Modern Masters: Chanuka: Miracles and Renewal | Rabbi Sam Shor | December 10th 2025

know we we've spoken a lot. There's a full day on Kaneka this morning. We know there's been a full morning on Kaneka already. And many of the themes that keep coming up, the themes of of when we light our candles, where we light our candles, what the intention behind we're supposed to have when we light our candles, the idea of pursua publicizing the miracles. These are things that are probably coming up in shear after sheer. And today in this afternoon, our shear this afternoon, we're going to continue along those lines. Going to continue along those lines and we're actually going to learn from Rabbi Salvich, the kadushi, the firstbi, and the son of discussing some of these very similar ideas, the very same ideas. We're gonna begin with the famous garra. If you take a look at your sheets, it's the first text you see on your sheets. The garra says the mitzvah of lighting candles on begins with the sun setting and it continues until when? Until the last person is work walking in the streets. Now what does that mean? What does that say? Till the last person is walking the streets. What does that mean? So the Gamarra asks, "My love, does this not mean?" Okay. And Gomorrah says, "Does this not mean that if your Gar if your manura [clears throat] you l it at at nightfall at at sunset and there are still people walking in the street, okay, and your and your manura goes out, blows out, do you have to light it again as long as there's people still walking the street?" And the answer the gar says low. That's not what it means. It doesn't mean it has to burn the entire time that people are walking the street. Low low. If you have if you haven't let yet lit and people are still walking the street, the is what you're allowed to light and you should light as long as there are people walking the street. The enamira. And if your if indeed your candles had gone out during this period, as long as they burned long enough to be considered uh that your y according to some postkim that's 18 minutes according to some postkim it's a half an hour according to some postkim it's a full hour but as long as your candles burnt for the shior for that your yots in the midst of lighting the candles even if there's still people walking the street and those candles went out you don't have to light again okay so that's the first part. Now comes the interesting part. What does it mean till the last person's work walking in the in the marketplace? Okay. How long is this says until the tadians stop walking in the marketplace? >> The good who? So take a look at Rashi your second source on your sheet. Rashi addresses that very question. Okay. Who were these? What does it mean to tell the the footsteps of the termai? Okay. The the termians. So this is what Rashi says. Shame. It's the name of a nation who were wood gatherers, wood cutters. And they were the last ones remaining in the marketplace. Okay. andor the who were the last people always in the marketplace in the time of the Gamarra were the these wood cutters these wood vendors they were the ones who sold wood and people would stop in the marketplace on their way home to make sure what that they had wood to keep them warm in their house and to provide light in their house to light fires in their house. They provided the wood and therefore they by by definition of who they were and what their profession was, they were the last ones working walking in the streets, walking in the marketplace. And therefore, if anyone needed wood to be able to heat their homes or light their homes, what would they who would they go to? They would go to these individuals, this nation, these non-Jewish individuals. against shame um it's a name of a nation. We're going to come back to this point in a in a few moments. Obviously, there must be some significance to the fact that the last people walking in the shook are specifically another nation, non-Jews. And what is theic implication for the fact that Rashi tells us that these people, the last ones walking in the shook in the marketplace were indeed non-Jews. So if you turn your page over, we're now going to learn a very extensive piece of a very extensive article from Salvation goes to an a beautiful a beautiful um extensive uh analysis of this gamarra and this rashi. So we're going to begin if you it's on on side two. We're going to begin with the first paragraph on side two. And what you can see what what what I did here is [snorts] I broke the whole article up into pieces. So, we're going to take it one piece at a time in Hebrew and I'll do the heavy lifting here. But I also wrote a summary of each of these paragraphs. So, when you go home, you'll be able to share some of these ideas with others, you'll have it snippet by snippet, okay? How to how to how to give it over. All right. So let's take a look take a look what the rough says explain that the the the simple understanding of the words of that you can can glean from the words of rashi is the following that this idea of publicizing the miracle of kaneka [snorts] is relevant to non-Jews as well as to Jews Why? And he's going to explain and you can fulfill the mitzvah of publicizing the miracle of of pursuing Issa. Even if the only people who are going to see those candles are non-Jews, not just Jews. Okay. And now makes another makes another interesting statement. It's true that the first aspect of fulfilling the the the mandate of publicizing the miracle who are the first people who usually see our candles if we're lighting with our with our with our family or with our community. The first people that see those candles are typically Jews. But since the last people walking the