18
Actually, Miketz does not always fall out on Chanukah. It appears that whoever told me that was mistaken. :)
I ran some code (using my JavaScript Hebcal API) and discovered that in the 100 years from 5700-5800, Miketz is not on Chanukah 10 times. In 5703, 5706, 5710, 5730, 5733, 5737, 5757, 5761, 5781, and 5784, Miketz fell out on the 4th of Tevet, just ...
17
It seems to have been referred to this way at least as early as the time of Flavius Josephus.
See his Antiquities of the Jews, Book 12, Chapter 7:
Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for eight days, and omitted no sort of pleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid sacrifices; and he ...
14
Nitei Gavriel Chanuka - page 306 mentions this in the name of Otzar Kol Minhagei Yeshurin. Rabbi Genut at din.org.il also quotes Otzar Kol Minhagei Yeshurin and says it is mentioned in Chapter 19:4 in the name of the Avodas Eved M'Lomza. YUTorah.org also gives the Otzar Kol Minhagei Yeshurin as the source. This leads me to believe that there is no earlier ...
13
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch brings a case when one has a bowl filled with oil and places wicks around the perimeter to make a menorah. (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 139:9)
הַנֵּרוֹת, יִהְיוּ בְּשׁוּרָה אַחַת בְּשָׁוֶה, לֹא אֶחָד גָּבוֹהַּ וְאֶחָד נָמוּךְ. וְיִהְיֶה הֶפְסֵק בֵּין נֵר לְנֵר, שֶׁלֹּא יִתְקָרֵב הַלַהַב שֶׁל זֶה לָזֶה וְיִהְיֶה כְּמוֹ מְדוּרָה. ...
12
At the 2014 International Bible Contest for Adults (חידון התנ"ך הבינלאומי למבוגרים תשע"ה) televised finals1, celebrated grammarian2 Dr. Avshalom Kor (אבשלום קור) posed this question among a series of short vignettes about "Ma'oz Tzur" that he presented while the next contestant was getting into place. He answered that the 'ו' preceding "his possessions" is ...
12
This question assumes that the Rishonim or Acharonim grappled with this question. Most were not aware of contemporary sources omitting this miracle, such that they would ask the question and answer it.
If you want, instead, a defense of the existence of the oil miracle, here are two.
That "II Maccabees is, as is well known, an abridgement of a five-book ...
11
Shulchan Aruch O.C. 672:2
שכח או הדד ולא הדליק [....] ומיהו הני מילי לכתחילה; אבל אם עבר זה הזמן ולא הדליק, מדליק והולך כל הלילה. ואם עבר כל הלילה ולא הדליק, אין לו תשלומין
If one forgot and didn't light, or purposefully didn't light [....] however, this is only lechatchila; if [the end of sunset] has passed and one didn't light, they should light for the ...
11
The halacha is that someone must light with a ner (individual wick) and not a medurah (torch or multiple wicks). Siman תרעא in the Shulchan Aruch explains that the wicks must be separated to show individually even if all the individual wicks lead back to a central source. A camp fire is like the situation in which multiple wicks are lit, but the individual ...
10
I think an answer can be inferred from the Aruch Hashulchan's detailed discussion in 673:9-12. He sources the Tur, who says explicitly that there are two non-mitzva lights in addition to the official Chanuka lights. One is a "helper light" called the shamash and the other is an "extra" one.
The shamash is used to light the other light(s). In practice this ...
10
The Shulchan Aruch in O.C. 677:3 writes:
יש אומרים שאע"ג שמדליקין עליו בתוך ביתו, אם הוא במקום שאין בו ישראל מדליק בברכות
Some say that even though they are lighting for a person at his home, if he is in a place where there are no Jews he should light with the blessings.
The Rema adds
וכן נוהגין
And this is our practice.
This is a person who is ...
10
This immediately follows another statement of R. Kahana's, which also quoted an exegesis of R. Nasan b. Minyome's in the name of R. Tanchum. Quoting another statement from the same people is pretty common in the Bavli.
But there can be a deeper explanation also:
Tora T'mima (ad loc.) shows that the brothers must not have known that the pit had snakes and ...
10
Wikipedia brings the following quote from Rabbi Maimon, father of the Rambam:
"אין להקל בשום מנהג ואפילו מנהג קל. ויתחייב כל נכון לו עשות משתה ושמחה ומאכל, לפרסם הנס שעשה השם יתברך עמנו באותם הימים. ופשט המנהג לעשות סופגנין, בערבי אלספינג, והם הצפחיות בדבש, ובתרגום: האיסקריטין, והוא מנהג הקדמונים משום שהם קלויים בשמן, זכר לברכתו"
Admittingly, ...
9
The Mishna B'rura (672:6, citing Magein Avraham 672:3) writes:
If he put a lot of oil so that the flame will last longer, there is no mitzva in this. But with wax candles, there is a beautification of the mitzva when they are long. Nevertheless, one should not make them inordinately long.
The distinction between oil and wax is based on the Magein ...
9
If half an hour has passed since you lit the candles (assuming you didn't light early) then you no longer need a Shamash. You can even extinguish the candles at that point.
This is explicit in the Shulchan Aruch סימן תרעב - זמן הדלקת נר חנכה
הִלְכָּךְ צָרִיךְ לִתֵּן בָּהּ שֶׁמֶן כְּזֶה הַשִּׁעוּר, וְאִם נָתַן בָּהּ יוֹתֵר יָכוֹל לְכַבּוֹתָהּ לְאַחַר ...
