The eight days of Hanuka start on the 25th of Kislev. It commemorates a miracle which occurred when the Jews triumphed over the Greeks in war. In this case Jews refers to religious Jews in what was very much a religious war. Greeks here means people who had accepted Greek ideas. In fact the Greeks themselves were not particularly involved rather the antagonists were the successors to Alexander the Great and Hellenized Jews who were their allies. Alexander was more or less a Byzantine, who were great enthusiasts of Greek culture. When he died one of his generals, Antiochus, took control of the west Asian part of his empire.
The war was basically a battle of ideas. The religious Jews said that man should be ruled by the soul. The Hellenists said the intellect was supreme and pretty much denied the existence of the soul. Antiochus led the Greeks. The Jews were led by the High Priest Matisyahu and his five sons. His first born was Judah Maccabee, who served as general. Maccabee means hammer and the idea was that this band of Maccabees would pound the enemy into submission. It was in fact a see saw battle that ended when femme fatale, Judith, seduced and decapitated the enemy general. She gave him cheese to stimulate thirst, then gave him wine to induce sleep. When he fell asleep she chopped off his head and brought it to Jerusalem. With that the Greeks panicked and fled. For this reason it is traditional to eat dairy products on Hanuka.
After the war the cohanim wanted to perform the ritual of lighting the menorah in the Temple. They found only one day’s supply of designated pure olive oil. Unfortunately all of the Jews were ritually unclean because as soldiers they had come in contact with a dead body. Removing the stain of death could only be done through the ritual of the red heifer which required seven days. After that they could make the oil for the menorah according to the highest of standards. With one day supply of pure olive oil, they lit the menorah in the sacred chamber.
There’s a debate as to exactly what they did. Some say that they lit the whole jar and miraculously it lasted the full eight days. Others say they divided the jar into eighths and lit one part each day. Miraculously the small amount burnt the entire day and that happened every day until they had proper oil. This was amazing. The Maccabees had won a big military victory. In addition G-d was not only declaring that He exists but also that the religious Jews were right. It was both a military and moral victory for the faith. The story was widely recorded in works such as the Talmud, Josephus, and two books of the Christian Bible (First and Second Maccabees).
To show off this great victory it was declared a mitzvah to light a candle to proclaim a big miracle happened here. The Gemara (Shabbos 21b) explains that the best way to perform this mitzvah is to place the menorah by the door of one's house on the outside. If one dwells in an apartment above the first floor, he places it in the window facing the street. But, in times of danger it is sufficient to place it on the table. Raba remarks that if this is done another candle is required. Rashi explains that this is done so that the Hanukah candles will be recognized as such. Other commentaries opine that to make ordinary use of the light from Hanukah candles is in poor taste and we are permitted only to look at them alone.
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch following the words of other important works brings more fine practices. When outside the candles should be on the left side of the door because the mezuzah is on the right, in order that that one passing through should be surrounded by mitzvahs. The candle should be placed between twelve inches and forty inches above the ground to demonstrate it was not placed there for light. Just the same one still is credited with a mitzvah if it is above forty inches. But if it is above thirty feet one has not satisfied their obligation as it is too high to be seen. If a person lives in an apartment so high that people cannot see the candles in their window, then better to place them near the door. He also advocated using a silver Hanukia, if one can afford it, to beautify the mitzvah.
In places like Meah She’arim many people light their Hanuka candles by the door and some of them succeed in following even the smallest detail. I’d say that most people light the menorah in their window. Others will have it in a dignified part of their home, often in an ornate glass box. Many have beautiful Hanukiahs some made out of pure silver. For children they may be very simple, a machined sheet of folded tin.
It seems like a spiritual inquiry is occurring among Haredim, with the question, Where do you light your hanukia?” asked frequently. For the dogmatic the preferred place is by the door to one’s apartment. The issue as to whether the hall in an apartment building is a public thoroughfare is a troublesome question. But for those who love the beauty of the menorah the choice is in the apartment.
The power of the Hanuka miracle remains strong and the victory of the Maccabees is continuing. Not too long ago Chabad declared victory over the Communists when they showed in their weekly d’var Torah a line of cars crowned with a menorah parked in the shadow of the Kremlin. The difference today is that we do not have enemies we can gloat over like we had 2000 years ago. Very many non-Jews like the holiday, especially its message. What is stronger today is the fundamental appreciation of the miracle. Because of that we want to see the lights themselves, closeby, in a glorious fashion. For that many Jews have a large beautiful Hanukia prominently placed in their living room window to proudly publicize the miracle.
לע"נ הסבא אהרן בן יוסף ז"ל נלב"ע כז טבת תשכ"ו
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