street at least in the time of the garra as as elucidated by elucidated by by argamar and by rashi explaining our garamara were non-Jews okay but by that the nature of what they did professionally okay they acquire for themselves what the title of the last ones working walking in the marketplace shall pursue Isa and since the last ones walking in the marketplace become a function of persua meaning they're the ones who are still in the streets that can see our candles when we light towards the street right it must be the conclusion is that what that this mandate to publicize the miracle you fulfill that aspect of lighting our candles even if the only people who see those candles are non-Jews. I just want to make a an interesting hara before we continue with Rabbi Salvich's beautiful article because he's going to continue and compare this to two other times in the Jewish calendar where we have a mandate of publicizing a miracle and that's Pum and Pass. And we're going to talk about this in a moment. But just that that I should point out this this this Gamarra and this this idea that even non-Jews okay help us in fulfilling the the mandate of puma besides being a beautiful it's actually comes out codified by by Rabbi Mosha Feinstein Mosha Feinstein famously asking that at least in New York City where the city that never sleeps that one could literally light Khan candles until dawn until sun just before sunrise and fulfill the mandate of Pumanisa of publicizing the miracle. Why? Because New York City is famously the city that never sleeps and therefore people whether it be Jewish or non-Jewish people are always walking in the streets and therefore you could fulfill the mitzvah all night long says Feinstein. We'll take questions at the end. But now I want to get back I want to get back to ralik ralves in the second in the second paragraph on page two. And now we're just going to talk about this comparison between Pum and P which are the other two times in the calendar year where we have a mandate of look look what Rabbi Salves says of that on those two days how do we fulfill the mandate of publicizing the miracles of telling over the tale of the miracles by reading the story of Miguel Aster by reading the skull lasts there and on the night of the seder by saying over the hagada. Okay, by tell by drinking four cups of wine and telling over the now look what he says. He says okay the non-Jews are not considered part of this mandate to publicize the miracle and the entire idea of publicizing the miracle when it comes to pum and that is relevant only to whom to Jews. Okay. Okay, that you don't fulfill the mitzvah of by translating the migill or the into the vernacular for nonjews. Okay. You fulfill pumin is on on on pum by reading the migilla together as a community for for our one Jew for the other. And on pak we fulfill the mitzvah of pimisa by drinking those four kos as we sit around the the seder table and we read the hagada and tell of the speak of the miracles together for our fellow Jew. So now Rabbi Salv Rabbi Salv is going to ask the obvious question what's the difference or how is this different than Kaneka that we see that the mandate of publicizing the miracles applies what even for us to publicize the miracle to non-Jews and what's the difference where there's no fulfillment of pursua uh if we if we read the haga for for a non-Jew if we translate the migilla for a non-Jew. Okay. So, Rabbi Salvich is going to continue to explain. Let's turn the sheet over text page number three. So, >> Rabbi Sal Rabbi page number three on the top. Rabbi Salv says the common denominator between okay who should because Rabbi Salvich how do we fulfill the mandate of publicizing the miracle it's specifically through the vehicle of what tora learning Torah now he's going to explain this Okay is what? It's a mandate. You're basically reading a safer from and therefore it's a what? Of learning. It's part of what about the pursum. Okay. How do we fulfill the through the experience of drinking the four cups of of wine? Okay. eating matzah and telling the story as we read the so he says that all that is a function of whato all this is what a function of learning okay and therefore based on this understanding move on we can it becomes clearing And now it becomes clear why on the idea of pursuing Isa is only applicable to whom? To Jews and doesn't include non-Jews. Why? Because because non-Jews don't have any mitzvah to learn Torah. The mitzvah to learn Torah is relevant only to Jews as the we all know that the Torah was instructed to us by Moshe. Okay. Based with this understanding he says but now this is understanding we can acknowledge the pursuing say is not through learning Torah but it's specifically through our using our senses. What are our senses to the capacity to see the candles and therefore since it's not related to Torah okay therefore we can say that there's an aspect of presuma publicizing the miracle even to non but rabbi salvich doesn't stop there he adds another layer and that's the next paragraph the rabbi salvich continued and he went deeper in in the way of of hamletics. Okay. The story of Pak is what the Jewish people being rescued from centuries of Egyptian oppression and servitude. Physical oppression. Okay. Salvation and a physical sense. And the same thing we all the Jewish people were in danger wanted to kill every single last Jewish we're talking about the survival and the continuation of the Jewish people and both of those in both of those. He says this idea of physical salvation, physical survival is something that's relevant to all people. Okay, this is something that that every every human being can intuit it on their own. Okay, the phys the need for fighting for our physical survival. He says even in the animal kingdom, you have this idea of survival of the fittest. Okay, of of of even an animal knows how to stand up and and fight for their physical survival. Because of this, there's no need to publicize to the non-Jews of the world the story of our physical salvation. There's no man, we don't have to tell the miracles that did in in saving us from the hand of Hammon or in saving us from the hand of parro. Why? Because any nation in the world can can learn that already knows this lesson. They don't need need to learn this lesson of of standing up for ourselves of fighting for our physical survival. But what is the message of Kaneka? The message of Khan is the ability and the and the capacity to be most or nefish to be willing to give your life in order to fight for our spiritual survival. Okay. And this idea that we are going to stand up, okay, and be an orim, right? The whole idea of Kaneka is about n and likes, okay? the whole idea that we're going to be the or we're going to become the proverbial minor to the nations of the world of what it means to stand up not only when we're challenged physically and our salvation our survival our physical survival and and and sustenance is in danger but even when our spiritual sustenance is in danger and that is the message that's what the mandate that we have to be an or to be the proverbial minora to the other nations of the world. Okay. The Jewish people are ready to stand up and fight for the surv their spiritual survival and not only for their physical survival. And this is a unique message that the other nations of the world will never intuit it on their own and that we can teach the other nations of the world and therefore ravich concludes we can understand why it's there's this unique message of publicizing the miracles even to the other nations of the world. Okay. So that's why we salv. We're now going to take this in a completely different take. That was a beautiful, you know, scholarly intellectual, you know, and and a beautiful drush and at the end, but now we're take this in a completely different direction. We're going to learn from Rabbi Gdalia. We we learn from two of the great Russia yeshiva of American Russia Yeshiva of the 20th century together in the same in the same shar. We just learned from Rabbi Salvichek. And now we're going to learn from Rabbi Gadaleshore. Now, Rabbi Gdaleshore, his farm a little bit different than Rabbi Salvich, Rabbi Salvich arm, even though as we saw has a beautiful interpretive um and and drussia, it's still basically the the mahalak the the the approach is still primarily, you know, very very brisker, you know, breaking down the suga. Here is going to be much moreidic in nature. Okay. Rabbi Gdaleshaw was a master of the of the works of kasidut and Rabbi Gdales's beautiful sarum oral yahu oft and often quote from the many early kasidic masters and this piece that we're going to learn from together this afternoon is is no different. It also quotes from one of the early masters of in explaining this concept of what does it mean until the last regular is walking the last footstep is walking in the shook. Now listen he takes in a completely different um way a different manner of interpretation completely. So this is on page four. Okay. And we we we see further The is all about what? Renewal, spiritual renewal. And just as it's named okay and this is taught to us by the very fact that the name of is called which comes from the language of which means to prepare ourselves. Okay. to quote the we see regarding regul. Okay. When it comes to Khaneka kazal use over and over again the word ragil which means consistent or regular or habitual okay or or you know or or constant okay particular. So now he's going to explain this amu and he's going to quote the famous gamar in shabas one who's particular and careful with their with their with their candles they will be a sign that they will be blessed to have children who are to Torah scholars. So in this case of the argamara the word haril means what? To be particular conscientious conscientious consistent. Okay. Now he's going to quote arg we know that the the the time in which we're meant to light our candles until the last regel the last footstep is walking in the shook. So the word regul okay which means regular or consistent or habitual is similar it's from the same root as what regular which means standing on one foot the last feet right now look what he says here look what he does with this he's going to quote the first okay who what's the whole idea Kaneka. The whole idea of Kaneka is what? To push aside the sense of doing mitzvah habitually of living our life as Jews, the rituals that and priesthoods that we fulfill doing them out of wrote. The whole idea of this is to be at this to push aside this whole the sense of our conduct being habitual simply habitual. Meaning that the for all too many of us become what? Habits that we learned. Things we inherited. Not that we necessarily are excited about, but we do them because it's part of our everyday routine. We're warned by that you should fear me in order that once the mitzvah should not be for you habitual. Okay. wrote and this is what it means to be to be you know particular with unfortunately for many people it means what that it becomes our habit and not some and therefore if they become if mitzos become habitual become our habit then what what it's missing from our observance of mitzos excitement fervor renewal. Those things are missing and therefore through the lights we kindle in Kaneka. It's our opportunity to what? to outshine all that wrote, okay, to push aside all that sense of habitual conduct. And says the this is the message