Chanukah
a) In the Beis HaMikdash there was always the same number of lights; on Chanukah, by contrast, one adds another light each night.
b) In the Beis HaMikdash the lights were kindled specifically by day, while it was still fully light; but the Chanukah lights are kindled after the sun has set.
c) The lights of the Beis HaMikdash were inside, [OCR unclear]
but at a time of a difficult situation, a time of wars, and not only wars with the Greeks but also with Hellenized Jews29 — for there were Jews who did not value the Beis HaMikdash, did not value independence, and wanted to assimilate with the Greeks —
in such a difficult state, the A-lmighty gave the mitzvah of the Chanukah lights. Such a time demands mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice).
At such a time it is not enough to make it light at home, for outside in the street it is dark, and the darkness of the street can push its way into the home as well. One must therefore put effort into illuminating the street: the Chanukah lights are kindled when it is dark, and specifically next to the door, in order to illuminate the street.
It is not enough that one lights candles at home on the table where he eats, or on his desk, and opens the door so that the light should shine into the street as well; rather, one must light the candles next to the door — one must put effort into illuminating the street.
Likewise, the number of lights of the previous nights is not enough. For one cannot be content with not having gone down and with standing at the same level as yesterday; one must keep going higher and higher.
13. The sum total of all this is:
At a time when the darkness is great, one must not be intimidated by the darkness in the street. On the contrary, one must go with mesirus nefesh to illuminate the street, and each day add more and more light, until one will bring more "שמן טהור" ("pure oil") — clean and clear oil.
And the way to do this must be:
a) One must not be satisfied with the amount of light with which one illuminated yesterday; rather, one must add more every day. Today one light, tomorrow two, the day after three, and so on. To begin right away with a great deal — one cannot leap all at once. One begins with one light, but one must already be prepared to kindle two lights tomorrow and three the day after.
b) One must not be satisfied with making it light at home, thinking that as a result it will be light in the street as well; rather, one must put effort into illuminating the street.
c) The approach to this must be with mesirus nefesh, like the concept of a miracle — above nature. If people look at him askance, he must not be intimidated, and he must act with mesirus nefesh to carry out the mission on which the A-lmighty has sent him.
14. And this is demanded of every Jew. He should know that he is an "ambassador" of the A-lmighty, sent to warm up the physicality of his portion of the world, until he will illuminate it and also his surroundings.
And the way to do this must be: not to be satisfied with what he accomplished yesterday, but to add more light every day. One must know what one accomplished yesterday in order to know how much to add today.
And when one goes along this path — one goes with mesirus nefesh, one is not satisfied with making it light at home, and one is not satisfied with what one has already accomplished — one has the assurance that in the end it will indeed be so: it will become light in the street, and each time with more light, until one finds "שמן טהור" ("pure oil") — clean oil — to kindle in the Beis HaMikdash.
(From the sichos of 21 Kislev, 5703)
15. The mitzvah of the Chanukah light is distinguished from all the mitzvos in two respects:
a) In all the mitzvos there is the fulfillment of the mitzvah in its proper form, and there is the hiddur (beautification) of the mitzvah. But there is no "hiddur min hahiddur" (beautification beyond beautification).
A proof of this is from what the Gemara says: "הידור מצוה עד כמה, עד שליש" ("How far does hiddur mitzvah go? Up to a third"), and afterwards the Gemara30 says that up to a third is "משלו, ומכאן ואילך משל הקב"ה" ("from his own; from then on, from the Holy One, blessed be He"). It follows that one can beautify the mitzvah without limit, and all of it is included in hiddur mitzvah.
With the mitzvah of the Chanukah light, however, there is not only the mitzvah itself, and not only the hiddur of the mitzvah, but also "מהדרין מן המהדרין" ("the most exemplary of those who beautify the mitzvah").
b) In all the mitzvos, most Jews fulfill only the mitzvah itself; but in the mitzvah of the Chanukah light, the custom among all Jews31 is to fulfill not only the mitzvah itself but also the hiddur, and even the hiddur beyond the hiddur.
16. On Chanukah there are two miracles: a) the victory in the war, for which Hallel and thanksgiving were instituted; b) the miracle of the cruse of oil, for which the kindling of the lights was instituted.
The concept of "the most exemplary of those who beautify the mitzvah" is not found in the mitzvah of Hallel and thanksgiving, but in the mitzvah of kindling the lights, which is connected with the miracle of the cruse of oil.
