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DECEMBER 1998 EDITION
CHANUKAH:
WHY NOT A
SEVEN-DAY FESTIVAL?
by Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz
Excerpted from the book,
"CHANUKAH - IT'S HISTORY, OBSERVANCE AND SIGNIFICANCE."
Reprinted with permission.
Published by ArtScroll/Mesorah, Brooklyn, NY.
Web: www.artscroll.com
Intro.  Chanukah is celebrated for eight days to commemorate the miracle of the oil. All that was left of the pure oil after the Syrian-Greek desecrations was a one-day supply of oil, but it burned miraculously for eight days until a fresh supply became available.
In one of the most famous questions in Rabbinic literature, Bais Yosef (16th century Israel) raises a basic difficulty with this reason: Since the untainted jug contained enough oil to burn naturally for one night, nothing miraculous happened on the first night that the Kohanim (priests) kindled the Menorah. Since the miraculous nature of the burning was only on the following seven days, why should not Chanukah be observed for only seven days?
This question has engaged some of Judaism's most brilliant minds since it was first raised over four centuries ago. Bais Yosef himself offered three possible answers, and countless scholars have offered an endless stream of answers down through the years. We shall offer a sampling of such answers, beginning with the three of Bais Yosef:
1.
Had the Kohanim used all the oil on the first night, they would have been forced to leave the Menorah unlit for the following week. Instead, they decided to use one-eighth of the oil each night until they could obtain a new supply. But instead of the flames going out during the night, the Menorah remained lit until morning, as if its cups had been filled with oil. Thus, a miracle occurred every night. (Bais Yosef)
2.
After they filled all the cups of the Menorah, the Kohanim found that a miracle had happened - the jug of oil had remained brimful. (Bais Yosef)
3.
In a variation of the previous answer, Bais Yosef suggests that each morning the Kohanim found that the cups of the Menorah were still full of oil, even after having burned all night.
4.
The Zohar states a principle that God performs a miracle only on something that already exists in some measure. Thus, for example, a partially filled jar can become full miraculously, but God does not fill a jar that is totally empty. According to this rule, we must assume that after the first night's burning, some oil had to be left, despite the fact that it had burned for the full duration. The first day's miracle was that this remnant remained. On the succeeding days, this remnant burned for a full night. (Turei Zahav)
5.
True, the miracle of the oil did not begin until the second day, and lasted for only seven days. But the Sages designated the first day of Chanukah as a festival in commemoration of the miraculous military victory over the massive Syrian-Greek legions. (Pri Chadash)
6.
The jug of oil contained less than a one-day supply. If that is correct, even the first full night of burning was miraculous. (She'iltos d'Rav Achai Gaon)
7.
The purity of the hidden jug was verified by the fact that it was closed with the still unbroken seal of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest). But it was never the Temple practice - before or since - for jugs to be sealed by the Kohen Gadol or anyone else. Instead, a responsible Kohen was put in charge of the manufacture of the oil and its safekeeping. The very fact that God had inspired an earlier Kohen Gadol to seal a jug of oil so that it should be available when needed by the Hasmoneans was in itself a miracle. (Bnai Yisas'char)
8.
One of the commandments whose observance was forbidden by the Syrian-Greeks was circumcision. Accordingly the Sages added an eighth day to Chanukah to allude to circumcision, which is performed on an infant's eighth day. (Shiltei HaGibborim)
9.
The Kohanim dismantled the Altar that had been contaminated by the Syrian-Greeks, and replaced it with a newly built Altar, which they then dedicated in an eight-day celebration. The extra day of Chanukah commemorates its dedication. (Birkei Yosef from Megillas Taanis)
10.
Since the Temple building had been desecrated by pagan sacrifices and the emplacement of idols, the Hasmoneans lit their Menorah in the Courtyard, out in the open. Normally, a flame exposed to breezes and open air will burn more quickly than one that is sheltered indoors. Nevertheless, the single-day supply burned as long on the first night outdoors as it would have inside the Temple. (Derasho Chasam Sofer)
11.
Oil produced through miraculous means would be unfit for the mitzvah, for the Torah calls for "olive oil," not "miracle oil." According to this line of reasoning, the miracle could not have involved an increase in the quantity of oil through the filling of a nearly empty jug or cup - but rather the miracle must have been an intensification of its ability to burn. Instead of using up a cupful of oil each night, each cup of the Menorah consumed only one-eighth of its usual need, while burning all night. Since only an eighth of the normal quota was consumed each night, the miracle occurred on each of the eight days. (Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchick)
12.
Having returned to the Temple and found its purity and sacred materials in shambles, the Hasmoneans had no logical reason to think they would find any pure oil. They could have been expected to give up all hope of finding pure oil, and planned ahead for the time when they could obtain a new quantity of oil. Instead, they refused to surrender to the "obvious." So powerful was their will to begin the mitzvah of lighting the Menorah immediately that they began what seemed like a hopeless search for pure oil - and they succeeded! This powerful desire to battle all odds for the sake of a mitzvah represents the miracle of Jewish survival. To commemorate it, the Sages ordained the first day of Chanukah. (Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik)
13.
The Sages chose Chanukah, a festival that revolves around oil's ability to burn, as the time to teach the fundamental truth that even so-called "natural" events take place only because God wants them to. When seen in the perspective of God's will, the burning of oil is no less miraculous than would be the burning of water. The Talmudic Sage Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa pithily expressed this truth in explaining a miracle that occurred in his own home. Once, his daughter realized that she had poured vinegar instead of oil into the Sabbath menorah. Rabbi Chanina calmed her, saying, "Why are you concerned! The One Who commanded oil to burn, can also command vinegar - and it will burn!" The Talmud goes on to relate that those Sabbath lights remained aflame until after the Sabbath ended (Taanis 25a). To hammer home this truth, the Sages decreed that Chanukah be observed for eight days: The last seven to commemorate the miracle of the Menorah, and the first to remind us that even the 'normal' burning of oil is only in obedience to God's wish. (Rabbi David Feinstein)
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