The observance of Hanukkah is uniquely related to the home. Almost any other mitzvah can be fulfilled anywhere, but the lighting of the Hanukkah candles must be performed at one’s house – or, if one is an overnight guest, at the house where one is staying. The Talmud tells us that the Hanukkah menorah must be placed to the left of the front door, so that it is directly opposite the mezuzah, another mitzvah that is specifically tied to the home and cannot be observed without one. (In times and places where this kind of public display of Judaism might be dangerous, lighting the candles on a table indoors is acceptable.)
There is yet another connection between Hanukkah and the home. According to some sources, one of the reasons why Hanukkah was established as an eight day holiday with Hallel recited each day was in order to imitate the holiday of Sukkot. The Temple was recaptured and purified by the Hashmonaim in the winter, long after the autumn festivals had passed. That year, the Jews were unable to properly observe Sukkot in the Bet HaMiqdash. This was devastating to them, since the Sukkot rejoicing in the Temple was known as the highlight of the year, an incredible and unforgettable celebration. In order to compensate for this in some small way, they gave Hanukkah the features of a “make up week” for Sukkot.
Dwelling in temporary huts on Sukkot and affixing mezuzot to our doorposts are both mitzvot that encourage us to reflect more deeply upon the significance of our homes and the obstacles they place in our path toward spiritual growth. It has famously been said that “a man’s home is his castle.” Our houses seal us off from the world around us and offer an artificially constructed environment where WE occupy the center of attention. The design, decor, furnishings, and other contents of our homes reflect our interests, desires, hopes and dreams. Being “at home” is the epitome of being at ease and feeling comfortable, because our home is a place where the universe seems to revolve around us and cater to our whims.
The sukkah and the mezuzah both challenge us to reconsider the psychological attachment we have to our homes and to recognize the misconceptions they reinforce. Exiting our comfortable houses to eat and sleep in a sukkah for seven days reminds us that the world is most definitely not centered on us and our immediate physical needs. We are tiny citizens of a universe much grander than ourselves, playing a small role in a Divine plan that makes our petty interests pale by comparison. Similarly, the mezuzah, as explained by Maimonides, is meant to pull back the curtain and reveal that the sense of security, permanence and eternity that our houses give us is really just an illusion:
“A person must be very careful with the mitzvah of mezuzah, because it is an obligation which is constantly incumbent upon everyone. Whenever a person enters or leaves his house, he will thereby encounter the unity of the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and remember his love for Him. He will awaken from his sleep and his obsession with fleeting vanities, and recognize that there is nothing which lasts for eternity except for knowledge of the Creator of the World. This will motivate him to regain full awareness and follow the paths of the upright.”
What, then, should the role of our homes be in our spiritual lives? Should we run to the opposite extreme, eschew all creature comforts, and live like nomads in the desert forever? Clearly, the Torah does not expect or desire this from us. We are commanded to build sturdy houses in Israel and to settle in them. But first we must consider the ultimate House, the Bet HaMiqdash, which represents what a home is truly supposed to be – not a structure that closes us off from reflection on Hashem and distracts us from reality to allow free reign to our fantasies, but a place that immerses us in awareness of the Creator and inspires us with a desire to serve Him and to live by the light of His wisdom. Although the Temple was a man-made building, it was constructed in accordance with the will of Hashem and designed to draw us closer to Him rather than lead us farther away. We should strive to fashion our own homes in its image.
We can now understand the relationship between Hanukkah candles and our houses. On Hanukkah, we celebrate the miracle that the light of Torah and of the Divine presence in Israel was not, and will never be, extinguished. Of course, this was first attested to in the confines of the Holy Temple, where was symbolized by the rekindling of the menorah by the Kohanim. However, each of us must aspire to transform our own homes into vehicles for the Divine Presence as well.
As a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” we are called upon to purify and sanctify every aspect of our lives, and to dedicate ourselves fully to the service of the Almighty. This includes making sure that we fight against the temptation to make our homes into castles that feed into our sense of self-importance, or into monuments that indulge our desire for self-glorification. On the contrary, in lighting the Hanukkah candles, we reconsecrate our homes as miniature sanctuaries that proclaim not our own greatness, but the greatness of the Creator – and the eternity, beauty and sweetness of His light – to the entire world.
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