב (ישעיהו מ, כו) ״שְׂאוּ מָרוֹם עֵינֵיכֶם וּרְאוּ מִי בָרָא אֵלֶּה״. וְהַשֵּׁנִי לְהַאֲמִין בְּכֹחַ מָסוֹרֶת אָבוֹת, בִּבְחִינַת ״דַּע אֶת אֱלוֹקֵי אָבִיךָ״ (דברי הימים א כח, ט). וְהִנֵּה נֵר חֲנוּכָּה מְרַמֵּז לֶאֱמוּנָה שֶׁעַל יְדֵי מָסוֹרֶת אָבוֹת, שֶׁעִנְיַן נִצְחוֹן הַחַשְׁמוֹנָאִים וְיִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הַיְוָונִים הָיָה עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהִשְׁרִישׁוּ מָסוֹרֶת אָבוֹת. וְזֶהוּ שֶׁבְּ׳עַל הַנִּיסִּים׳ נִזְכַּר ׳מַתִּתְיָהוּ בֶּן יוֹחָנָן כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל׳, וְהִקְשׁוּ בַּסְּפָרִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים (פרי צדיק) מַדּוּעַ אֶת מַתִּתְיָהוּ מְיַיחֲסִים אַחַר שֵׁם אָבִיו, וְאִילּוּ בְּפוּרִים אוֹמְרִים ׳בִּימֵי מָרְדְּכַי וְאֶסְתֵּר׳ וְלֹא מְיַיחֲסִים אוֹתוֹ ׳מָרְדְּכַי בֶּן יָאִיר׳. וּלְדַרְכֵּינוּ יֵשׁ לוֹמַר הַטַּעַם בָּזֶה, דְּכֵיוָן שֶׁכָּאן בַּחֲנוּכָּה עִנְיַן הַנִּצָּחוֹן הָיָה עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהִשְׁרִישׁוּ מָסוֹרֶת אָבוֹת, עַל כֵּן נִזְכַּר כָּאן הִתְיַיחֲסוּתוֹ שֶׁל מַתִּתְיָהוּ לְאָבִיו.
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In shortFaith comes through contemplation or through tradition; Chanukah's victory came through tradition, so Al HaNissim names Matisyahu with his father.
7Tzitzis, by contrast, hints at the first path of faith, the faith that comes through contemplating Hashem's works. For “techeiles, the blue thread of the tzitzis, resembles the sea, and the sea resembles the sky,”10 and in this lies a hint of “Lift up your eyes on high.”
וְהִנֵּה לְעוּמַּת זֶה מִצְוַות צִיצִית רוֹמֵז לִבְחִינַת הָאֱמוּנָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה הַנִּזְכֶּרֶת, שֶׁהִיא הָאֱמוּנָה הַבָּאָה עַל יְדֵי הַהִתְבּוֹנְנוּת בְּמַעֲשֵׂי הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, דִּתְכֵלֶת דּוֹמֶה לַיָּם וְיָם דּוֹמֶה לָרָקִיעַ (מנחות מג, ב) דִּמְרוּמָּז בָּזֶה בְּחִינַת שְׂאוּ מָרוֹם עֵינֵיכֶם.
- Menachos 43b. The Gemara continues: “and the sky resembles the Throne of Glory.” ↩
In shortTzitzis, whose blue leads the eye to sea and sky, stands for faith that comes through contemplating Hashem's works.
8These two paths of faith in Hashem, learned from the Chanukah lamp and from tzitzis, bring a person to trust in Hashem. That is what the mezuzah stands for: the middah of trust, the character trait of relying on Hashem. For the Name Shakkai is written on it, and its letters are the initials of Shomer Delasos Yisrael, “Guardian of the doors of Israel.”11 This makes clear how these three mitzvos, Chanukah, tzitzis and mezuzah, are connected to one another.
וְהִנֵּה עַל יְדֵי שְׁנֵי דְּרָכִים אֵלּוּ בֶּאֱמוּנַת ה׳, הַנִּלְמָדִים מִנֵּר חֲנוּכָּה וְצִיצִית, מַגִּיעִים לִידֵי בִּטָּחוֹן בַּה׳, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת מְזוּזָה הַמּוֹרֶה עַל מִידַּת הַבִּטָּחוֹן, שֶׁנִּכְתַּב עָלָיו שֵׁם שַׁדַּי רָאשֵׁי תֵּיבוֹת שׁוֹמֵר דְּלָתוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל (עץ חיים שער הכללים ד, מצת שמורים שער המזוזה, ועיין כל בו סימן צ). וּמוּבָן שַׁיָּיכוּת שְׁלוֹשֶׁת מִצְוֹות אֵלּוּ, חֲנוּכָּה צִיצִית וּמְזוּזָה, לַהֲדָדֵי.
- Etz Chaim, Shaar HaKelalim 4; Matzas Shimurim, Shaar HaMezuzah; see Kol Bo §90. ↩
In shortFaith from tradition and from contemplation leads to trust, which the mezuzah embodies; this links Chanukah, tzitzis and mezuzah.
9This lets us understand why R' Moshe of Kozhnitz found the Chanukah blessings hinted in the verse “Make yourself a saraf.” Chazal said: “Does a serpent kill, or does a serpent give life? Rather, when Bnei Yisrael would look upward and subject their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they would be healed …”12 We see that this verse hints at faith in Hashem and trust in Him, so the copper serpent is truly connected to Chanukah.
