Less is More

Rabbi Melanie Aron

Saturday, December 23, 2006

The customs associated with the lighting of the Hanukiyah are so well ingrained and so familiar that it is hard to imagine that Jews ever did things differently.

Yet we have evidence that the earliest celebration of Hanukah consisted only of one light and perhaps for some one light per family. We also have evidence that our use of candles rather than oil and wicks was seen as revolutionary as late as the 16th century. The Maharal of Prague, Rabbi Judah Lowe, forbade the use of wax candles arguing that the original miracle was a miracle of oil.

Various questions arose through the centuries, can women light ( yes, they were also part of the miracle), how long do the candles have to burn ( 30 minutes), where should the Hanukiyah be displayed (this varies a little depending on whether one is Sephardi or Ashkenazi). There is also a discussion as to whether one should use the more economical poppy seed oil or the higher quality olive oil for the holiday. Mark Katz of the Reform Movement’s Religious Action Center, sees in the rabbis determination in favor of olive oil, a commitment to pursuing a healthier energy policy even if it involves some greater expense in the short term.

I think the most interesting debate though about the Hanukah candles is that of Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai over the order of lighting the candles. Beit Shamma maintains: On the first day eight lights are lit and thereafter they are gradually reduced, but Beit Hillel says: On the first day one is lit and thereafter they are progressively increased.

One explanation of the point of view of Beit Shammai is dependence on the parallel between the eight days of Hanukah and the eight days of Sukkot, a relationship that is also stressed in the Book of Maccabbees. In the ancient Temple on Sukkot, 13 bullocks were sacrificed on the first day, 12 on the second, and so on each succeeding day. Others say the argument was simply about whether the candles should represent the number of days of Hanukah still to come, or the number of days passed.

But Jews are rarely satisfied with straight forward explanations of this sort, and so there have been many efforts to come to a deeper understanding of this argument.

The argument between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai is understood by some of the Rishonim, particularly Rambam and Rav Yitzchak of Dampierre, to really be an argument as to whether each family should have one Chanukiyah, the current Sephardi practice, or whether each family member can have a Chanukiyah, current Ashkenazi practice. This is related to the difference in placement of the Hanukiyah- outside by the Sephardim or inside the home by the Ashkenazim. Is the meaning of this custom primarily to publicize this miracle to the outside world, to remind them that Am Yisrael Chai, the Jewish people still lives, or is it to have light within our homes, with each individual lighting their own menorah, with the focus on personal spiritual re-ignition.

In a charming story, “The Two Menorahs” by Daniel Mark Epstein, an old man, alone with his elderly neighbor, the man who lives across the hall and with whom he argues constantly, comes to understand the importance of the one candle being joined by another and then another and thus the meaning of the position of Beth Hillel. Faced with what he fears is his best friend’s death, he understands that one cannot be a Jew alone. With this understanding he is able to revive his friend, by arguing the foolishness of dying on the first night, when so many days of Hanukah celebration remain and so much good food still has to be eaten.

Finally there is the wonderful explanation of Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, a Conservative rabbi. Writing in Sh’ma magazine, she explains: ”This choice of counting up or down encapsulates two approaches to life: Are the blessings of life so finite- so that with each one bestowed our cup is diminished? Or are they as infinite as the Source from which they come? And even if they are finite: do we imagine a growing darkness as each is used up, or do we gather all the revealed ones together, basking in the light that grows with each new blessing?”

Shifrah, poppy seed or olive oil aside- I know that you will be committed to preserving the world for future generations. May your observance of Hanukah be both a public symbol of Jewish continuity and a personal act of spiritual engagement. I hope that you will feel always like Beit Hillel’s candles, that when one person stands up for a cause, they are joined by another and then another. Finally, as part of a generation faced with so many challenges, which I know weigh upon you heavily, particularly global warming and a fear that your generation’s life will not be as easy as ours, I pray that you may experience life from Beit Hillel’s perspective, a world in which blessings increase and the future is a brighter place than the past.