When Rabbis Differ on Which Party to Join
When Rabbis Differ on Which Party to Join

Hanukkah Candles as a Symbol of Progress Towards Holiness

Why did our Sages decide that the main fulfillment of the mitzvah to light Hanukkah candles  is reached by "each man and his home", that is, one candle for each household, and that those who wish to reach a higher level in keeping the mitzva can each light their own candle, with the highest level being those who add a candle to the one necessary candle each night?

Why are there different levels that are all considered adequate for keeping this mitzvah, levels listed by the sages?

One can say that the spiritual condition of the Jews after the Hasmonean victory was a complex one. There were different levels of religiosity among the people and the Sages allowed each to light according to the level he was on ("Educate the child according to what suits him", Proverbs). Education is a long term accomplishment. The goal is to reach the highest level, but one has to allow each person to arrive at his own pace, according to his own ability, and as the Sages foresaw, in the end - that is today - everyone [lighting Hanukkah candles] does what was once called the most stringent way.

Nowadays, the educational process is just as long and there is nothing to gain by being shortsighted. We must accept that the public is advancing at its own pace and will eventually reach the highest level.

In order to show the rise in the level of holiness, in order to see the process of enhancement of spirituality in Israel, one must take the long view. If we look at the here and now,we cannot see the progression.  Imagine looking at the candles only on a specific night of Hanukkah - we would miss observing the process of adding another candle each night, we would not see that sanctity is increasing. It is only by observing all the days and noticing the additional light each day, that we see the increase in sanctity, how we are adding light and advancing upwards.

When we look at the spiritual level of our nation it is exactly the same. If we look at the here and now, we won't see any progress. If we look at our nation over a long period, we can see that the generation is progressing, advancing, shining more, becoming more holy.

Rabbis during election periods

We are in a turbulent election period.  Our sages said, in the Talmudic Tractate Sanhedrin (24), that Torah sages in the Land of Israel are called "pleasant" because they make life pleasant for one another through halakha. Despite their differences of opinion, they are willing to be tolerant of one another and even if each is set in his own opinion and and positions, their differences of opinion are not on a personal level. Each one believes that his opinion is the right interpretation of what the Torah wants, and that this is the way we must understand its words – but despite that, each understands that there are others with a very different view of the situation. Rabbi Yitzchak said that Torah scholars in the land of Israel act towards one another in halakhic matters as smoothly as the flow of olive oil.

However, Torah scholars in Babylon are called "spoilers", who spoil things for one another through halakha.

It seems that the reason for this is that Torah scholars in Israel, Eretz Yisrael, have a special heightened level of spirituality enhanced by the spiritual greatness of the Land of Israel itself. It allows them to take a wider view of issues, they are filled with faith and confidence. Someone who is filled with Torah and is in a healthy spiritual state can see the good points of others. He is not in competition. He is out to unify. That is not the case when there is no spiritual greatness and no great faith, in that case there is tension and rivalry and and the fear that another opinion will carry the day, there is a struggle and the various scholars cause each other harm. 

Our sages said further, in Tractate Shabbat 5:  The scholars of Babylon are very stringent concerning their apparel. And why is that? Because they are not natives there. When a person is in a place where he is unknown he must make obvious efforts in order to prove himself and have his worth recognized.

This is not the case with scholars in Eretz Yisrael. They  are indigenous, they are at home, they do not have to resort to anything to stand out, their wisdom lights up their visages. One who has much wisdom does not need to flaunt his ability to be known as a wise man. It is only he who is not so wise who has to try to ruin it for someone else in order to be noticed.

Woe to a Torah scholar who has to humiliate a friend so as to prove his worth, woe to a Torah scholar whose honor is based on the fact that his friend is on a lower level than he, woe to the scholar who proves that he is right by humiliating those who disagree with him, woe to the scholar who justifies his way of acting by saying that those who differ with him are being led and are being influenced and have no mind of their own, that they are prejudiced and their motives are impure. Woe to he who speaks and thinks in that manner. Our Sages said, long ago: He who finds a blemish in someone, is revealing his own blemish."

Our mentor, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook zts"l, was a wonderful example of a Torah scholar of the Land of Israel. He was a great Sage, a Torah giant, and from the point of his greatness and deep faith honored every Torah sage, among them those who disagreed with him and those who made his life miserable. He did not need their certification of his greatness, he was greater by far than all those who criticized him. Those who differed with him did not really understand his thoughts. It was as a result of their inability to understand the deepness of his philosophy that they interpreted him the way they did, not at all in the way he saw things and understood them. Had they understood him, they would have agreed with him. They might have opined that the present generation is not ready for the greatness he expected them to take part in - they might have disagreed on the practical outcomes, but would have looked with great respect at the depth and greatness of his worldview.

Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda zts"l would tell us that whoever learns Tosafot (the medieval commentaries on the Talmud that were added to Rashi's works in France and Germany) must learn what Tosafot is telling us. Not what he sees in Tosafot. That is how the scholars of Eretz Yisrael learn. They try to understand those who differ with them and understand where they are coming from - that is why they respect one another despite their differences of opinion. Lower level Torah learners who do not make the effort to see the reasons that caused other scholars to disagree with them and as a result interpret their words inaccurately, will naturally find that their adversary is mistaken.

This generation's Torah sages are not united about which parties should be voted into the Knesset. These are true differences in outlook and it is certain that each is acting without personal gain in mind. That is why we must pray that the dispute remains within the bounds of the issues, free of all personal animosities and insults, G-d forbid, because anyone who insults another is insulting himself, and whoever criticizes harshly is criticizing himself. Let us not allow the media and political hacks to cause a rift among Torah scholars. Both should bring us to praise Hashem.

We must pray that after the elections all those who fear G-d will unite to strengthen the Jewish identity of our state for the Glory of the Almighty