וּבָזֶה יוּבָן מַה שֶׁהֵבִיא הָרַבִּי רַבִּי מֹשֶׁה מקוזניץ זצללה״ה לְרַמֵּז בִּרְכוֹת חֲנוּכָּה בַּפָּסוּק עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף, כִּי כְּבָר אָמְרוּ חז״ל (ראש השנה כט, א) וְכִי נָחָשׁ מֵמִית אוֹ נָחָשׁ מְחַיֶּה, אֶלָּא בִּזְמַן שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל מִסְתַּכְּלִין כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה וּמְשַׁעְבְּדִין אֶת לִבָּם לַאֲבִיהֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם הָיוּ מִתְרַפְּאִין וְכוּ׳, חָזֵינַן דְּזֶה הַפָּסוּק רוֹמֵז עַל אֱמוּנַת ה׳ וּבִטָּחוֹן בַּה׳, וְאָתֵי שַׁפִּיר שַׁיָּיכוּת נְחַשׁ הַנְּחוֹשֶׁת לַחֲנוּכָּה.
- Rosh Hashanah 29a. ↩
In shortThe copper serpent healed only when Israel looked upward in faith and trust, so it fittingly hints at the Chanukah blessings.
10This is the meaning of “These lights are holy”: through the Chanukah lights a person can reach levels of holiness, which are faith in Hashem and trust in Him.
וְזֶהוּ פֵּירוּשׁ ׳הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ קוֹדֶשׁ׳, הַיְינוּ שֶׁעַל יְדֵי נֵרוֹת חֲנוּכָּה אֶפְשָׁר לְהַגִּיעַ לִידֵי מַדְרֵגוֹת בִּקְדוּשָּׁה, שֶׁהֵם אֱמוּנַת ה׳ וּבִטָּחוֹן בַּה׳.
In shortThe lights are “holy” because through them a person reaches the holy levels of faith and trust.
11In light of our approach, a teaching of my uncle, the holy Rav who headed the rabbinical court of Bnei Brak, zt"l, becomes all the more fitting. He explained Chazal's words “It is forbidden lehartzos money opposite the Chanukah lamp.”13 Why the word lehartzos? Chazal should have said limnos, “to count,” which is how explains it. But Chazal hinted at something with the words lehartzos ma'os. They echo the Gemara's phrase artzuyei artzi kamei, “he showed that it pleased him”:14 a person desires and craves money. And this craving for money is “opposite the Chanukah lamp”: it is the very opposite of what the Chanukah lamps stand for. For from the Chanukah lamp we must learn the middah of trust and faith, and one who sets his heart on craving money acts against that middah.
וּלְדַרְכֵּנוּ מְאוֹד יוּנְעַם מַה שֶׁאָמַר דּוֹדִי הרה״ק אב״ד בְּנֵי בָּרָק זצ״ל לְפָרֵשׁ מַה שֶׁאָמְרוּ חז״ל (שבת כב, א) אָסוּר לְהַרְצוֹת מָעוֹת כְּנֶגֶד נֵר חֲנוּכָּה, דְּמַהוּ הַלָּשׁוֹן לְהַרְצוֹת, הָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר לִמְנוֹת, וכפירש״י ז״ל. אַךְ חז״ל רָמְזוּ לָנוּ בִּלְשׁוֹנָם ׳לְהַרְצוֹת מָעוֹת׳, שֶׁהוּא עַל דֶּרֶךְ (קידושין מה, ב) אַרְצוּיֵי אַרְצִי קַמֵּי, דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ חֵפֶץ וְתַאֲוָה לְמָעוֹת, וְעִנְיָן זֶה שֶׁל תַּאֲוַות מָמוֹן הוּא ׳כְּנֶגֶד נֵר חֲנוּכָּה׳ הַיְינוּ שֶׁהוּא הֵיפֶךְ הָעִנְיָן שֶׁל נֵרוֹת חֲנוּכָּה, שֶׁהֲרֵי מִנֵּר חֲנוּכָּה יֵשׁ לָנוּ לִלְמוֹד מִידַּת בִּטָּחוֹן וֶאֱמוּנָה, וְהוּא שֶׁנּוֹתֵן לִבּוֹ לְהִתְאַוּוֹת לְמָעוֹת נוֹהֵג בְּהֵיפֶךְ מִמִּידָּה זוֹ.
In shortThe Rebbe's uncle read lehartzos as craving money, which stands “opposite” the trust and faith the Chanukah lamp teaches.
12May Hashem grant that we be privileged to acquire the middah of trust, and through it bring the redemption near. Amen, may it be His will.
יִתֵּן ה׳ שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לְמִידַּת בִּטָּחוֹן, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה נְקָרֵב הַגְּאוּלָּה, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן:
In shortMay Hashem grant us the middah of trust, and through it may we bring the redemption near.
The Rebbe asks what ties tzitzis and mezuzah to the Chanukah lamp, why the lights are called holy, and why R' Moshe of Kozhnitz found the Chanukah blessings in the verse of the copper serpent. The lamp stands for the faith the Greeks tried to uproot and the Chashmona'im proclaimed. Faith comes in two ways: by contemplating Hashem's works, which tzitzis recalls, since techeiles leads the eye to sea and sky, and by the tradition of the fathers, which the lamp recalls; so Al HaNissim names Matisyahu with his father. Together they lead to trust, the mezuzah's Name Shakkai. The serpent healed only when Israel looked upward, so it too speaks of faith and trust, and the lights are holy because through them we reach these levels. The Rebbe's uncle, the Av Beis Din of Bnei Brak, read lehartzos as craving money: the very opposite of that trust.
Takeaway
The Chanukah lights are holy because of what they teach: faith in Hashem, handed down from our fathers and defended by the Chashmona'im. Together with the faith we gain by looking at Hashem's world, as tzitzis teaches, it grows into trust, which the mezuzah on our doorway stands for. A heart set on craving money stands opposite the Chanukah lamp, so these nights are a time to let go of that craving and rely on Hashem.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz of Biala. His yahrzeit and life ›
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.