Countdown to Chanukah 8

“And to remove them from the Statutes of Your Will.” (Al Hanissim) This refers specifically to the Menorah in the Beit Hamikdash – the Temple in Jerusalem. The Talmud (Shabbat 22b) says, “Did they need the light of the Menorah? They traveled 40 years in the desert guided by God’s Light.”

The Menorah is not a “logical” need or commandment. God does not need its light in the Beit Hamikdash. The Menorah is beyond our comprehension. It is considered a Sattute.

This is why, as the Bach explains, the Syrian Greeks focused their initial efforts against the Menorah.

Application:
We do not light the Chanukah candles for their light. We may not even use them to illuminate a room. We are expressing our willingness to observe God’s statutes that lift us beyond the limitations of our minds.