It is not the most jarring or stirring of questions. It is in fact quite simple in nature – which comes first? On this Motzei Shabbos Chanukah (this coming Saturday night), should we make havdalah or kindle our menorah first? And while this does not rank amongst the most troubling of theological questions, the resolution will provide us a profound insight into Chanukah and into life.
Let’s begin the legal journey. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim Siman 681:2) writes that in shul we kindle the menorah, and then afterwards recite havdalah. The Rema (Rav Moshe Isserlis, b. 1525, Cracow, Poland) comments that at home we follow the same order. However, not everyone agrees. Rav Dovid HaLevi (b. 1586, Ludmir, Poland), in his commentary titled Turei Zahav (Taz), writes that it is interesting to note that the Talmud does not discuss this question. Therefore, in the absence of a clear halachic mandate, we follow the principle of tadir v’she’eyno tadir, tadir kodem (if you have two obligations to fulfill, one which is performed frequently while the other is not; we perform the more frequent mitzvah first). Therefore, one should recite havdalah first, since this mitzvah occurs more frequently than the kindling of the Chanukah lights. The Mishna Berurah (681:2) argues and explains that ner Chanukah should come first, as it has the element of pirsumei nisa (publicizing of a miracle).
Ner Chanukah is not the only example of a mitzvah which has an element of publicity associated with it. On Pesach, we have an obligation to drink arba kosos (four cups) of wine and recline during the seder as behavioral displays of our freedom. On Purim, we read the Megillah as a way of publicly sharing the story of our salvation from the clutches of Haman. Yet, the pirsumei nisa of Chanukah is dramatically different. The Talmud explains that in its purest form, the Chanukah lights are kindled outside by one’s doorway. One goes outside, kindles the menorah, and then returns inside. The connection and association with the menorah is limited to the time spent outdoors kindling it; the true beneficiaries are the pedestrians who walk past and bask in the holy glow of the Chanukah lights. This is pirsumei nisa to the extreme – we share this mitzvah with the outside world, almost to the exclusion of ourselves. How are we to understand this exaggerated and amplified ?
