What is the meaning of the Chanukah lights?
What is the meaning of the Chanukah lights?
The Chanukah lights commemorate the miracle that occurred during the Second Temple era when the Greek kingdom issued decrees against the Jewish people, attempting to nullify their faith [1]. The act of lighting the Chanukah candles fulfills the mitzvah [2], with the minimal requirement being a single candle lit each night in every house [4]. The menorah, which holds the lights, is connected to "the word of G-d" [3].
Sources
- Mishneh Torah, Megillah 3 — In [the era of] the Second Temple, 1 The Chanukah miracle took place in the year 3596 (165 BCE). The Greek persecutions began several years…
- Talmud Bavli, Shabbat, Shabbat 23a — A lantern that continued to burn the entire day of Shabbat, at the conclusion of Shabbat one extinguishes it and lights it again as a Hanuk…
- Likkutei Torah, Likkutei Torah, Beha'alotcha — בהעלותך את הנרות אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות. הנה ענין המנורה נאמר בזכריה ראיתי והנה מנרת זהב כו׳ ואומר מה אלה אדוני ויאמר אלי זה דב…
- Mishneh Torah, Megillah 4 — How many candles should one light on Chanukah? The 1 minimal requirement to fulfill the mitzvah is that a single candle should be lit 2 on…
- Hayom Yom, Hayom Yom, December 8 — Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, in 5703 (1943) from the talks and le…
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