The superiority of the miracle of the cruse of oil over all the miracles — including the miracle of the victory in the war — will be understood after a preliminary explanation: in the conduct from Above there are three modes of conduct:
a) Hanhagah tivis — natural conduct — which itself can be elevated and successful. It is indeed a matter of success, but nevertheless it is success within the bounds of nature.
b) Hanhagah nissis, miraculous conduct, which is above nature. This was also the case with the victory in the war of Chanukah — a miracle above nature, for it was "גבורים ביד חלשים ורבים ביד מעטים" ("the mighty into the hands of the weak, and the many into the hands of the few")32. Had it been the mighty into the hands of the mighty, that too would have been success — for it is, after all, a war — but still not a miracle. The mighty into the hands of the weak and the many into the hands of the few is a miracle above nature.
c) A conduct that is higher even than a miracle: a matter that is not necessary for the sake of the body, or even for the sake of the soul, but is a hiddur, and in the realm of the soul. This was the miracle of finding the pure oil, which was a matter connected only with the soul. Even more: it was in order "להראות חיבתם של ישראל" ("to show the endearment of Israel") — for according to halachah one could have kindled even with impure oil, since impurity is "דחויה" ("set aside") or "הותרה בציבור" ("permitted for the community"), and the miracle took place in order to show the endearment of Israel33.
17. Since all matters Above depend on the avodah (service) of man, there are three modes in man's avodah which bring about the three above-mentioned modes of conduct.
Natural conduct comes through fulfilling Torah and mitzvos, as it is written: "אם בחוקותי תלכו34 גו' ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם ונתנה הארץ יבולה" ("If you walk in My statutes… I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce"), and the rest of the blessings.
Miraculous conduct comes specifically through hiddur mitzvah: when one is not satisfied with fulfilling the mitzvos merely as the law requires, but beautifies the mitzvah, seeking that the mitzvah be done beautifully, then the A-lmighty responds "מדה כנגד מדה" ("measure for measure")35 — with the conduct from Above that is above nature.
The third mode of conduct, however, comes specifically through mesirus nefesh — which is higher still than the concept of hiddur mitzvah.
18. The superiority of mesirus nefesh over hiddur mitzvah is as follows:
Hiddur mitzvah means that he does not do the thing because he must do it, but he has a pleasure in it and does it with desire and vitality. Therefore he keeps looking for ways to improve it and make it beautiful, even though he is not obligated to do so.
— The analogy for this is a servant who carries out the king's command. If he has no pleasure and no vitality in it, and does it only because he must carry out the command, then he fulfills only the command itself and does not seek to beautify it, since he has no pleasure in it. But if the matter is dear to him and he has vitality in it, he seeks to beautify it. —
Nevertheless, he is still an entity unto himself: there is the pleasure and the will by which he wants to fulfill the mitzvos, and there is the one who wills. Mesirus nefesh, by contrast, means that he is not an entity unto himself at all, and his entire existence is to fulfill the Supreme Will.
He is not concerned that he should be the "doer," the "sayer," and the "achiever"; he is concerned that the thing should get done. Consequently, it makes no difference to him whether the thing comes about through him or through someone else, as long as the thing gets done.
And through the avodah of mesirus nefesh — when he gives himself over entirely, he gives over even his soul, and the main thing for him is to fulfill the mitzvah — the A-lmighty repays measure for measure, so that the conduct from Above is higher than a miracle: it is a matter entirely unconnected with existence.
19. Since on Chanukah the Jews stood with mesirus nefesh, there took place at that time the miracle of the cruse of oil, to show the endearment of Israel — something that has no connection with matters of existence. Through hiddurim (beautifications) comes the conduct of miracles that are above nature, but that is still connected with the body, with existence. But through mesirus nefesh, in which he gives up his existence entirely, the conduct… [The source text breaks off here, at the end of the page; it continues on the following page.]
Notes
29) Bava Kamma 82b.
30) Bava Kamma 9b.
31) Orach Chaim, sec. 671, par. 2, gloss of the Rema.
32) Text of the prayer (Al HaNissim).
33) See above, p. 81 ff.
34) Vayikra 26:3.
35) Sanhedrin 90a.
Key Lesson
When the darkness outside is great, it is not enough to keep our own home lit; each Jew is an ambassador of the A-lmighty, charged with illuminating the street and adding more light each day, without being content with yesterday's achievements. When this is done with mesirus nefesh — caring only that G‑d's will be done, not who does it — G‑d responds measure for measure with a conduct higher than even a miracle, as with the pure oil of Chanukah.