Chanukah in Egypt?
We must yearn for the future when G-d’s light, the infinite G-dly light created on the first day of creation that enables us to see from one end of the world to the other, will be revealed. This primordial light is recaptured with the Chanukah lights that we light at present, but which will be fully revealed in the future. Our prayers have to be directed to G-d to make this time become a reality. All of our thoughts have to revolve around Moshiach and Redemption.
Joseph and his Brothers Enjoy a Chanukah Banquet!
Joseph confusingly invites his brothers to a feast after he had accused them of being spies.
For this banquet he ordered that they slaughter meat and prepare it for them.
It is interesting, as many commentators have pointed out, that the words which contain Joseph’s order to his supervisors to “slaughter an animal and prepare” contain the letters that, when rearranged, spell “Chanukah!”
What connection is there between the preparations for the Shabbos feast and Chanukah, a Holiday which would only take place over a thousand years later?
School of Shammai and Hillel: Two Approaches to Shabbos and Chanukah
A connection can be found in light of the analysis of the two approaches of Shammai and Hillel and what can be understood as a parallel dispute between Shammai’s and Hillel’s students.
Concerning the Chanukah lights there is a dispute between the School of Shammai and School of Hillel. The School of Shammai maintains that we should light eight lights the first night, seven the second night, and so on, in declining order. The School of Hillel maintains that we start with one light the first night and continue in ascending order.
In the preceding essay we cited the different approaches Shammai and Hillel had to Shabbos preparations.
Shammai would purchase food on Sunday and select the finest for Shabbos. On Monday he would find something of higher quality and designate that for Shabbos and eat what he had prepared on Sunday. He would repeat this every day, so that whatever he ate during the week was, in effect, a result of his preparation for the Shabbos. In the words of the Talmud, “All his life he ate for the honor of Shabbos.”
Hillel, by contrast, would do everything for the sake of Heaven. He would say, “Blessed is G-d day by day.” He would trust that he would find the best food right before Shabbos.”
It maybe suggested that the School of Shammai, following the teaching of their mentor Shammai, were obsessed with Shabbos preparations. The School of Shammai therefore put their emphasis on the first day of Chanukah. On the first day of Chanukah they saw into the future that there would be an eight day miracle; so they were obsessed with those eight days. On the second night they saw seven days of miracles so they “lived” with those seven days, and so on.
The School of Hillel, as did their mentor Hillel, directed their energies to living each day to its fullest, knowing that such an outlook will ultimately lead to the future. The School of Hillel therefore required the lighting of one light the first night. On the first day there was one miracle, and it was that miracle that had to be celebrated and internalized.
Incorporating Both Approaches
Today, as we stand on the threshold of the future Redemption we have to incorporate both approaches.
To be sure, we must follow the Halacha and light in accordance with the School of Hillel until the time of Redemption when, according to the teachings of the Ari, we will follow the School of Shammai. But, nonetheless, emotionally and spiritually we must integrate these two approaches.
On the one hand, we must yearn for the future when G-d’s light, the infinite G-dly light created on the first day of creation that enables us to see from one end of the world to the other, will be revealed. This primordial light is recaptured with the Chanukah lights that we light at present, but which will be fully revealed in the future at which time we will have all eight lights burning brightly, the number eight representing the most transcendent light. Our prayers have to be directed to G-d to make this time become a reality. All of our thoughts have to revolve around Moshiach and Redemption.
We must also, simultaneously, follow the approach of Hillel and the School of Hillel and focus our attention of living every day that we are still in exile to the fullest, utilizing every opportunity to make our lives today as radiant as they can be. Even if it means just lighting one humble candle, it can be the one candle that will banish the darkness of exile entirely and permanently. We cannot allow our obsession with the future deter us from action today. In this period of transition we have to combine the two opposite mindsets of obsession with the future even as we are totally involved in the present.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Miketz by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
