I am taking a brief Chanukah vacation from the daf yomi-themed articles.
There is a famous question known as “the Beis Yosef’s kasha.” During the time of the Chanukah miracle, the Jews found enough oil to last one day. Therefore, the miracle of Chanukah really only occurred on seven days, as there was enough oil for the first day. Why, then, at the time the holiday of Chanukah was established, did they institute lighting a menorah for eight nights? They should have instituted to light for only seven nights.
There is a sefer called Nes LaShoshanim that collects 250 answers to that question from various sources. Some of the answers are apparently only meant to generate discussion. Below are some of the answers.
1. There was a miracle even the first day because they did not use all the oil they found, and yet it lasted a full day.
2. If the Chanukah holiday was for seven days, people might inadvertently violate the biblical prohibition against fashioning a seven-branched menorah.
3. According to the Rambam, they always lit the Menorah twice a day—once for the night and once for the day. They only found enough oil for one lighting; therefore, the miracle was even on the first day, in that the oil sufficed for two lightings.
4. When Chazal instituted a holiday to commemorate a miraculous event, they wanted to remind us that Hashem runs the world. Even everyday events are, in essence, miracles as well. Therefore, the fact that oil burns is itself a miracle worthy of being remembered on the first day.
5. The Menorah they used during the Chanukah miracle was brand-new. Brand-new utensils absorb a little of the oil. Though they found enough oil to last for one day, that was only the case if it was for a used Menorah. Some of the oil was absorbed by the Menorah, so there wasn’t enough oil to last even one day.
6. The first day there was no miracle with oil, but we are commemorating our return to the Beis HaMikdash.
7. We light an extra night to commemorate the finding of an intact jug of oil that had not been defiled.
8. It really took nine days to obtain new oil. The place to obtain new oil was four days away. They couldn’t travel on Shabbos. So it took eight days of traveling back and forth. Shabbos was a day of rest. Hence, the oil really lasted nine days, not eight.
9. Chazal added an extra day to commemorate Hashem’s longing for us. After seven days of celebration, Hashem declares, “Your departure is hard for Me.” (This idea is brought down regarding Shemini Atzeres.)
10. The jug of oil miraculously refilled on the first day, so there was in fact a miracle even on the first day.
11. Chazal instituted to light for eight nights because they wanted the total number of flames lit on all the nights to be 36, which corresponds to the number of mesechtos in Talmud Bavli. This reminds us that the primary objective of the Yevanim was to eradicate Torah learning.
12. There was a miracle even on the first night, because the oil burned at a miraculously slower pace.
13. Since they knew they had very little oil, they made very thin wicks. Yet the fire miraculously burned just as brightly even on the first day.
14. Chazal instituted to light an eighth night to commemorate the light of Torah.
15. They only found enough oil for a short summer night, not a long winter night. Therefore, there was a miracle even on the first day.
16. The Yevanim decreed that the Bnei Yisrael could not observe Shabbos, rosh chodesh, and b’ris milah. Every Chanukah coincides with a day of Shabbos and of Rosh Chodesh. To commemorate b’ris milah, which is performed on the eighth day, they decreed that we should light for eight nights.
17. Chazal instituted to light an eighth night to commemorate the victory of the war.
18. The jug of oil that was discovered remained from the times of Yaakov Avinu. It was one of the small jugs he left behind. We light an extra night to commemorate the miraculous survival of the jug of oil for all those years.
19. Chazal instituted an extra day as a nod to all those Jews in the Diaspora who always observe an extra day of yom tov.
20. Some of the oil remained stuck to the sides of the jug. Hence, there wasn’t enough oil even for the first night.
21. The jug of oil was found with the seal of the Kohen Gadol. The seal of the Kohen Gadol was the letter ches, which corresponds to the number eight. The Kohen Gadol wears eight priestly garments, as opposed to a regular kohen, who only wears four. Since the jug of oil was found with the seal “ches” on it, they instituted that Chanukah should be eight days.
22. The miracle on the first day was that they found a jug of oil with a hechsher that everyone would accept. (Just kidding.)
23. It is interesting to note that the text of Rav Achai Gaon is that they did not find enough oil for even one night. Clearly, according to that text, there was a miracle even on the first day.
24. It was a windy night, so the oil should have burned more rapidly. The fact that the oil lasted even the first night was a miracle.
25. The first day was instituted to celebrate the miracle of the survival of the Jewish nation. Rav Yaakov Emden wrote that the continued survival of the Jewish nation is a greater miracle than Ma’amad Har Sinai.
26. The Chanukas Beis HaMikdash HaSheini was on the 24th of Kislev, so Chazal commemorated that event by celebrating on the next day.
27. The extra day of Chanukah is to commemorate how Yehudis cunningly killed Holofernes.
28. On the first day there was a miracle that all the flames went out at exactly the same time.
29. They found enough oil for the first day, but in their great excitement some spilled!
30. Chazal made the holiday for eight days to correspond to the eight praises and miracles mentioned in Al HaNissim: (1) You waged their battles; (2) defended their rights; (3) and avenged the wrong done to them; (4) You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak; (5) the many into the hands of the few; (6) the impure into the hands of the pure; (7) the wicked into the hands of the righteous; and (8) the wanton sinners into the hands of those who occupy themselves with Your Torah.
31. When the oil lasted an extra seven days, everyone realized that even winning the war was a miracle. Up until that point, some people erroneously believed that the war was won due to the mighty Maccabees.
32. The fire for the first day was miraculously supplied by a Divine fire that burned on the Mizbeiach.
33. It rained on the first night they lit the Menorah. (It was Friday night, which is an auspicious time for rain.) Miraculously, the rain did not extinguish the flames.
34. They had no wicks on the first night. Yet, miraculously, they were able to light the oil directly and it lasted the whole night.
35. They had no time to prepare regular wicks and were forced to use thick ones that should have depleted the oil sooner. So there was a miracle even the first day.
36. The author of the sefer Nes LaShoshanim theorizes that since the whole objective of the Yevanim was to eradicate Torah study, Chazal instituted the holiday in such a way that we would be busy learning all eight days trying to figure out why we celebrate eight days!
Maggid shiur and Rebbe at Yeshiva Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway. He leads the Daf Yomi chaburah at Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead, and writes “Delving into the Daf” each week for The Jewish Home.