9
A Chanukah Shiur by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, delivered at Moriah Synagogue, circa-1950, transcribed by Rabbi Nisson E. Shulman, explains the meaning of Chanukah and shows that Chanukah itself is basically a "hidden" celebration. We speak of the fight against the Syrian-Greeks, but that was not the main battle. As with many of the trials, tribulations ...
9
The source is Bereishit Rabbah 2.
וְחשֶׁךְ, זֶה גָּלוּת יָוָן, שֶׁהֶחֱשִׁיכָה עֵינֵיהֶם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּגְזֵרוֹתֵיהֶן
”And darkness”: This refers to the exile imposed by Greece, who darkened the eyes of Israel with their decrees.
8
Daat and tsel are both religious websites - I don't know if you count them as "publishers".
Maccabees I
http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/hasfarim/hashmonaim-a-2.htm
http://www.tsel.org/torah/macab/
Maccabees II
- http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/hasfarim/hashmonaim-b-2.htm
They're all based on "Ketuvim Achronim" by Yitzchak Frankel. I'm having a hard time digging ...
8
According to Rabbi Shlomo Fisher on ohr.edu, someone flying is exempt from lighting, because the rule is one candle per household ("נר איש וביתו;" Shabbos 21b); and if there's no one at home then there is no obligation to light.
8
The Avnei Nezer 2:500 quotes several opinions that state that one needs to have the candles lit in some sort of kli (vessel) and not just stuck onto a table. (h/t: DoubleAA) R. Shmuel Kamenetsky (Kovetz Hil. Chanukah pg. 29) also writes that one should be careful to use a kli, even if one is using wax candles that can stand by themselves.
However, R. ...
8
Yes you can learn this from Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 671, 3:
נר שיש לו שתי פיות, עולה לו בשביל שנים.
an oil lamp which has two "mouthpieces" is considered as two lamps.
Despite that this is not the topic of the Shulchan Aruch there, because the original text (Gemara Shabbat 23a) addresses two lamps for two persons, it is obvious that you ...
8
The reference is to Michah 5:4. The Talmud (Sukkah 52b) identifies them as King David in the middle, Adam, Seth, and Methuselah on his right, and Abraham, Jacob and Moses on his left.
8
Not precisely as you say, but the Be'er Hagolah (OC 670:3) quotes the Beis Yosef who writes that the reason is in order that it should be a reminder for them that it is forbidden to use the light from the candles.
ֽֽAs far as your bonus question, while it's quite difficult to prove a negative, but I haven't heard of any opinions that say such a thing. Also, ...
8
Most of it wasn't kept in the Beis Hamikdash and the part that was in the Bais Hamikdash was kept in hidden places.
The Rambam in Hilchas Para Aduma Perek Gimmel says
אֵין מַכְנִיסִין כְּלוּם מֵאֶפְרָהּ לְהַנִּיחוֹ בָּעֲזָרָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר יט ט) "וְהִנִּיחַ מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה". וּשְׁלֹשָׁה חֲלָקִים הָיוּ חוֹלְקִין אֶת כָּל אֶפְרָהּ אֶחָד נִתַּן ...
8
Excellent question! In fact, this question should arise from the reading of that section of the Gemara in Shabbat 21b, which states that an elder in the city of Sidon in fact followed the view of Beit Shammai:
אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שְׁנֵי זְקֵנִים הָיוּ בְּצַיְדָּן. אֶחָד עָשָׂה כְּבֵית שַׁמַּאי וְאֶחָד עָשָׂה כְּדִבְרֵי בֵּית ...
7
Sedei Haaretz Volume 3 - Orach Chaim Siman 38 was published in the year 5544 = 1784. This was written by Rabbi Avraham Bar Shmuel Meyuchos Zatzal who was a Rabbi in Jerusalem in his times. In Siman 38 he has a question from Rabbi Eliezer Nachum Zatzal who was the author of Chazon Nachum. In the question he asks regarding something which is called a Chanukia
...
7
They used a half of a lug of oil in each candle every night, in order that it would last through the longest night of the year (Menachos 88b). A lug is 6 egg volumes. An egg volume is disputed, but it's accepted to be either around 57 (R' Chaim Naeh) or 100 (Chazon Ish) mL.
So the volume per candle was about 172 or 294 mL, or about 1200 or 2050 mL total.
7
In the Sheilos U'Teshuvos of the Maharsham (Rabbi Shalom Mordechai Shvadron) Chelek 4 Siman 146 he writes to a Rabbi in the city of Leipzig the following (my own translation with added clarifications):
To answer your letter from the 2nd day of Chanuka, if it is
permissible to light the Chanuka candles on the train - I did not find
the matter to be so ...
7
Our dreidel is of relatively recent vintage and there is no evidence that it existed prior to a few centuries ago. It stood for (before it's being adapted for chanukah)
N = Nisht
nothing to put into the pot
G = Gantz
Take all
H = Halbe
Take half
Sh = Shtel
Put coins into the pot
One may perhaps still find deep meaning and significance in the dreidel ...
7
I don't think there's a formal English terminology what people would call "festival" vs. "holiday", but there certainly are distinctions.
The Jewish holidays such as Passover, Sukkot [booths], Rosh Hashanah (new year) and the like are spelled out in the Five Books of Moses. They all include "no-work" days. So you will not see an observant Jew at the office ...
7
No, one cannot.
Mythbusters determined experimentally that earwax candles are not effective:
The skin cells, hair, fatty acids and cholesterol contained in earwax combust quickly and at different rates, which means the icky substance won't stick around long enough to keep the flame on the wick.
Given that an earwax candle won't burn, it would not be ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible