הודאה בהדלקת נרות חנוכה
By Rabbi Gavriel Leventhal
Years ago, when I was a bochur in yeshiva, I remember standing with my friend right outside the yeshiva’s entrance and hearing a tour guide explain to a group of seemingly ignorant people what the Jewish holiday of Chanukah is all about (this was not during seder, of course). During the five minute break the guide gave to his group, he came up to me and my friend and asked us in a hushed tone “Remind me, how many nights do you light the menorah?” we answered that we light for eight nights. A few minutes later we hear this same guide loudly and confidently explaining to his group that we light for eight nights and he went on to darshen all different reasons and symbols for the eight nights of lighting.
As is true with all recurring significant events, we run the risk of “finding ourselves” at a critical moment attempting to inject meaning into the moment. Not too unlike that most industrious tour guide who was able to fabricate full ideas about a fact he did not know less than a minute beforehand. Lighting the chanukah lights and attempting to fabricate some meaning on the spot is a poor way to arrive at our menorah. I hope to help us enrich ourselves so we can truly connect to the reality of the Chanukah neiros and what they signify. But more than that, I’ll attempt to define the avodah of hadlakas neiros Chanukah thereby giving us a chance to be transformed by it.
We start with the Gemara Shabbos 21b:
מַאי חֲנוּכָּה? דְּתָנוּ רַבָּנַן: בְּכ״ה בְּכִסְלֵיו יוֹמֵי דַחֲנוּכָּה תְּמָנְיָא אִינּוּן דְּלָא לְמִסְפַּד בְּהוֹן וּדְלָא לְהִתְעַנּוֹת בְּהוֹן. שֶׁכְּשֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ יְוָוֽנִים לַהֵיכָל טִמְּאוּ כׇּל הַשְּׁמָנִים שֶׁבַּהֵיכָל. וּכְשֶׁגָּבְרָה מַלְכוּת בֵּית חַשְׁמוֹנַאי וְנִצְּחוּם, בָּדְקוּ וְלֹא מָצְאוּ אֶלָּא פַּךְ אֶחָד שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן שֶׁהָיָה מוּנָּח בְּחוֹתָמוֹ שֶׁל כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, וְלֹא הָיָה בּוֹ אֶלָּא לְהַדְלִיק יוֹם אֶחָד. נַעֲשָׂה בּוֹ נֵס וְהִדְלִיקוּ מִמֶּנּוּ שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים. לְשָׁנָה אַחֶרֶת קְבָעוּם וַעֲשָׂאוּם יָמִים טוֹבִים בְּהַלֵּל וְהוֹדָאָה
What is Chanukah? The Sages taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Chanukah are eight. One may not eulogize on them and one may not fast on them. When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary. And when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame and emerged victorious over them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that was placed with the seal of the High Priest. And there was there to light only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit from it eight days. The next year the Sages instituted and made them holidays with hallel (praise) and hoda’a (thanks-giving).
Rashi on the spot says that hallel is the recitation of the Hallel tefillah and hoda’a is saying Al Hanissim.
Moving to the Rambam, we find something interesting. After telling over the story of Chanukah, the Rambam writes the following in Hilchos Chanukah 3:3:
וּמִפְּנֵי זֶה הִתְקִינוּ חֲכָמִים שֶׁבְּאוֹתוֹ הַדּוֹר שֶׁיִּהְיוּ שְׁמוֹנַת הַיָּמִים הָאֵלּוּ שֶׁתְּחִלָּתָן כ”ה בְּכִסְלֵו יְמֵי שִׂמְחָה וְהַלֵּל וּמַדְלִיקִין בָּהֶן הַנֵּרוֹת בָּעֶרֶב עַל פִּתְחֵי הַבָּתִּים בְּכָל לַיְלָה וְלַיְלָה מִשְּׁמוֹנַת הַלֵּילוֹת לְהַרְאוֹת וּלְגַלּוֹת הַנֵּס
Accordingly, the Sages of that generation ordained that these eight days, which begin from the twenty-fifth of Kislev, should be commemorated to be days of simcha and hallel. Candles should be lit in the evening at the entrance to the houses on each and every one of these eight nights to publicize and reveal the miracle.
