Comparing Chanuka and Shabbat Candles

“For the candle of Hashem is the soul of man.” (Mishlei 26:6) There is something so mesmerizing and transcendental about the flickering flame of a candle, that it merits comparison to the soul of man.

There is a mitzvah to light candles every Friday afternoon to welcome in the holy Shabbat, and there is a separate commandment to light the Chanukah candles for the 8-day holiday period that celebrates the festival of Chanukah. How are these two mitzvot similar? How are they different? Let’s explore this topic a little further to gain more clarity.

Shabbat Candles

Before receiving an important guest, one will go to great lengths to prepare one’s home in a beautiful and dignified manner. So too, every Friday afternoon the Jewish Nation eagerly awaits the arrival of a very holy personage – Shabbat Kodesh. We light Shabbat candles to show respect to the much-anticipated Shabbat Queen.

Our Rabbis delineate for us further reasons for lighting Shabbat candles. Candles promote Shalom Bayit – domestic harmony. It’s far easier to be kind and loving to those around you when your home is bathed in candlelight than when you are tripping over objects and stumbling in the dark.

The Mishna Brura¹ explains that when Chava sinned by causing Adam to eat from the forbidden fruit, she brought death upon the world and darkened it spiritually. To rectify this sin, women are required to light Shabbat candles to herald in the Shabbat. When the woman of the house lights Shabbat candles, she brings further light and holiness into her home and the universe. Although a man would be required to light Shabbat candles in the absence of a woman, a woman is given precedence in this mitzva due to the above reason.

Chanukah Candles

For the duration of the 8-day festival of Chanukah, there is a mitzvah to light candles every night. The Rambam teaches that the mitzva of lighting the menorah is so dear, that even a poor person who is supported by charity is required to fulfill it, and if necessary must sell his clothes to afford the necessities for Chanukah lights.

Why do we light candles on Chanukah? When the brave Maccabim fought against the Syrian Greeks, they sought to reinstate the holy Temple to its original state of purity that existed before their enemies sullied it. They were able to build a new mizbeach to replace the altar that had been desecrated by the Greeks. They also managed to create a new menorah fashioned from tin to replace the beautiful gold one that the Syrian Greeks had pillaged, however, what would they use to light the menorah? 

The olive oil that they customarily used had been opened and was thereby rendered unfit for use in the holy menorah. Hashem in His infinite kindness allowed the Maccabim to find one small jar of pure olive oil. They ecstatically lit the menorah expecting it to remain lit for one night, however, it miraculously burned for an entire 8-day period. To remember this miracle we light our Chanukah menorah for 8-days long.

We light the Chanukah candles on the left side of the door so that we are surrounded by mitzvot on all sides – the mezuza on the right and the Chanukah candles on the left.

Some people have the custom to add water to the oil cups in the menorah, to display that oil rises to the top. This symbolizes the miraculous ascension of the Jews over their enemies.

Similarities between Shabbat Lights and Chanukah Lights

Both Shabbat candles and Chanukah candles are Rabbinically commanded. 

Both Shabbat and Chanukah lights may be fulfilled through candles, however, it’s preferable to use olive oil. This is because olive oil produces the brightest flame and burns with the greatest clarity.

Only after beating and pressing an olive will it yield its oil. So too the Jewish people have been tortured and oppressed by the gentile nations, and have used their pain and suffering to purify their hearts and souls and to return to Hashem in sincere teshuva.

Furthermore, the Jewish nation is compared to a delicious olive by the prophet Yirmeyahu. The comparisons between the Jewish people and an olive are many. Olive oil is the choicest of all oils, so too the Jewish people are the most beloved of all the nations of the world.

Oil illuminates the world with its light just as the Jewish people are a beacon of light to the other nations.

Only after beating and pressing an olive will it yield its oil. So too the Jewish people have been tortured and oppressed by the gentile nations, and have used their pain and suffering to purify their hearts and souls and to return to Hashem in sincere teshuva.

Oil is the only liquid that doesn’t mix with other liquids when blended. Similarly, the Jewish nation has retained its identity throughout centuries of history and has not been swallowed up by the other nations of the world.

The Gemara teaches that one who is punctilious about lighting candles will merit having children who are Torah scholars. To which candles does this refer? Rashi says that it refers to both Shabbat and Chanukah lights. This is because the Chanukah lights represent the battle that took place for the sake of the Torah. By being scrupulous about this mitzvah one demonstrates that Torah is of utmost importance, and therefore the reward is children who exemplify this ideal – Torah scholars.

The Holy Menorah

Chanukah lights come to publicize the tremendous miracle that Hashem wrought for the valiant Maccabim as they waged war against the Syrian Greeks who were an army far more numerous than them. Due to the need to publicize the miracle, our Rabbis established that the Chanukah menorah should be lit in the public domain and at a time when people are in the streets, so that as many people as possible will see it.

When lighting our menorah on Chanukah, we remember the magnificent golden menorah that stood for centuries in the holy Beit Hamikdash. Hashem commanded Moshe to construct an elaborate structure out of gold, but Moshe failed to comprehend exactly how this should be done. Hashem then commanded Moshe to throw the mass of gold into the fire whereupon He fashioned the menorah for Moshe. This teaches us a fundamental life lesson. All Hashem wants from His children is for them to try their very best. Efforts are in our hands, but results are not. So long as we try our best, Hashem comes and aids us in our endeavors.

Despite the differences in function between the Shabbat lights and the Chanukah lights, both serve the purpose of illuminating our homes with the brilliant flame of G-ds holy mitzvot. 

¹ Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 263:3. Mishnah Berurah Seif Katan 12