Laws of Chanukah
1. Each night of Chanukah we increase the number of lights. This teaches us to not be satisfied with the mitzvahs we have done, but to seek ways of doing more mitzvahs.
2. The time to light the menorah is after sunset. Sunset reminds us of the end of life, when a person's sun declines - warning us to kindle the lights of our neshamah by doing tshuvah. As the Gemorah (Shabbos 153a) notes, "one should do tshuvah one day before he dies . . . which means every day, since he might die tomorrow". (The Essence of Chanukah by Rabbi Dovid Meisels).
A Torah Thought for Today
"Fear of G-d". This denotes fearing Him. It includes being humble while speaking to Him in prayer and studying His Torah or doing other mitzvahs (One Minute at a Time, Rabbi Moshe Goldberger). |