There are two questions we have to ask on this Rambam. 1) Where did the simcha come from? And 2) Where did the hoda’a from the Gemara go?
In answering question number one, the Brisker Rav explains that simcha really means it’s forbidden to give a hesped or to fast during chanukah, not that there is a positive mitzvah of simcha like there is on a Yom Tov. Now we’re left with question number 2, where is the mitzvah of hoda’a that the Chachamim established for us? Why didn’t the Rambam mention that mitzvah?
To this we could say that the Rambam did mention the mitzvah when he wrote the words:
וּמַדְלִיקִין בָּהֶן הַנֵּרוֹת
In other words, the lighting of the Chanukah candles is the hoda’a the Chachamim established in the Gemara. To back up this idea, let’s go to another halacha in the Rambam in Hilchos Chanukah 4:12 where he writes:
מִצְוַת נֵר חֲנֻכָּה מִצְוָה חֲבִיבָה הִיא עַד מְאֹד וְצָרִיךְ אָדָם לְהִזָּהֵר בָּהּ כְּדֵי לְהוֹדִיעַ הַנֵּס וּלְהוֹסִיף בְּשֶׁבַח הָאֵל וְהוֹדָיָה לוֹ עַל הַנִּסִּים שֶׁעָשָׂה לָנוּ
The mitzvah of kindling Chanukah lamps is very dear. A person should be very careful in its observance to publicize the miracle and (thus) [to] increase our praise of G-d and our expression of thanks for the miracles which He wrought on our behalf.
It’s clear from this Halacha in 4:12 that the Rambam understood the mitzvah of Ner Chanukah to include an expression of hoda’a to Hashem. [When the Rambam writes in 3:3 על פתחי הבתים וכו’ ולגלות הנס, see the Ohr Somayach who learns those words as a hesber of what the Rambam wrote beforehand that the lighting has to be during the nighttime.] At this point we can ask how this works and what this hoda’a is? In order to try and answer these questions, I thought to go to a place where the Torah defines hoda’a, specifically the Gemara Brachos 7b:
וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי: מִיּוֹם שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ לֹא הָיָה אָדָם שֶׁהוֹדָה לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, עַד שֶׁבָּאתָה לֵאָה וְהוֹדַתּוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הַפַּעַם אוֹדֶה אֶת ה׳״.
And Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: From the day the Holy One, Blessed be He, created the world, no one thanked the Holy One, Blessed be He, until Leah came and thanked Him, as it is stated: “And she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and she said, ‘This time I will give thanks to G-d,’ and thus he was called Judah” (Genesis 29:35).
This Chazal is very strange. Was Leah really the first person to thank Hashem? What about Adam haRishon (Tehillim 92:1-2), Malki Tzedek (Bereishis 14:20), Eliezer (Bereishis 24:23) and others where we find them giving hoda’a? What’s so special about Leah’s hoda’a?
Let’s look at Rashi on the spot who seems to provide an answer. Rashi says:
הפעם אודה את ה’ – לפי שראתה ברוח הקדש שיעקב מעמיד שנים עשר שבטים ולו ארבע נשים כיון שילדה בן רביעי הודית על חלקה שעלה יותר מן החשבון המגיע לה:
This time I will thank G-d -Because she had Ruach Hakodesh (a holy vision) that Yaakov was going to have twelve tribes (through 12 sons), and he has four wives, so when she had her fourth son, she gave thanks because she got a greater portion than the original calculation she figured she had coming to her (on average each wife had three sons, and she had four).
So it comes out that chazal see in Leah a type of hoda’a that was special. Why? Because Leah felt that what she got (another son, Yehudah) was not “coming to her”. Let’s explain…
There are two ways to say thank you. 1) Only focusing on the giver. “You’re a great guy, thanks!” or 2) also focusing on yourself “I really needed this, thank you” or in Leah’s case “I didn’t deserve this, thank you!”
