Page 42 - HaMizrachi Chanukah 5783 USA

Reflections of Rav Soloveitchik

on Chanukah

Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander

hen the Rambam wrote the prophesied to Israel, and they neither it to radiate into the public thoroughfare.
W Mishneh Torah, he stated took away from nor added anything The laws regarding the menorah’s location
to what is written in the Torah, save
that his purpose was:
and time of lighting are determined by
...so that the entire Oral only the reading of the Megillah [the pedestrians’ ability to see its illumination
Law might become known to all with- holiday of Purim] (Megillah 14a). in the public thoroughfare.
out difficulty... I have called this work The establishment of Purim set the prec- Yet this goal is only achievable when a Jew
Mishneh Torah, for a person will be able edent for establishing additional rabbinic also experiences Shabbat. Shabbat is cele-
to first read the Written Torah and after- holidays such as Chanukah. This idea is brated by retreating from the public arena
ward read this [Mishneh Torah] (Introduc- accentuated in the language used by the of life. We experience Shabbat primarily
tion to the Mishneh Torah). Rambam to codify the rituals of Chanu- within the privacy of our home, our spir-
kah, in which he regularly inserts refer- itual epicenter. Introducing the festival of
Given the Rambam’s stated objective, there ences to the Purim holiday. Chanukah in the middle of Tractate Shabbat
is much to be learned from the content and reminds us that we can only perfect the
context of the Rambam’s Hilchot Chanukah. These days are known as Chanukah.
When codifying the Biblical holidays, the Eulogies and fasting are forbidden just public thoroughfare when the private
arena is strong and vibrant. Conversely,
Rambam lists them in calendrical order, as they are on Purim, and the kindling
and Rav Yosef Karo, in his Shulchan Aruch, of lights is a mitzvah... just like the if the Shabbat experience leads to a per-
manent withdrawal from broader society,
follows suit. Rav Karo discusses the rab- reading of the Megillah. All who are it becomes an obstacle to achieving the
binically instituted holidays of Chanukah obligated to read the Megillah are also
and Purim in calendrical order as well. obligated in the kindling of the Chanu- divine purpose of the chosen people.
The Rambam, however, codifies Chanu- kah light (Laws of Chanukah 3:3-4). As we usher in this Chanukah season, let
kah and Purim in historical order, placing Unlike the Shulchan Aruch, written only us commit ourselves to the sacred synergy
Purim before Chanukah. Furthermore, with the aim of offering a practical guide between Shabbat and Chanukah, to both
the Rambam does not codify them in dis- calibrating our personal spiritual compass
tinct treatises, but as one treatise, Hilchot for contemporary observance of halacha, and fulfilling the mission of Knesset Yisrael
the Mishneh Torah both delineates and
Megillah v’Chanukah (The Laws of Megillah as “a light unto the nations”.
and Chanukah), as if they constitute one defends the entirety of the Oral Tradition,
leading the Rambam to explicitly anchor
holiday. Additionally, while the Rambam Chanukah in the precedent of Purim.
generally discusses only the halachic
dimensions of each holiday, he opens the Similarly, since the Chanukah experience
laws of Chanukah with a review of the took place after the canonization of the
holiday’s backstory. What explains these Written Law, the story of Chanukah is the
various oddities in the Rambam’s codifi- only holiday in which both the story and
cation of Chanukah? its legal juridical components are part of
the Oral Tradition. Therefore, Maimonides
Rav Soloveitchik explained that the shift must include both the stories and laws of
in order and style of the laws of Chanukah Chanukah. Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander
reflects the stated purpose of the Mishneh is President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr
Torah – to systematically summarize the Rav Soloveitchik further noted that the Torah Stone, an international network
Oral Tradition. Therefore, when organiz- only place the story of Chanukah is found of 30 Religious Zionist institutions
ing the rabbinic holidays, the order chosen in the Talmud is in Tractate Shabbat (21b). committed to illuminating the beauty
was one consistent with the halachic devel- Why is the story taught there, and not in and relevance of authentic Torah
opment of these days. Purim is the holiday the tractate of Megillah, which focuses on Judaism in the modern world. Prior to
where the legal battle was waged over the rabbinic holidays? making Aliyah, Rabbi Brander was Vice
ability to institute holidays not prescribed Though Chanukah and Shabbat are dis- President at Yeshiva University and the
in the Torah: senior rabbi of the Boca Raton Syna- (HEADSHOT: SALLY KATZIN)
tinct experiences, each plays off the other. gogue, overseeing its explosive growth
Our rabbis taught: Forty-eight Chanukah’s holiday experience brings the from 60 to more than 600 families.
prophets and seven prophetesses light found in the Jewish home and allows

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