Miketz- Shabbat Chanukah 5764
** The Rabbi's insight this week is on Chanukah **
The Gemara Shabbat on Daf 21, Amud B, has a very famous argument between Bet Hillel and Bet Shamai regarding the proper way to light the Menorah on Chanukah. Bet Hillel holds that it’s proper to light on the first night one candle or one light, and then go to the next night and light two candles, then three, and four, etc. They say to go up until the final night where you have eight lights. The Gemara calls that ‘Keneged Hayamim HaNotzeem’. Meaning that you count the days that passed. Bet Shamai on the other hand holds, that you start on the first night with eight candles and you work your way down. You then light seven, then six, then five, until the last night where you are left with one. The Gemara calls that ‘Keneged Yamim Nichnasim’. Meaning you light corresponding to the numbers of days that are left.
I think there is a nice message that we could learn from this argument. In this world that we live, we are obligated to study as much Torah as we can. And, we are obligated to try and strive to be become as observant in the Mitzvot as we can. But of course, if we look at the Torah in its entirety, and we look at the daunting task ahead of us in how much there is to learn, one will give up from the beginning. How is it going to be possible to finish Shas? How is going to be possible to finish all the Shulchan Aruch and know it? How is it possible to have clarity in all the other books of Chazal, and the Tanach, etc? When one looks at the entire library, one says, better off I don’t start because I am not going to get anywhere.
And based on that, Bet Hillel teaches us a lesson in religion, that you can’t look at how much you have left, but you have to look at what passed, and what you accomplished. You finish one Gemara, so that’s an accomplishment. You finished Masechet Berachot, so great, let’s move onto Masechet Shabbat. Once you finished Masechet Shabbat and it’s under your belt, it’s an accomplishment, be happy with it. When you look at religion that way, and are careful on each achievement, you can then file it in the bank as an accomplishment, and then begin on the next Mitzvah. When you look it that way, then religion becomes more palatable. Then already, the task of fulfilling the whole Torah becomes a little more possible. It becomes doable. And that’s what it means, ‘Keneged Hayamim HaNotzeen’, that you have to count what you have already.
Chachamim tell us that when Mashiach comes, the Halacha is going to change. Halacha is going to follow Bet Shamai in this matter. When the Mashiach comes, they are going to look at our accomplishments from the perspective of Bet Shamai, of how much do you have left. When we come to Shamayim (heaven) after 120 years, we are going to say that we finished this, and we finished that, and we did this, and we did that, and they are not going to come and praise us necessarily on what we did, but they are going to come and tell like Bet Shamai, and ask how much do you have left. How much more were you able to do? The time of the Mashiach is already the end, and it’s already the time of the judgment. The judgment is not only on what you did, but how much more potential you have, ‘Keneged Yamim Hanichnasim’. Bet Shamai’s logic is that you did Masechet Shabbat, but you have twenty more to go, and look how much more you have to accomplish. That already is not the approach in this world. But in the next world the approach is going to be, congratulations that you did a lot, but look at how much more you were able to accomplish.
So we have to follow the approach of Bet Hillel in this world, but keep in mind the approach of Bet Shamai. There is going to come a time when you are going to have answer why didn’t you accomplish more than what you did, as there is so much more out there that you haven’t yet completed.
