Curious as to Why the Early Rabbis Did Not State Why Jews Light Hanukah Candles [Talmud Tuesday]

by Drew Kaplan · December 23, 2014

A curiosity of mine for a few years now has been the noticeable absence, when reading through the statements of the early rabbis, as to why they do not mention a reason as to why Jews are supposed to light Hanukah candles. When one reads the primary section dealing with the lighting of Hanukah candles (found in the second chapter in Tractate Shabbat of the Babylonian Talmud), there are several tannaitic texts – that are, of course, interspersed with with amoraic and stammaitic statements – that deal with various aspects of the Hanukah candle. These texts consider the basic questions of Who, What, Where, When, and How, with the noticeable absence of Why. Let’s take a look.

– Who, What, and How (bShabbat 21b):

תנו רבנן:
מצות חנוכה נר איש וביתו
והמהדרין: נר לכל אחד ואחד
:והמהדרין מן המהדרין
בית שמאי אומרים יום ראשון מדליק שמנה מכאן ואילך פוחת והולך
ובית הלל אומרים יום ראשון מדליק אחת מכאן ואילך מוסיף והולך

Our Rabbis taught:
The mizvah of Hanukah is one candle per household.
For the beautifiers: one candle per person.
For the beautifiers of the beautifiers:
Shammai’s Academy says: “On the first day, light eight; thenceforth, decrease.”
Hillel’s Academy says: “On the first day, light one; thenceforth, increase.”

-Where (bShabbat 21b):

תנו רבנן:
נר חנוכה מצוה להניחה על פתח ביתו מבחוץ
אם היה דר בעלייה מניחה בחלון הסמוכה לרשות הרבים
ובשעת הסכנה מניחה על שלחנו ודיו

Our Rabbis taught:
It is incumbent to place the Hanukkah lamp by the door of one’s house on the outside;
if one dwells in an upper chamber, he places it at the window nearest the street.
But in times of danger, it is sufficient to place it on the table.

-When (bShabbat 21b):

ורמינהו
מצותה משתשקע החמה עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק

And they responded:
“Its mizvah is from the setting of the sun until the legs cease from the market.”

There is one text that could so easily have been used to generate the mizvah of lighting the Hanukah candle (bShabbat 21b):

תנו רבנן:
בכ”ה בכסליו יומי דחנוכה תמניא אינון דלא למספד בהון ודלא להתענות בהון
שכשנכנסו יוונים להיכל טמאו כל השמנים שבהיכל וכשגברה מלכות בית חשמונאי ונצחום בדקו ולא מצאו אלא פך אחד של שמן שהיה מונח בחותמו של כהן גדול ולא היה בו אלא להדליק יום אחד נעשה בו נס והדליקו ממנו שמונה ימים
לשנה אחרת קבעום ועשאום ימים טובים בהלל והודאה

Our Rabbis taught:
On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, [commence] the days of Hanukkah, which are eight on which a lamentation for the dead and fasting are forbidden.
For when the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oils therein, and when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed against and defeated them, they made search and found only one cruse of oil which lay with the seal of the High Priest, but which contained sufficient for one day’s lighting only; yet a miracle was wrought therein and they lit [the lamp] therewith for eight days.
The following year, these [days] were appointed a Festival with [the recital of] Hallel and thanksgiving.

This text could have ended: “The following year, they established them and made them festive days with Hallel, thanksgiving, and lighting of candle(s)”, but, since it didn’t, it particularly stands out.

This lack of a particular reason proffered as to how and why the sages decided to institute lighting of candles is, of course, quite curious. However, it does invite speculation.

Any discussion of this topic is not complete without making mention of a statement of thee great fourth-century sage, Rava’s (bShabbat 23b):

אמר רבא פשיטא לי נר ביתו ונר חנוכה נר ביתו עדיף משום שלום ביתו
נר ביתו וקידוש היום נר ביתו עדיף משום שלום ביתו
בעי רבא נר חנוכה וקידוש היום מהו? קידוש היום עדיף דתדיר או דילמא נר חנוכה עדיף משום פרסומי ניסא?
בתר דאבעיא הדר פשטה נר חנוכה עדיף משום פרסומי ניסא

Rava said: “It is obvious to me [that if one must choose between] the house light and the Hanukah light, a house light is preferable, for peace of the home.
[Between] the house light and sanctification of the day – the house light is preferable, on account of the peace of the home.”
Rava asked: “What about [choosing between] a Hanukah candle and sanctification of the day? Is it that sanctification of the day is preferable, since it occurs with more frequency or, perhaps, the Hanukah candle is preferable on account of publicizing of the miracle?”
After he asked, he then went back and simply stated: “A Hanukah candle is preferable on account of the publicizing of the miracle.”

This suggestion of פרסומי ניסא – publicizing of the miracle is primarily used in the Talmud by Rava and he is the only one to make mention of it in regards to Hanukah. It’s not clear that when Rava is using it if he is stating a claim that פרסומי ניסא is the reason for the lighting of the Hanukah candle(s) or a value associated with it.

What is clear is that it is easy to point to Rava’s association of פרסומי ניסא with the lighting of the Hanukah candle(s) is that there is no reason stated in the Talmud as to why Hanukah candle(s) are to be lit. As much as I would like to know why the mizvah of lighting of the Hanukah candle(s) was instituted and why the tannaitic sages omitted it (or why the Talmud omitted mention of any tannaitic statements concerning it), sometimes we are left to wonder.

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