Chanukah Meditations for Eight Nights (2)

Chanukah

A person needs to be really careful to light hanukah lights, even a poor person who sustains themselves just from tzedakah... A hanukah light should be placed in the entrance (a porch) to a public space...if there is no porch, it should be placed in a window next to the public space.....Because we have to publicise the miracle of hanukah (to everyone)... (Mishna Brura, Laws of Hanukah)

It is traditional to fill the Hanukia from the right, and to light the newest candle first. For example, by the fourth night there would be four candles on the right of the Hanukia, and they would be lit from left to right. After lighting the Shamash, the servant candle from which the others are lit, we say two blessings:

"You are blessed, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to light the lights of Chanukah

Baruh atah adonai, elohenu, meleh ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Hanukah.

Baruch atah adonai, elohenu, melech ha-olam, she-asah nissim la-avotenu bayamim hahem bazman ha-zeh.

On the first night we add a third blessing, the shehecheyanu:

Baruch atah adonai, elohenu, melech ha-olam, shehecheyanu v’kiy’manu, v’higiyanu lazman hazeh

After the lights are lit:

Hanerot halalu anachnu madlikin Al hanissim, ve'al haniflaot, Al hatshu-ot, ve'al hamilchamot, She-asita la'avoteynu Bayamim hahem, bazman hazeh, Al yedey kohane'cha hakdoshim. Vechol shmonat yemey Chanukah Hanerot halalu kodesh hem, Ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtamesh bahem, Ela lirotam bilvad. Kedei lehodot leshimcha, Al nissecha ve'al nifleotecha, ve-al yeshuatecha.

We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, For the redemption and the battles, That You made for our ancestors, In those days at this season, through your holy priests. During all eight days of Hanukah, these lights are sacred and we are not permitted to make use of them, But only to look at them; In order to express thanks And praise to Your great Name for Your miracles, Your wonders And your salvations בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּֽנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל חֲנֻכָּה.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים לַאֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה.

בערב הראשון מוסיפים גם "שהחיינו":

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָֽנוּ וְקִיְּמָֽנוּ וְהִגִּיעָֽנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה.

אחר ההדלקה יאמר:

הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ אֲנַֽחְנוּ מַדְלִיקִים עַל הַנִּסִּים וְעַל הַנִּפְלָאוֹת וְעַל הַתְּשׁוּעוֹת וְעַל הַמִּלְחָמוֹת, שֶׁעָשִֽׂיתָ לַאֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה, עַל יְדֵי כֹּהֲנֶֽיךָ הַקְּדוֹשִׁים. וְכָל שְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ קֹֽדֶשׁ הֵם, וְאֵין לָֽנוּ רְשׁוּת לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בָּהֶם, אֶלָּא לִרְאוֹתָם בִּלְבָד, כְּדֵי לְהוֹדוֹת וּלְהַלֵּל לְשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל, עַל נִסֶּֽיךָ וְעַל נִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ וְעַל יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ.

First Night: Kavannah

“We live in a dark time. In a world ravaged by war, prejudice, disease, and now, an economic crisis that will put hundreds of thousands of people at risk of suffering. We need to bring more light. And to bring the light, we need to become the Maccabees- a people of faith who believed that liberty is worth fighting for, that human dignity is worth fighting for, and that justice is worth fighting for.”

Rabbi Sid Schwarz http://www.truah.org/resources-91356/holidays/chanukah.html

Second Night Kavannah: Hanukkah—A Haircut and a Bath

A story is related in the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah, 18b) about an event that occurred sometime during the last years of the first century C.E. “Once the residents of Lydda declared a fast on Hanukkah. The two co-heads of the Lydda Academy and religious leaders of the community were Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua. “Rabbi Eliezer (ben Hyrcanus) returned there and bathed. Rabbi Joshua (ben Hananiah) also returned and had his hair cut. (Bathing and haircutting were forbidden on fast days.) (Later) they said to the residents (of Lydda). “Go now and fast in atonement for having fasted (on Hanukkah)!”

This remarkable passage reveals that some Jews, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., were opposed to the celebration of Hanukkah (hence the declaration of a fast), most likely because Hanukkah represented the activist approach to dealing with one’s opponents, whether Syria or Rome, and “activism” would interfere with the very lucrative commerce for which Lydda was famous. The residents of Lydda wanted to play down the implied message of Hanukkah and the Maccabees—that, at times, opposition to foreign rule is justified, and may even succeed with God’s help. Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua, both opponents of Rome, and leaders of the Academy at Lydda, by their own example (bathing and cutting the hair) declared their opposition to the “passivists” who sought to eliminate Hanukkah and accept Roman rule. The “activist” approach later reached its peak at the time of Rabbi Akiba during the Bar Kochba (132-135 C.E.) revolt.

Activism versus passivism, opposition versus accommodation—these two diametrically opposed methods of dealing with hostile foreign domination were to divide Jews for the next two thousand years. At certain times and in certain places one view would dominate. The “activist” could even at times be a “pacifist,” employing non-violent opposition against an autocratic governing power.

The “passivist” was afraid that even non-violent opposition could bring down the wrath of the autocrat, and so almost always sought the road to accommodation at any cost.

......For the next thousand or more years Jews in dire straits in different parts of the world usually chose the “passivist” route to accommodation and survival. There were many notable exceptions. Now, we are even becoming more aware of the many Jewish uprisings during the Holocaust.

The State of Israel, this modern miracle, would not have been created if not for the return, beginning in the 19th century, of Zionism and its restoration of Maccabean “activism” as a valid Jewish option.

In our own day the activist, often in the pursuit of peace and pacifism, has rekindled the light of the Maccabees and restored the meaning and message of Hanukkah—that to achieve our goals and dreams, to bring freedom to the oppressed, and hope to those who despair, we must be “active” pursuers of our cause. Our “miracle” will be achieved when the few, the weak and just, triumph (from Hanukkah in a New Light by Manuel Gold)

Third Night Kavannah

“During all the eight days of Chanukah, these lights are sacred.” (Chanukah Liturgy)

During Chanukah, this time of year when the days are short and the night skies loom, Judaism commands us to do something simple and profound: to light candles; to challenge the darkness and cold with light and with warmth. As the shamash illuminates each candle in turn, help us to imagine ourselves, each one of us, as a bearer of light: just as the

shamash brings its flame to the other candles, so too let us bring our light to those whose lives are darkened by poverty, violence and despair. As each flame flickers to life, help us to see that each one of us can bring light to our world.

Help us to know that the work of our hands can bring warmth to those in need. Help us to carry the radiance of our hearts to all of the dark places on this planet. Help us to believe that through our sacred service the world will be illuminated.

Renew in us a sense of hope in the miraculous and help us to imagine the wonders that might be kindled by our actions and our resources.( ajws.org/what_we_do/education/.../holiday.../chanukah_reading.pdf)

Fourth Night Kavannah

The rabbis asked – “if there was only enough oil for one day, and it stayed alight for 8 days while new oil was being prepared, it is easy to understand the miracle of the last 7 days, but what was the miracle on the first day?” The miracle of the first day was that people still cared enough and believed enough to light the menorah at all, when they knew that

realistically it should go out again within a few hours and they would find themselves in deep darkness again. The miracle of Chanukah isn’t some supernatural extension of the burning properties of oil, but that very ordinary human beings lit the oil in the first place, determined to create light even if only in their own locality, even if only for a short time. It would have been so easy to have not bothered, to have said it would make no difference, to have given up.

Miracles are not really about heavenly interventions or supernatural experiences, but ordinary everyday things which we create and experience every time we choose to dedicate ourselves to the values we say we believe in, when we remind ourselves that we are one human race, when we recognise that what binds us is of more importance than what separates us. Miracles happen when people don’t give in to despair or lethargy, or the belief that they can’t make a difference anyway so they shouldn’t even try. (http://rabbisylviarothschild.wordpress.com/tag/festival-of-rights/)

Fifth Night Kavvanah: There is a tradition of playing games on Hanukkah. The best known of them is the Dreidel game, which is a four sided top that has printed on it, four Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimel, Hey, Shin

These letters represent the words nes godal hayah sham meaning A Great Miracle Happened There.

There are many variations on the game. Most variations have it so that each player puts something to share into the pot. Each letter represents a certain outcome for a player if the Dreidel lands on that letter:

Nun means nisht or "nothing." Player does nothing.

Gimmel means gantz or Yiddish for "all." Player takes everything in the pot.

Heh means halb or "half." Player takes half of what is in the pot.

Shin means shtel or "put in." Player adds two objects to the pot.

Some people objected to this game and those in favor tried to convince them of its importance based on the mystical exercise known as Gematria, where every letter has a numeric equivalent. The letters on the Dreidel are: Nun = 50 Gimmel =3 Heh = 5 Shin = 330

The total is 358 and happens to be the same numeric value as the word Mashiach or Messiah. Somehow the thought was that by playing this game with serious intention one could help to bring on the Messiah.

