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Thanking Hashem by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein
Thanking Hashem
The Purpose of Creation
by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein
Maseches Shabbos states in the name of Rav Huna: One who is accustomed to lighting candles will merit sons who are talmidei chachamim. Rashi and the Maharsha point out that this refers to both neiros Shabbos and neiros Chanukah. Thus, one who takes care to light the menorah on Chanukah will merit to have sons who are Torah scholars.
The question we perhaps would not dare to ask, but are likely to be troubled by, is articulated by the son of the Raavad, Rabbeinu Yitzchak Sagi Nahor. There are many people who are careful to light the neiros on each and every night of Chanukah, yet few are seen to merit sons who are talmidei chachamim!
Rabbeinu Yitzchak answers that it is true that all of Klal Yisrael lights the neiros on Chanukah, and the vast majority do fulfill the mitzvah. However, it is a very small minority who exhibit care to make sure that they perform the mitzvah of ner Chanukah with all the nuances, specifics, and minutiae. One who does take care to incorporate all the minute details into his performance of the mitzvah of ner Chanukah will most assuredly receive this havtachah of having sons who will be talmidei chachamim.
There are peratim, specific details, about the fulfillment of the mitzvah of ner Chanukah that most people do not fulfill, and that is why we do not see many people having sons who are talmidei chachamim. One such specific detail that not everyone takes care to fulfill is found in the words of the Biur Halachah (in the name of the She’eilos U’Teshuvos Mahari Bruna). One often sees the lighting of the menorah accomplished by placing the flame of the lit candle, the shamash, against the wick of the ner in the menorah. As soon as the wick is lit, the shamash candle is moved away and placed adjacent to the next wick as the subsequent light is kindled. This process is repeated until all the required lights of that specific night are lit.
However, says the Biur Halachah, one who performs the mitzvah in this manner may not be yotzei at all. We pasken, Hadlakah oseh mitzvah, the kindling of the menorah is the performance of the mitzvah. This requires that one must keep the fire of the shamash against the wick being lit until the majority of the wick catches fire. It is insufficient to just allow the neiros to catch the flame; the majority must be burning before proceeding to the next ner. That is, the flame being used to light the neiros on the menorah must be kept alongside the wick being ignited until the majority of the wick is burning.
There are numerous additional details about the mitzvah of ner Chanukah, such as knowing the precise time to light. There are many opinions as to when the menorah should ideally be kindled, and one should consult his posek to see what time he should be careful to light.
The question of Rav Yitzchak Sagi Nahor seems to remain without a satisfying resolution. Rav Yerucham Olshin points out that we are blessed to live in a time when there are, in fact, many people who know and observe all the nuances of the mitzvah of ner Chanukah, and many people do fulfill the dikdukim and hiddurim and particulars of the halacha, and yet most people who do so are not necessarily blessed with sons who are Torah scholars! Many bnei aliyah truly merit to fulfill the mitzvah of ner Chanukah, with oil that is mehudar and the finest wicks, yet they are not uniformly merited sons who are talmidei chachamim. How do we reconcile this reality with the promise of the Gemara?
The Alter of Kelm makes an astounding proclamation. He writes that he and his contemporaries never in their lives fulfilled the mitzvah of Chanukah properly. What is so challenging about the mitzvah of ner Chanukah that prompted this statement? Lighting candles does not seem to be such a daunting task that a tzaddik such as he would have any difficulty performing it!
Ner Chanukah is Dear to Hashem
The Rambam writes that the mitzvah of ner Chanukah is “chaviva hi ad me’od, very beloved” by Hashem. One must therefore take great care to perform it properly so as to publicize the miracle and to increase the praise and gratitude of Hashem for having performed these miracles for us. Even if someone does not have food to put on his table, he must borrow money or sell his clothing to raise the necessary funds with which to purchase neiros for Chanukah.
This statement is remarkable, as it is unique to the mitzvah of ner Chanukah. The Rambam does not state this for any other mitzvah. No other mitzvah in the Torah does Rambam label “cherished” or “beloved to Hashem.” Krias Shema, tefillin, shofar, talmud Torah, and Shabbos are all mitzvos d’Oraisa — yet the Rambam makes no comment that these mitzvos are beloved to Hashem.
The Alter of Kelm seeks to understand this Rambam. What is so special about the mitzvah of ner Chanukah that makes it so beloved to Hashem? Why does the Rambam maintain that one must even sell his clothing to purchase neiros Chanukah? We know that kavod habriyos, preserving a person’s dignity, is so important that it is docheh, it pushes away, actions that might otherwise be prohibited! For example, if someone is walking in public when he realizes that he is wearing an item that is shaatnez mi’d’Rabbanan, he is not permitted to remove the item while in public. His personal dignity trumps the Rabbinic prohibition! How do we then understand the psak of the Rambam that for the mitzvah of ner Chanukah we cast personal dignity aside and instruct the pauper to remove the shirt from his back and sell it so he can purchase candles?
