Chanukah Kavanot II: 3rd & 4th Days

The Ramchal in Kitzur Kavanot explains that Chanukah is the Tikkun – fixing – of the verse, “Sick throughout the day.” (Lamentations 1:13)

III. Body & Soul
“Kol” represents Yesod, the Brit Milah, where the physical and spiritual meet. It refers to both the body and soul. Yet, the verse describes their illness in the singular.

The key to the cure of their illness is to join the body and soul in imbuing all physical efforts with spiritual intentions. (Kol Bochim in the name of the RaMaK)

There is special Divine Influence to help us transform all of our physical activities on Chanukah  into Spiritual accomplishments. When we recite the blessings over the candles, we must intend to access this special Shefa.

IV. Everyday
“Kol Hayom,” is not only, “throughout the day,” it also means every day. We experience the exile and destruction fresh every day. As the verse says, “The succah of David, which is falling,” it does not say, ‘which has fallen,” but, ‘which is falling.” It ‘falls’ everyday.

The Hellenists and our enemies rejoiced in our experience of each day of suffering as fresh. They did not want us to ever feel that we could adjust to new circumstances.

On Chanukah we add a new candle each day to represent our ability to accumulate spiritual energy that will help us master the exile.

Our intention as we light the new candle each night, which represents our ability to bring light to the fresh experience of exile, should be that we take the light of all our accomplishments and combine them into a light so bright that the darkness of exile will be defeated.  (Rabbi Avraham Galanti)