What’s the difference between these two ways of saying thank you? What’s the nafka minah? Well… according to the first way, the hoda’a is not a catalyst to change or growth. Your friend did something nice for you and you gave them a shkoyach. The deal is over and life goes on. However, according to the second way of saying thank you, you’re conscious of the connection between your friends chesed to your own very personal world . If you really intend the thank you, you’re not only thanking the person who did you the chesed, but you’re also admitting that you were lacking. You were lacking and your friend did something and helped you out in that place. The chesed done to you has become a catalyst to make you conscious of your place in the world and maybe even your relationship with regard to others. This consciousness can be a sobering experience out of which comes a deep and genuine hoda’a to Hashem. This consciousness puts a person in contact with reality. “I need and others fulfill that need”, “I don’t deserve what I’ve been given”, “I have more than I deserve”. Only a person in touch with this reality in a personal way has a chance of truly appreciating what they have and what they’re given.
To further flesh this idea out let’s see the Medresh Tanchuma on Parshas Vayeytzei 6:
לֵאָה תָּפְשָׂה בְּהוֹדָיָה, עָמְדָה זַרְעָהּ בְּהוֹדָיָה אַחֲרֶיהָ. הִיא אָמְרָה, הַפַּעַם אוֹדֶה אֶת ה’. יְהוּדָהּ בְּנָהּ אַחֲרֶיהָ, יְהוּדָה אַתָּה יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ (בראשית מט, ח). דָּוִד, הוֹדוּ לַה’ כִּי טוֹב (תהלים קיח, א). דָּנִיֵּאל, מְצַלֵּא וּמוֹדֵא (דניאל ו, יא
Conversely, Leah spoke words of praise, and her offspring continued the tradition of praise. She declared: This time will I praise the Lord (Gen. 29:35); and of her son Judah it is said: Judah, thee thy brethren praise (ibid. 49:8). David (another descendant) said: Praise the Lord, for He is good (Ps. 118:1); and concerning Daniel it is said: Daniel kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and praised (Dan. 6:11)
As you can see, the Tanchuma understands Yehuda’s hoda’a to be the same as his mother’s hoda’a. Commenting on this comparison, the Biur haAmarim [a wonderful peirush on the Medresh Tanchuma] quoting the Yefe To’ar asks: How can the medresh compare the two hoda’a’s? Yehuda’s hoda’a was not like Leah’s! In the case of Yehuda, the hoda’a was an admittance of truth, specifically that he did the wrong thing with Tamar. In contradistinction, Leah gave thanks and praise for being given an extra son. They’re not the same thing!?
In answer to this quandary, the Biur haAmarim lays down a yesod (principle) in hoda’a. He says that since the cause and impetus of their hoda’a was the same, namely a recognition of Hashem’s chesed, the medresh equates the two types of hoda’a. In other words, they are the same thing! Hoda’a comes from a deep recognition of the reality that you are the beneficiary of Hashem’s chesed which, by definition of the term chesed, you do not deserve.
Coming back to Ner Chanukah we must now ask: What are we admitting to? What specifically are we recognizing here?
The answer, Rabbosei, is that we are recognizing that Hashem is not only giving to us, but He’s giving above and beyond in a way that makes it personal. Famously, we know the nes pach ha’shemen was unnecessary. Tuma hutra be’tzibur. Hashem gave us more than what was coming to us and we give hoda’a, just like Leah and Yehudah. Chanukah was a catalyst for a national recognition of a Leah-type event. We see what Hashem did and say to ourselves and our families and the whole world: “Wow, I can’t believe Hashem did this for us because it was unnecessary for us, now I’m really capable of feeling all the chesed He’s done for Klal Yisroel and myself as an individual”. This is a message for dorei doros, for generations. Thank Hashem and make it about yourself. Yes Hashem is great, but what is it exactly that he did for you?