The Gemara tells us that if someone placed his
Chanukah candles in an irresponsible location, and it is subsequently knocked over by someone riding a camel, he is not liable for the damage caused by the resultant fire — however extensive that damage may be.
One would have thought that the owner of the menorah should have lit the candles in a more secure location, and therefore, his negligent placement of the flames which led to the conflagration should render him liable for the damage that resulted. However, we do not employ this argument, since the inconvenience of having to place the candles in a safer location may have caused him to completely neglect lighting the menorah — and that concern is more important. We allow a person to light in the place he finds most convenient, and he is then not liable for any damage that is caused as a result of his placement of his menorah.
Once again, we see the unusual importance ascribed to the mitzvah of ner Chanukah.
The Alter points out yet another example of the critical importance of ner Chanukah. Chazal teach us that if someone has limited funds, and can afford to purchase either wine for kiddush on Shabbos or candles for Chanukah, he should use his money for the ner Chanukah. The lights of Chanukah take precedence.
What is it about ner Chanukah that makes it more important than other mitzvos?
Mai Chanukah
The Gemara strives to explain what Chanukah is all about: “Mai Chanukah, what is Chanukah?” The Gemara proceeds to discuss the pertinent halachos: on the eight days of Chanukah we do not eulogize the dead; additionally, one is not permitted to fast. The Gemara then synopsizes the events of Chanukah and states that a year after the miracle of the oil, the Chachamim established these days as Yamim Tovim, a time when we should recite Hallel and give thanks to Hashem.
This is what Chanukah is: a yom tov of praise and thanks to Hashem. However, as Rashi is quick to point out, it is not a true yom tov in that it is not forbidden to perform melachah.
If we were to capture the establishment of Chanukah in a nutshell, we would state: Yemei hallel v’hoda’ah — Days of praise and thanks.
We know what hallel is; it is reciting the tefillah of Hallel, as we do on other Yamim Tovim and Rosh Chodesh. However, what is meant by “hoda’ah”? Rashi explains that this refers to reciting the tefillah “Al HaNissim” in the bracha of Modim.
It would seem, then, according to Rashi, that one who omitted one of these components on any day of Chanukah did not celebrate Chanukah on that day. If someone did not recite Hallel or did not say Al HaNissim, then he did not observe Chanukah!
Rav Shmuel Felder, shlit,a points out that since Hallel and hoda’ah are the very definition of Chanukah, if someone were to inadvertently omit Al HaNissim from Modim, he has not fulfilled the obligation of Chanukah. Although halacha dictates that he need not repeat the Shemoneh Esrei, he has not fulfilled the requirements needed to actively celebrate Chanukah.
On Sukkos and Pesach, Yaaleh V’Yavo is merely an addition, a hosafah, to the tefillah. On Chanukah, Al HaNissim is much more than that: it is a critical part of the tefillah. Without it, there is no Chanukah! Rabbi Felder advises one to make a siman of some sort in his siddur to ensure that he will remember to say Al HaNissim, for if it is omitted the entire celebration of Chanukah remains unfulfilled.
According to Rashi, celebrating Chanukah can thus be summed up as Hallel and Al HaNissim.
However, examining the Rambam’s phraseology in describing the formation of Chanukah should alert us to further analysis. The Rambam writes that because of the miracle of Chanukah, the Chachamim of that generation established that these eight days, starting with the evening of the twenty-fifth of Kislev, should be days of simchah and hallel, happiness and praise. We light the candles each night of Chanukah to publicize the miracle.
Conspicuously absent from the Rambam’s instructions about how to fulfill the yom tov of Chanukah is Chanukah” thus seems to be well juxtaposed to the sugyos surrounding it.
However, when the Gemara explains and provides the answer to mai Chanukah, the discussion seems to be completely off target! There is no mention of the neiros Chanukah! True, praise and hallel are mentioned. Hoda’ah, too, is included — as well it should be. But where is the mention of the mitzvah of neiros Chanukah? How can the most obvious — and, one might argue, the most important — commemoration of the miracle be omitted? When we think of celebrating Chanukah, the first thing that comes to mind is kindling the lights of the menorah. Rav Eliyahu Mizrachi therefore asks, why would the Gemara leave it out?
Gratitude Through Lighting
Rav Betzalel Zolty marshals the Riyaz, who advances a revolutionary way of understanding the above Gemara. In the Riyaz’ s citation of the legisla-
the mitzvah mentioned in the Gemara of hoda’ah, giving thanks. The Gemara had said “hallel and hoda’ah,” yet the Rambam paskens “simchah and hallel.” Why, asks Rav Betzalel Zolty, does the Rambam omit a word from the Gemara? Why does he leave out the mitzvah of hoda’ah as part of the fulfillment of the yom tov of Chanukah?
