In an article entitled "The Chanukah Candle" (printed first in 1935 and later in a collection of his essays) , Rav Kook uses a specific aspect of the laws of Chanukah as a metaphor for the way Am Yisrael should relate to its mission in the world.
As is well known the Talmud (Shabbat 21b) says that Chanukah candles should be lit at the door of the home facing the outside. However, in a time of danger it is sufficient to place the Chanukiah on the table inside the house. This limitation was for a long time the usual mode of candle lighting in Ashkenazi communities. This is reflected in the glosses of the Rema (R. Moshe Isserles) on the Shulchan Aruch which were written in the 16th century. The Rema assumes that everyone lights inside the house. Therefore the law of the Talmud that a home with two entrances to the public domain requires two lightings is no longer valid because there is no need to take into consideration that people outside might think that a person has not lit (O.H. 571:8). In addition, there is no need to make sure to light while there are still people on the street (O.H. 572: 2). Though today we are not afraid to light in our doors or windows there is an opinion supported by at least one contemporary posek that the original halacha requiring us to light outside is no longer authoritative and has been nullified (see the discussion in Mitzvat Ner Ish Ubeito by Rabbi E. Shlezinger of Gilo).
Rav Kook quotes the original statement of the Talmud and sees it as a metaphor for the relationship between Am Yisrael and the world "outside". In his eyes, the struggle between the spirit of Israel and the tumah of Greece will only be finally resolved in the future. In the meantime the light of the candles is testimony that humanity ultimately cannot live within the confines of the profane alone but requires a sacred dimension of kedushah. This is the message of Am Yisrael as a holy nation to all of humanity and is symbolized by directing the light of the candles outwards.
However, he continues, this is appropriate only in normal times:
But in a time of danger, when evil winds are blowing in the world, bringing wild hatred to the people of Israel and all they represent… then the light that can be brought to the outside will not be able to bring light to the deep darkness. In such a time Israel will concentrate on its own house and table, on its inner culture, on the purity of soul and of deed, on its unique Torah and mitzvot, on building its own home on its holy land.
The challenge of bringing light to the entire world will wait until the proper time when all will realize that the redemption of the entire world will come from the table of the House of Israel.
These are the words of Rav Kook, written over seventy years ago. I wish to share with you my hesitations about the relevance of this idea to our days. I wish to suggest that perhaps what we do today is the spiritual equivalent of those who say that even nowadays we should light within the house. Is it "good for the Jews" and for Torah that we concentrate on cultivating our uniqueness and not consider taking our Torah and approaching the "outside" world? Do we not pay a high price for a Torah which is insular, unable to sustain a dialogue with the world at large? I am not referring to indulging in the doubtful pleasures of contemporary popular culture , but of a serious attempt to engage Torah in a conversation with the world outside. Could not our Torah be enriched by such a confrontation, just like having a havruta with someone with a totally different background may open new vistas of understanding? Are we indeed always to think that spiritually we are "in a time of danger" rather than a time of opportunity?
Rav Dr. Kalman Neuman
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Rav Kalman Neuman teaches at Yeshivat Bat Ayin. He studied at Yeshivat Merkaz Harav and Yeshivat Har Etzion, and holds a Ph.D. in European History from the Hebrew University. |