Siman 670

In the Second Temple period, when the wicked Antiochuses reigned—they issued decrees against Israel and nullified their holy religion, and did not allow them to engage in Torah and mitzvot, and they stretched forth their hand against their property and their daughters. And they entered the Sanctuary and made breaches in it and defiled the pure items, and they distressed Israel and oppressed them with great pressure; until the Lord, God of their fathers, had mercy upon them and saved them from their hand, and rescued them through the holy and pure sons of the Hasmoneans, the High Priests, Mattathias and his sons, who fought with Antiochus and overcame him. And the victory was not in a natural way, for the Hasmoneans with the group of the pious were very few, and Antiochus came against them with a great multitude and many elephants and with chariots and horsemen. But the Lord, who desires His people Israel—delivered the mighty into the hand of the weak, and the many into the hand of the few, and the impure into the hand of the pure, and the wicked into the hand of the righteous. And the arrogant ones of Israel who had joined themselves to Antiochus were also killed, and were delivered into the hand of those who engage in the Torah. And then the Name of Heaven was magnified and sanctified in the world, and the light of the Torah appeared in its essential purity, and the name of Israel was magnified among the nations.

And the completion of the miracle was on the twenty-fifth of Kislev. And yet another miracle was shown to them from Heaven, through "the candle of a mitzvah and the light of Torah." As we learn in Shabbat (21b): What is Hanukkah? For our rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev are the days of Hanukkah, they are eight, on which one may not eulogize and on which one may not fast. For when the men of Antiochus entered the Sanctuary, they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary, and when the Hasmonean house grew strong and defeated them—they searched and found only one flask of oil that was lying with the seal of the Kohen Gadol, and there was only enough in it to light for one day. A miracle occurred with it, and they lit from it for eight days. For another year they established them and made them festive days with Hallel and thanksgiving.

The explanation of the matter: When they purified the Mikdash, and they were all tamei met from the war, and a tamei met cannot be purified except after seven days through sprinkling on the third and seventh, and one day for the preparation of tahor oil (Beit Yosef). Furthermore: that there was tahor oil at a distance of four days, and until they would go and return, eight days would pass (Ran ibid.). And they had nothing with which to light the Menorah. And they offered all the sacrifices of the Temidim, for a communal sacrifice overrides tumah. Therefore, they were also able to light the lamps of the Menorah for this reason, for the lighting of the Menorah also overrides tumah, as is taught in Torat Kohanim, Parashat Emor (end of Parasha 13): "'He shall arrange the lamps before Hashem continually' – 'continually' even on Shabbat, 'continually' even in tumah." However, the oil was required to be tahor, for tumah was not permitted for the community except for tumat met, and not other types of tumah, as is explained in Pesachim (67a). And the oils were defiled by other types of tumah, from their touch and from their carriage. And all the olives were defiled, until they could obtain from those still attached to the tree which do not receive tumah, and the eight days would pass. Therefore, when they found this flask sealed with the seal of the Kohen Gadol, and it was placed in the depths in a manner that they also did not move it, for if not so, they would have defiled it through hesset (Tosafot Shabbat ibid.). Furthermore: that had they seen them – they certainly would have taken it, for they would have imagined that there were precious stones there (Ran ibid.). And the Holy One, Blessed be He, performed a miracle for them, that even though there was only enough for one day – they lit from it for eight days, until they produced tahor oil. Therefore, they established eight days for Hallel and thanksgiving. (See Bach, and according to what I have written, it works well with simplicity.)

And even though the miracle was only for seven days, for there was enough in it to light for one day, nevertheless, since only an eighth part of it was consumed—it follows that the miracle was also on the first day (Beit Yosef). And there is one who wrote: because they had abolished from them the mitzvah of milah, which is for eight days (Shiltei HaGibborim in the Hagahot Mordechai ibid.). And there is one who wrote: because they then inaugurated the House from the service that the wicked Antiochus had abolished (ibid.).

And the truth is so: for it is stated in the Midrash that the work of the Mishkan was completed on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, but they did not inaugurate it until Rosh Chodesh Nisan, in which the patriarchs were born. And the Holy One, blessed be He, repaid it in the days of Mattathias (this Midrash is cited in the Maharsha there). Therefore they acted like the inauguration of the Mishkan, where there were seven days of installation, and on the eighth day was the completion of the start of the service in the Mishkan by Aaron and his sons, as is explained in the Torah. And so too King Solomon, when he inaugurated the Beit HaMikdash, it is written in Divrei HaYamim (II 7): "And Solomon observed the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day a solemn assembly," see there. Therefore, as a memorial, they also called this Yom Tov "Chanukah," from the language of "inauguration of the altar" and "inauguration of the House." And there is in this also a hint to the twenty-fifth day: Chanu-Kah (the Ran there). And another reason for this is explained in the Book of the Maccabees: because due to the decrees—they were then prevented from sacrificing during the past festival of Sukkot and on Shemini Atzeret. Therefore, as a memorial of this—they made eight days of Chanukah. And consequently, when they were shown from Heaven the miracle of the lighting—it showed them that they agreed with them to make eight days. (And this is what they said in Shabbat there: In another year they established them etc., meaning: after they saw that from Heaven they agreed with them to make eight days, by means of the oil that they showed them which burned for eight days. And as a memorial of this miracle, they established to light candles on Chanukah, as the Tur wrote.)

And on Chanukah it is forbidden to fast, except for a fast for a dream, for which one fasts even on Shabbat and Yom Tov. And one must sit a fast for his fast, as on Shabbat and Yom Tov. And know that there is one who forbids fasting even on the eve of Chanukah (Bach in siman 686) for the reason that was explained in siman 573: that even though Megillat Taanit was nullified, nevertheless regarding Chanukah and Purim it was not nullified, see there. And in Megillat Taanit, it is forbidden to fast even before them and after them, but regarding after them, there is one who says in the Gemara that it is permitted, and therefore one should not be stringent. But regarding before them—it is forbidden. And there is one who forbids even after it (Knesset HaGedolah). But the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch ruled above in siman 573 and below in siman 686 that both before them and after them—it is permitted to fast. For that which Megillat Taanit was not nullified regarding Chanukah and Purim—this is regarding the days themselves, and not before them or after them, for regarding this, even for Chanukah and Purim it was nullified. And there are those who fast on the eve of Chanukah in place of the eve of Rosh Chodesh Tevet which falls during Chanukah (Magen Avraham ibid.). And one who conducts himself so should not change his custom, but ab initio one should not do so. And certainly one should not decree a public fast, whether before them or after them (ibid.). And nevertheless, one who wishes to rely on the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch and fast—who can protest against him? And Hashem searches all hearts, provided that his intention is for the sake of Heaven.

Eulogizing is also forbidden on Chanukah. Only for a sage in his presence, for even on a festival one may eulogize him, and all the more so on Chanukah. And some say that for a sage in his presence, one also recites the tzidduk hadin, and some disagree on this, and only to deliver a sermon about him is permitted (Levush). And one does not fast on it for a yahrzeit, nor on the day of a wedding, only a fast for a dream as I have written.

Chanukah is permitted for the performance of melacha. And the Gemara there which said "and they established them as Yamim Tovim with Hallel and thanksgiving" – it is not literally Yamim Tovim, but rather: days of joy. For even Purim they did not accept as a Yom Tov, as is found in Megillah, and certainly Chanukah. However, the women are accustomed not to perform melacha as long as the candles are burning, and one should not be lenient for them (Tur). For some of the miracle of Chanukah was performed through a woman, at the time when they decreed that every married woman must first be intimate with the governor, as Rashi explained in Shabbat (23a). And furthermore, later in time, a miracle was performed through Yehudit, who gave the enemy milk to drink. And based on this, some are meticulous to eat cheese on Chanukah, even though this was not at the time of the miracle of Chanukah. But if they were accustomed not to perform melacha the entire day – some say to nullify their custom, and some say not to nullify it, and some say that for the first and last day one should not nullify them (Magen Avraham subsection 2). And we have not heard of these customs, and our women only at the time of the lighting do not perform melacha.

The abundance of meals that are increased—they are optional meals. For they did not establish them for feasting and joy like Purim, because the decree of Haman was against the bodies: "to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate"—therefore it is necessary to gladden the body. But the decrees of Antiochus were the nullification of Torah and mitzvot. And even though this is worse than a decree against the body, nevertheless, ultimately they are decrees against the soul; therefore it is necessary to gladden the soul with Hallel, and thanksgiving, and melodies, and songs and praises, and the body has no involvement in this (and the difficulty of the Taz, subsection 3, is answered). Nevertheless, some say there is a bit of a mitzvah to increase the meals. One: because the joy of the soul also depends somewhat on the joy of the body, as is perceived by the senses. And furthermore: in memory of the dedication of the Mishkan, which they established for feasting and joy. And also, one should say songs and praises during the meals, and then it is certainly a seudat mitzvah. But those who play cards—their punishment is great, and in our many sins, this plague of tzaraat has spread in the House of Israel. Woe to us that it has arisen in our days thus, and how many types of transgressions are dependent on this! And He, the Merciful One, will atone for iniquity. And whoever has it in his power to abolish it—his reward is very great.