There is no way of knowing what the Messianic period will really be like or if it is even true but for one second imagine if this were possible, think about how easy it could be! (From Kavvanot for Hanukkah, Bnei Jeshurun New York)

Sixth Night Kavvanah

As the early sages began to codify ritual practice in the Talmud, the legendary pair, Hillel and Shammai, advised different ways of lighting the candles for Hanukkah. Shammai taught that we should begin with eight lights and decrease them by one each night. Hillel taught that we should begin with one light and increase the candles by one each night (BT Shabbat 21a). Today we follow Hillel, in this and most other matters where Hillel and Shammai disagree.

Though Hillel won the argument about how to practice Hanukkah, the Talmud still remembers Shammai with respect. In the early rabbinic work, Pirke Avot, (Ethics of the Fathers), we read, "Any disagreement for the sake of heaven shall be established in the end. What is a disagreement for the sake of heaven? The disagreement between Hillel and Shammai," (Pirke Avot 5:17). Judaism is not a "winner takes all" system. From very early days, our sages recognized that even two good and wise people with good intentions might come to different conclusions. Though in the end we must choose, the fact that we remember Shammai reminds us to be humble in those choices, and to recognize that others who choose differently may still be acting for the sake of heaven. (Bnai Jeshurun Kavvanot)

Seventh Night Kavvanah

the Sages taught: When Adam the first man saw that the day was progressively diminishing, as the days become shorter from the autumnal equinox until the winter solstice, he did not yet know that this is a normal phenomenon, and therefore he said: Woe is me; perhaps because I sinned the world is becoming dark around me and will ultimately return to the primordial state of chaos and disorder. And this is the death that was sentenced upon me from Heaven, as it is written: “And to dust shall you return” (Genesis 3:19). He arose and spent eight days in fasting and in prayer. Once he saw that the season of Tevet, i.e., the winter solstice, had arrived, and saw that the day was progressively lengthening after the solstice, he said: Clearly, the days become shorter and then longer, and this is the order of the world. He went and observed a festival for eight days. (Avodah Zarah 8a)

Hanukah has, in its distant past, the most universal of messages. It is a holiday about experiencing fear, vulnerability and darkness, and not being consumed. It is a holiday that reminds us that light and security will return again, as sure as we know that the darkness will return. These are the cycles of life. The challenge is remembering that the darkness will in fact retreat. So this too, like the story of the oil, is a story of profound faith. (Rabbi David Hoffman)

Kavvanah for Eighth Night : As we lit the candles for the eight days of Chanukah, we have had a chance to reflect on the many different meanings this festival has for us. The joy of sharing in celebration with family and friends, the recollection of Chanukah celebrations long gone, the reflection on the meaning the ancient story has on our lives.

Three themes intertwine in this story: of Might, of Right and of Light. The mighty Antiochus and the great Seleucid army that kept a vast empire in check were powerless against the swift attacks of the Maccabee guerrilla army. It appeared to be a miracle – the restoration of the country to its own people, and the rededication of the Temple to God. But as the Haftarah during Chanukah on Shabbat teaches us, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Eternal God of Hosts.(Zechariah 5:6)

The Maccabees and the people who supported them fought in the conviction of their faith. That no one could supplant God, that they were right in their desire to worship God and that they had the right to do so in their own – our own - unique and particular way. As the Torah tells us, ‘And you shall do that which is right and good in the sight of the Eternal; and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Eternal swore to your ancestors,’ (Deuteronomy 6:18).

When the fighting was over, and Judah Maccabee entered the despoiled Temple, we hear tell of the damage, and the defiling of the oil used for the lamps. We hear of the fact that the ner tamid was no longer alight – a symbol that the presence of God had departed from there – and we learn of the miracle; the small cruse of oil that burnt eight days showing that God’s presence had returned to the site with the victorious Maccabees. Thus they restored the country to its original faith. As David wrote: For you are my lamp, O God; and the Eternal will lighten my darkness. II Sam 22:9)

Just as the light of the ner tamid became the lights of the chanukiah, so too the right for religious freedom translated into the rights we Jews have been denied over the centuries and the rights for which we fight today, on behalf of Jews less fortunate, and on behalf of all the disenfranchised, despised and dispossessed of the world. Increasingly in our age the Festival of Lights has become the Festival of Rights (Rabbi Sybil Sheridan)

Source Sheet created on Sefaria by Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild