Continuing the Light … After Zot Chanukah

Therefore, it is appropriate to be full of excitement and desire to fulfill the special mitzvot of Chanukah with incredible happiness, with singing and dancing, thanking and praising Hashem and telling over the wonders and miracles that G-d did for us in those days, and continues to do with us in our days as well. 

Everything goes according to the end. Therefore, as we stand here after celebrating the holiness and light of Chanukah for a week already, it is time to focus on the deepest aspects of the light of Chanukah, in order to take it with us into the rest of the year. 

We must understand, that all of the segulot and rectifications that take place on Chanukah – all of them burn bright together, in the most awesome fashion, on the last day of Chanukah – Zot Chanukah. The holy books bring that Zot Chanukah is actually the end and the final sealing of the High Holy Days – Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Hoshana Rabba. Therefore, it is very important to “wake ourselves up” on this holy day – to pray, to repent, and do a proper cheshbon nefesh (spiritual accounting), and especially, to thank and praise Hashem with even more energy and even more power in order to seal ourselves for the good on this holy day, and merit a year that will be truly good and sweet. 

In This (Zot) I Trust 

The Bnei Yissaschar teaches that all the days of Chanukah are a segula to conceive children just like Rosh Hashanah, but the most important day for this segula is on the last day, Zot Chanukah. However, this is not only true for this one fundamental of life (children), but for all of the fundamentals of life – also good income in abundance, etc. He also teaches that today is a day that is also special for teshuva – to repent, to regret our mistakes and receive Divine forgiveness. Furthermore, he brings that on Zot Chanukah, a special light – the light of the Third Holy Temple, it should be built speedily in our days – shines. 

The words of Rabbi Yisrael of Rozhin are also very well known: “What the greatest tzaddikim cannot do in their prayers at Neila at the end of Yom Kippur – even the simplest Jew can do on Zot Chanukah.” Just this teaching alone should be enough to wake us up to understand the greatness of this special time, and what it is possible to merit on this holy day. 

The Arizal explains another aspect of why this is true: During the holy days of Chanukah, the 13 Attributes of Mercy shine. On each of the first seven days, the first seven shine – one each day, in order. Each of them has its own segulot, which shine on that day. But on Zot Chanukah, the remaining 6 all shine together! This is made even stronger, because this completes the 13 Attributes – so it is as if all 13 are shining together, all at once. Therefore, G-d’s mercy shines upon us to the fullest extent, and therefore, G-d’s mercy is revealed to us in much greater measure than on other days of the year. 

Continuing the Light 

There are also a few important lessons that we must learn from the holy days of Chanukah, and bring them into our lives every single day for the rest of the year: 

The first lesson is that the light of Chanukah is the light of the ohr ganuz – the light of creation which was hidden away for the righteous in the future. According to Kabbalah, this light is seven times stronger than normal light, and G-d used this light to make the oil for one day last for eight days (one day according to nature, plus seven extra days from the ohr haganuz). Since this light is unnaturally strong, it can go even into the lowest places which normally cannot be rectified, and shines even there. 

We also know that the days of Chanukah are days of thanking and praising Hashem, as it says in the verse “in order to thank and praise G-d’s great name.” Therefore, we see that the hidden light – is the light of “thank you” and gratitude to Hashem! Just as these days of Chanukah are set aside to thank and praise Hashem for everything – the good, the bad, for the physical things, for the spiritual things – and in doing so, bring upon ourselves miracles and salvations – so too all the days of the year. The light of saying thank you, of gratitude and appreciation, can reach the lowest people and the lowest places, and bring us out of all of our sorrow and suffering, on both the individual and communal level. 

Another root of the light of Chanukah that we must bring into the rest of the year is that the word Chanukah comes from the root of Chanukat Habayit – the inauguration of the Holy Temple that took place after the Maccabees won the war, pushed out Greek rule, and then purified the Holy Temple to resume the Temple offering according to the Torah. Therefore, on Chanukah the light of the Holy Temple shines! Since the light of the Holy Temple is the light of forgiveness and atonement for our sins, anyone who asks Hashem “please forgive me” on Chanukah, merits the light of the Holy Temple – literally!  

Therefore, even though because of our many sins the Holy Temple has still not been rebuilt, anyone who asks Hashem for forgiveness has a portion in rebuilding the Holy Temple. Anyone who wants the light of Chanukah to accompany him into the rest of the year needs to do a proper spiritual accounting (cheshbon nefesh) every single day in order to be forgiven for all of his sins and be completely clean before Hashem. It’s that simple – just tell Hashem about your day. Regret your mistakes and pray that Hashem should help you to do better in the future. And for the successes, and the things that went your way, and where you did the right thing – thank Hashem for helping you achieve that success! Once you have done your best for one hour, Hashem forgives you for everything! 

Hashem should give us the merit to spend one hour a day in personal prayer (hitbodedut) and be forgiven for all our sins – and spend the rest of each day just being happy, and thanking and praising Hashem! And in doing so, bring upon ourselves the hidden light which is reserved for the next world – already in this world.