Rashi interprets “hoda’ah” as the recitation of Al HaNissim. However, in Hilchos Chanukah, the Rambam does not mention the practice of reciting Al HaNissim. The Rambam mentions the recitation of Al HaNissim only in Hilchos Tefillah, together with the practice of reciting Al HaNissim on Purim.
Clearly, the Rambam disagrees with Rashi, maintaining that reciting Al HaNissim to express hoda’ah on Chanukah is not part and parcel of executing the requirements of the day. He holds it is a mere addition to Shemoneh Esrei, similar to Yaaleh V’Yavo. It does not define the day but serves as a fulfillment of “l’hazkir me’ein ham’urah b’tefillah, to recall the occurrence as part of the davening.”
Why is it, asks Rav Betzalel Zolty, that the Rambam does not consider reciting Al HaNissim as an integral part of Chanukah, not mentioning Al HaNissim at all in Hilchos Chanukah but only in Hilchos Tefillah?
Maseches Shabbos, in the perek Bameh Madlikin, discusses the halachos of neiros Shabbos. In the course of the discussion, the Gemara introduces Chanukah and queries what Chanukah is about and how it is to be celebrated.
This discussion on Chanukah seems appropriately placed among the sugya of neiros Shabbos. “Mai tion of Chanukah stated in the Gemara, he writes, “They were kovei’a the holiday as a time during which we would complete the entire Hallel, and on which we would thank Hashem through the lighting of the candles and by saying Al HaNissim in Shemoneh Esrei.” The Riyaz is saying that a fulfillment of expressing our gratitude to Hashem is accomplished by kindling the neiros Chanukah. Hoda’ah is expressed by hadlakas ner Chanukah!
Lighting the menorah is different from all the other mitzvos. Other mitzvos are specific actions that we perform because that is what Hashem commanded us to do. We don’t need a reason, and indeed we do not have a full understanding of the objective of the mitzvah. It is our duty and our honor to perform the mitzvos simply because Hashem told us to: kach tzivani haBorei.
Ner Chanukah, however, is different. It is not sufficient to simply light the candles because it is a mitzvah to do so. The mitzvah is to light the candles to thank Hashem for the miracle — kindling the flames is an expression of hoda’ah. The manner in which we express our gratitude to Hashem is by lighting the menorah.
If one were to light the menorah without feeling grateful, without thinking that he is showing Hashem appreciation and gratitude, then he is not performing the mitzvah properly. His actions are only fulfilling the “shell” of the mitzvah but are failing to capture the essence of the mitzvah.
With this explanation of the Riyaz, we can understand the Gemara and the Rambam. The Gemara
104 would not, and, in fact, did not, omit the lighting of the candles. The Gemara states that Chanukah was established as a day to express thanks to Hashem — The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 22, 2022 an act that is accomplished by lighting the menorah. When the Gemara discusses Chanukah being a day on which to express gratitude to Hashem, this is referring to lighting the menorah, which is the medium through which our deep thankfulness and appreciation to Hashem is conveyed. The Rambam does include hoda’ah: “u’madlikin, and we light [the menorah].” This is the expression of hoda’ah, which is absolutely a critical part of Chanukah, even according to the Rambam. Thus, says Rav Betzalel Zolty, the Gemara teaches us the root of the mitzvah — hoda’ah — and the Rambam tells us the practical manner in which this is fulfilled: by lighting the menorah, we express our thanks to Hashem. Let’s return to the Rambam quoted above and analyze his words a little more closely. The Rambam writes: “The mitzvah of ner Chanukah is extremely praise….” We light the menorah k’dei l’hodos, in order to express thanks to Hashem.
Rav Shlomo Zalman employs this principle l’halacha and teaches us two remarkable chiddushim.
If a person realizes, on Chanukah, that he will not reach home in time to fulfill the mitzvah of ner Chanukah, his wife can light in his stead. Since it is an obligation of the household, his wife lighting the menorah suffices to discharge his obligation. However, this is only insofar as the obligation to light; one will have fulfilled his chiyuv to kindle ner Chanukah. But the feeling of hoda’ah, the sensation of gratitude that must accompany the lighting of the menorah, cannot be accomplished via an agent. To fully be yotzei the mitzvah, one must still have in mind the hoda’ah toward Hashem. Without personally engendering feelings of gratitude and appreciation to Hashem, he would not fulfill the mitzvah, even though his wife lit the menorah. While a wife can be a shaliach for the action of lighting the menorah, she cannot perform this aspect of the mitzvah on her husband’s behalf.
