In their explanation as to how one should properly kindle our Chanuka candles, the Sages of the Talmud (Shabbat 21 b) included the following details as to where we should actually position our Chanukiot.
"Tanu rabbanan: ner chanuka mitzva lehanicha al petach beito mebechutz. Im haya dar b'aliya, manicha bechalon hasmucha lirishut harabbim..."
"Our Rabbis taught. It is part and parcel of the mitzva to kindle Chanuka candles, to place them at the outermost doorway of one's home. If one lives in a higher dwelling, one should place it in the window which is closest to (and thus most visible from) the public domain..."
Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, pre-eminent 11th Century commentator of the Bible and Talmud, in three simple words, clarifies this statement, indicating the purpose of placing the candles in the most publicly visible vantage point is "mishum pirsumei nisa"- In order to publicize the miracle.
The narrative continues a few lines later in the Talmudic text:
'Amar Rabba: Ner Chanuka mitzva lehanicha betefach hasmucha lepetach. Veheicha manach ley? Rav Acha berey d'Rava amar miyamin. Rav Shmuel Medifti amar mismole. V'hilchata mismol, kedei, shetehay ner chanuka mismol, umezuza miyamin...'
'Rabba taught: 'The Chanuka lights should be placed within the handbreadth nearest the door.' And where exactly is it placed? Rav Acha son of Rava said. 'On the right side.'Rav Shmuel of Difti said: 'On the left side.' And the law is that the Chanuka lights are placed to the left side of the door, so that the chanuka lights shall be on the left, and the mezuza to the right...'
Our first inclination is to interpret the words of Rashi mentioned above, to infer that we are obliged to publicize the miracle of Chanuka; most specifically that these candles we are to place on the left side of our doorways are to recall the miracle of that small jar of oil kindled by the Chashmonaim as they restored the Temple's sanctity. Others suggest that the more significant miracle we must publicize, that must become known to the world, is the miraculous story of the victory in combat -as a small band of religious leaders overcame the mighty Greek Empire! Indeed both of these pieces are representative of the miraculous nature of the events which led to Chanuka being established as an annual commemoration.
Is there perhaps, an aspect of each of these miraculous events recalled through the kindling of candles? How are we to understand the idea of placing our candles to the left of the doorway, opposite the mezuza to the right of the doorway? Is there a message inherent in the very instructions our Sages proscribe in regard to the placement of the chanukia itself?
Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlap, one of the closest disciples of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, addresses these very questions in his analysis of these Talmudic texts (see Mei Marom, Volume 16:5, Essays on Chanuka).
Rav Charlap wrote:
"And thus, the extent that the hand of God was with the Chashmonaim, and thus their tiny army was able to defeat the many, is really rooted in the fact that they were connected to the 'mezuza on their right'... and thus...they merited to find the hidden cruise of oil sealed by the hand of the High Priest, that is the inner strength which was protected from all foreign influences, that is that the Jewish People were designated to be a holy people. Thus each and every year when we arrive at these days, if we attach ourselves to the 'mezuza on our right', our strength which comes from our right hand which personifies strength, if to our right is the mezuza- and all that is written in the mezuza, the blessed unity of God, the Shema Yisrael, the true love between the Jewish People and God- 'And you shall love God with all your heart and with all your soul,(Devarim 6:5)'; a love which is above all human confusion and machination, if this is the source of our strength, then through this we can also merit 'the Chanuka lights to our left,' that is to find within each of our pure hearts, that unique quality which impurity can never reach, the pure essence which will never be reached by any foreign or impure influence..."
The Chashmonaim remained faithful to the fundamentals of our belief in God. It was that very faith in God which inspired them to raise up arms against the Greeks, and served as the source of strength which carried them to miraculous victory despite certain insurmountable odds. So too, they and indeed the entire Jewish People, merited to overcome any confusion and foreign influence, and once again tap into the innate spark of the divine which was hidden away and properly sealed deep within each of their hearts and souls.
The Slonimer Rebbe taught that Chanuka celebrates the capacity for each and every Jew throughout all the difficult periods of Jewish history to hold steadfast to the message of the Chashmonaim, to find within each of our hearts that hidden source of light:
'...And just as the Chanuka candles are in their essence eternal, and will continue to bring us light, and usher in the light of the Messiah, that is they provide light (strength /hope) for the Jewish People throughout all periods of their exile, until 'a new light will shed its light upon Zion...' so too the idea of that jar of oil, of the search and discovery of the seal of the high priest is also eternal, in each and every generation and throughout all periods in our history, there is the power of that tiny jar of oil, the capacity for a tiny bit of light to outshine so much darkness...'
May the lights we kindle this Chanuka serve as a reminder of the heroic message that with faith comes true inner strength, and that a little bit of light, even the light from one tiny jar of oil, can outshine so much darkness. This is the eternal light of the Festival of Lights.
Chanuka Sameach.....Rabbi Sam Shor