Many Approaches
December, 2022
Chanukah is most unique among our yearly yomim tovim.
For instance, it is the only yom tov we have that was, at one point, annulled, only to later be reestablished – as the gemara in Rosh Hashana teaches (18b with Rashi). So much of the history and events surrounding Chanaukah are a mystery.
We have covered many of these mysteries throughout the years, such as ‘who was Yehudis and in what era did she live?’ (a tremendous debate); is it true that Chanukah is the secret final day of Yom Kippur’s din?; what ness of Chanukah is our focus -the war or the oil? And, much, much more.
But perhaps the one question relating to the mysterious nature of Chanukah that is most famous, and one that has vexed our gedolim greatly, is why Chanukah and its laws are entirely absent from mishnah. Unlike even Purim (another rabbinical festival) which has its own entire mesechta, Chanukah’s history and halacha is relegated to a few lines in the later gemara.
Why?
It may be tempting to some to dismiss this difficulty by asserting that Chanukah’s establishment took place after the codification and redaction of the mishneh, but this would be historically inaccurate. More peculiar, the mishneh does, oddly, make references to Chanukah, although parenthetically. This fact only serves to strengthen our question -once we do talk about Chanukah, why not mention its special laws and mitzvos at all?!
For example, the mishneh states that a store owner who places his lamp outside near the street is liable for any unforeseen damage caused. However, continues the mishneh, on Chanukah he would not be liable if his menorah enflames someone’s cargo (Bava Kama 6:6).
Even when it comes to observant-adjacent halachos of Chanukah, there is some parenthetical references, here are some quick examples: one may bring bikkurim until Chanukah (Bikkurim 1:6); messengers are sent on certain months to let people know when rosh chodesh was, including kislev, due to their need to know when to begin Chanukah (Rosh Hashana 1:3); we do not establish fast-days on Chanukah (Taanis 2:10). Even more references are found in moed katan, megillah, and many toseftos.
So then why not dedicate a whole mesechta on Chanukah, as we do for Purim? At the very least, why not mention any of Chanukah’s laws in any mishneh?!
Many, many approaches have been offered, I will share some of the lesser-known and more fascinating ones:
- Rav Hutner’s Thesis
My father shared with me last week how it was Rav Hutner’s yartzeit, and that he was reviewing the first maamer to Chanukah (Pachad Yitzchok, 1). There, Rav Hutner first asks an additional question: why didn’t the anshei knesses hagedolah allow parts of the story of Chanukah to be canonized in tanach?
Some may feel that this question is far simpler to answer than our first: the books of tanach may only include those written in the era of nevuah. Since all prophecy ceased at the beginning of the second beis hamikdosh, there was no way to include the Chanukah narrative together with other sifrei kodesh written with nevuah/ruach hakodesh.
Yet, Rav Hutner points out that it is deeper than that. Chazal tell us “Why is Esther compared to the morning (Tehillim 22:1)? To teach us that just as morning ends the night, so too Esther was the end of miracles.” In response to this teaching, the gemara asks, “But what about Chanukah?” The gemara answers cryptically, “We meant to say that Purim was the last of the Nissim to be recorded in writing” (Yoma 29a).
With this gemara, Rav Hutner answers both questions. When the gemara shares that Chanukah was not given to be written down, it is describing the very essence of this yom tov.
The Greeks failed because while one can try to besmirch the value of the written Torah by watering it down with their translation (the Septuagint) and with their cultural influences, one can never take away our true secret of survival –Torah sh’baal peh, and mesorah. Because this is the very element that saved us -saves us still! -we represent this fundamental part of the story of Chanukah by maintaining a largely oral tradition regarding its own events -both in tanach and in mishneh! The Sefas Emes has a similar idea (year ‘684)
One of my father-in-law’s rebbeim in high school is the prolific Rav Yitzchak Sender. In one of his sefarim, he shares something remarkable.The term ‘Chanukah’ is given many meanings, such as chanu choff hei –they rested (from war) on the 25th (of kislev), however it also represents something deeper.