Reb Betzalel explains that the Gemara is teaching us that the ikkur mitzvah, the main mitzvah to fulfill, is the mitzvah of hoda’ah; it is not that the menorah is the ikkur and the hoda’ah accompanies it. Actually, the hadlakah is merely a hechi timzeh, a practical manner, with which to fulfill the primary obligation on Chanukah, which is to express gratitude to Hashem. This is also why the Gemara did not want to mention hadlakah, lest one think that the main mitzvah is to light the menorah, when in actuality this is not the case.
Therefore, adds Reb Betzalel, if one lights the menorah without the kavannah to thank Hashem, then he has not satisfied his chiyuv.
Each Mitzvah an Act of Gratitude
precious and dear, and a person must be very careful to perform it, so that he can publicize the miracles and praise and thank Hashem for the miracles He has performed.”
The Rambam explicitly tells us that this precious mitzvah of lighting the menorah is the vehicle through which we publicize the miracles, praising and thanking Hashem for having performed them for us. Lighting the menorah is inherently an expression of hoda’ah to the Ribbono Shel Olam — and it is the practical way in which we fulfill the hoda’ah.
One might think that lighting the menorah is a mitzvah that merely leads to pirsumei nissah and expressions of thanks toward Hashem. We learn here that kindling the lights of Chanukah is in itself the actual expression of gratitude toward Hashem. It is not merely a vehicle that allows us to invoke sentiments of gratitude and appreciation; it is intrinsically the expression of hoda’ah.
A Fundamental Role
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach teaches us that this is precisely what we recite in HaNeiros HaLalu: “These lights we kindle upon the miracles, the wonders … in order to express thanks and The hoda’ah must be performed personally.
Furthermore, we know that mitzvos tzrichos kavannah, mitzvos require intention — even mitzvos d’Rabbanan. Therefore, before lighting the menorah, a person must specifically have in mind that he is about to fulfill the mitzvah of hadlakas ner Chanukah. Rav Shlomo Zalman teaches a novel halachic requirement, that the kavannah one must focus on prior to lighting the menorah must include hoda’ah to Hashem, because the purpose of lighting the neiros is to feel and display gratitude toward Hashem. If one does not, then he has not discharged his obligation. Even if one lights the menorah at exactly the right time, but he does not think about the fact that the kindling of the flame is l’hodos u’l’hallel, then “chaseir lo ha’ikkur, he is missing the main part” of the mitzvah.
Rav Betzalel Zolty advances the same principle, addressing the fact that the Gemara says that Chanukah is a time for hoda’ah and that it does not mention hadlakah, kindling the flames. After all, if someone attempted to celebrate Chanukah only by expressing hoda’ah, by only demonstrating tremendous gratitude to Hashem, but would not light the menorah, he will not have fulfilled his obligation. So why does the Gemara omit it? Would it not be preferable that the Gemara be more precise with its instructions and tell us to light the menorah?
At its foundation, each mitzvah is a statement of gratitude to our Creator. There may be other reasons for doing a specific mitzvah, but at its core, each and every mitzvah is an expression of hoda’ah to Hashem for creating us and for providing for us ever since.
Our main function on this world can thus be summed up as follows: Ribbono Shel Olam, I recognize and acknowledge that You created me, and that You give me everything I have.
This is the purpose of Creation, and this is the purpose of doing mitzvos.
All the mitzvos are thus a form of gratitude. But there is one mitzvah that we can identify whose sole and single designation is to express gratitude to Hashem. There is a mitzvah that has absolutely no other purpose other than to thank Hashem, as it is a designated expression of hakaras hatov and thanks to Hashem. This is the mitzvah of ner Chanukah, which was enacted specifically to fulfill the main purpose of Creation.
Thus, we learn that when the Gemara writes that Chanukah was enacted as an occasion of hoda’ah, the Rambam identifies that hoda’ah as referring to lighting the menorah, the mitzvah that was enacted to express our deepest feelings of gratitude to Hashem. Small wonder, then, that the Rambam writes that of all the mitzvos, it is the mitzvah of ner Chanukah that is most beloved to Hashem! The single mitzvah that is most cherished by Hashem must be the mitzvah that fulfills the tachlis hayetzirah, the purpose of Creation, the mitzvah that is an intrinsic expression of gratitude to Hashem: the mitzvah of lighting the menorah.
Therefore, the Gemara tells us, one who is accustomed to lighting the menorah in the right way, in the ascribed manner of it being a genuine expression of gratitude and thanks to Hashem, will merit children who are Torah scholars.
May Hashem bless us with siyata diShmaya to light the menorah in the proper way, and may we then all be zocheh to banim u’bnei banim oskim b’Torah u’b’mitzvos.