There are twenty-four books in tanach, the anshei knesses hagedolah ‘rested’ for the 25th book -the story of Chanukah! In fact, there is even a greater allusion to this. ‘Chanukah’ stands for ‘cheis’, eight (books) in ‘nun’ nevium; ‘vav’, six (books) in ‘choff’ kesuvim, and finally, ‘hei’, five megillos!
In any event, all of the above serves to explain why chazal wished to keep Chanukah limited in writing, both in tanach and shas.
- The Secret Mesechta
We know that there are certain mesechtos of gemara in the Talmud Yerushlami that were written yet are no longer extant. In a similar vain, both the Vilna Gaon (in his son’s hakdama to Midrash Agadas Bereishis) and the Ben Ish Chai (hakdama to Rov Peolim) teach that there was a mesechta of mishnayos on Chanukah that has since been lost!
On a related note, the Chida (Devarim Achadim, derasha 32) points out that megilas taanis -written before the mishneh and containing many celebratory dates along with their histories and practices -already shares with us the story and halachos of Chanukah. For this reason, there was no need to add its own tractate.
- Hidden Danger
Many give a vastly different approach than the ones above. The Yerushalmi shares a story f a king whose daughter was born on Tisha B’av and he saw the Jews fasting. This daughter then died on Chanukah, and yet he saw us celebrating. He went out and killed Jews in response. Because of this incident – and also so as not to upset the then current Roman empire, or any galus home -we kept much of Chanukah to ourselves. (See, shu’t Tzitz Eliezar 19:26, and the shu’t Eidus B’Hayosef simam 15. Cf. Rav Reuvien Margolis in his Yesod Hamishen V’Arichta and shu’t Shoel V’Nishal 4:37 and shu’t Mikveh Mayim vol. 5 page 39 who focuses on the need to show outward fieldity to any host nation we are in, and the story of Chanukah nay be misunderstood by our Gentile neighbors)
- To State the Obvious
For those who read the feature I wrote for the Sukkos issue on the history of Mechitzah in America, we stated there:
“The following Chasam Sofer offers a fundamental rule of what chazal choseto explicate in greater detail when they regrettably had to write down the Torah sh’baal peh. He writes (Chidushei Chasam Sofer, Gittin 78a) that chazal did not spend time on matters that were obvious and in full observance. He goes on to state some examples: ‘…in no place in the mishneh is it mentioned that we must put on teffilin, or that a four-cornered garment requires tzitzes…or the obligation on Chanukah to light candles…’”
Although, many question why dafka Chanukah was known and obvious, and not a myriad of other dates and halachos that are explicated in the mishneh (see shu’t Beis Naftali 28, Yad Neaman to Shabbos 2a, and Iyun HaMoadim, chanukah, question #237)
- The Famous Approach
Although we quoted above an answer from the pen of the Chasam Sofer, he is also quoted as giving another explanation. The following is the most difficult of all the approaches, and yet the most famous. The sefer Taamei Haminhagim (chanukah, 847) quotes him as stating that this was due to the fact that the chashminoim, who were from Levi, took away the meluchah (kingship) from shevet Yehudah. Rebbe Yehudah Hanassi, known simply as Rebbe, who was the redactor/editor of the mishneh was a scion of Dovid hamelech and wished to ‘avenge’ their act of perfidy by omitting their events (see also shu’t Siach Yitzchak 359)!
Some of the Chasam Sofer’s talmidim denied their rebbe said this (see, e.g. shu’t Mahariatz by Rav Yehoshua Aaron Weinberger, #78), as how can Rebbe simply omit Torah (see Horiyos 14a for the rules -from Rebbe himself-as to when to omit either someone’s Torah or their name)? However, many seek to find justification -and authenticity -in what the Chasam Sofer is quoted (see Kovetz Beis Ahron V’Yisroel, year 18, gilyon 104, p. 137).
Some of the mysteries of Chanukah will have to wait to be answered when moshiach comes, when according to many Chanukah will still be observed (see Magid Meisharim from the Beis Yosef, parshas vayakhel).
May we merit that day soon!
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