that's encrypted in our when it says you should light candles until what? until the last foot is walking in the shel says the what is that alluding to this idea of pushing aside all the loot all the habitual conduct the sense of wrote in our says we can learn this even further from the Novello that we immersed our regal his his regal meaning his and the way the is going to learn this not his foot but his habits we should immerse them in she and what's the she a reference to we have to envision for ourselves that we're meant to what put all that sense of habit aside and immers in the she what's the What's the of And this is an illusion to what the mitzvah of which is through the vehicle of lighting oil that through our lighting our candles we can push aside all that sense of habit and wrote Because what happens when we when we are become too habitual what happens? We become too comfortable in our hashem. We lose any there's a cooling off and we lose any sense of excitement for our vice min. So how do we understand the other gamarra where it says one who's particular and careful in lighting their candles they'll merit to see children or Torah scholars how do we understand that if if what the is saying is true okay that we're meant to push aside all the regul how do we understand our other garra that says one who is careful and conscientious in lighting the candles they will merit to to see children will be scholars. So listen to how he explains this. What does the what mean that other one had who be who makes it part and parcel of their reality to always be in a sense of renewal, a state of renewal. If one is cons consistent in seeking that excitement, that renewal, that's the consistency that our say will allow us to merit to see children who are Torah scholars conscious heavenly and if we're particular and consistent in the in seeking this idea of renewal, then we'll merit to have children who are Torah scholars. Because this is obviously a beautiful a beautiful idea. of that is that a person has to always be particular and careful and consistent in always trying to renew themselves which is the opposite of what falling into bad habits of laziness and cooling off and lack of enthusiasm in our soak says is a time of his okay a restoration okay a renewal inem okay The says is encrypted within this idea is not only the concept of the actual time to light our candles. But encrypted in that again every Gamarra can be learned from different angles. This Gamarra encrypted within this Gamarra says the first GBI is this idea of Kaneka being the time to remove the apathy and wrote and restore the enthusiasm, love and excitement that we're meant to have for and his mitzvah. Okay, we're going to learn one last piece just to bring this all together. This is on page five of our sheets. We're going to learn from the niv shalom the sonbi the rebi is a very contemporary master again we learn from basically three 20th century modern masters we learned first from rabbi salvich we learned second from rabbi quoting the kadushim the first gbi and now we're going to learn from the sonrebi who died in the year 2000 the shalom okay so what's The nivos shalom nivos shalom. Okay. His name was Rabbi Shalom Brazowski. He was known as the rebi of may his mer bees beset upon us. And we're going to learn this last piece which uh will bring this all together. Okay. There's another idea inherent in this concept of publicizing the miracle. I'll I'll later he says I'm going to explain this concept in another way based on a something we experienced once when we were standing together with a previous okay one time when he was about to light candles meaning me the rebi the is talking about his father-in-law and one time when the previous was gathered together with the community to light candles what happened when the was reciting the bra of the second right okay he began to cry unconsolably shalia in a way that was very much out of character for him. It was very difficult for him to what to even finish reciting the immediately after he finally finished and lit the candles he began to explain what was going on. He said he when he was lighting the candles and he was reciting the he was suddenly focused and thinking about what the religious persecution of the Jewish people under the iron curtain in the former Soviet Union. And from in in the within his extensive words that he said that that that that evening he gave the following story. He says there is a the the the son of the prince the son of a king. Who knows though what his behavior maybe has not been so great. Okay. Has not been so good so appropriate matana. And he really even though he knows that his conduct has not been up to par, he really wants that the his father the king will give him uh you know some kind of present malle but he's afraid he's embarrassed to ask what to ask with a full mouth to ask and make that request of his father. Okay. Why? Because he knows. Okay. because he knows he's not deserving based on his behavior at all to receive any kind of matla. So what does he do? He just mentions to his father that last year and two years ago, okay, he doesn't come out and say, "Aba, I I want a present this year." He says, "Aba, remember last year you gave me a present? remember the year before that you gave me a present and by doing so by hinting in this way his father certainly is going to understand that what does he want he wants a present this year as well okay and now says we can understand okay that's exactly why in Kaneka when we go to light the Kaneka candles we recall and we say Hashem do miracles for us in our days in the same way you did for our ancestors in these days. We may not be deserving now, but remember what you did did. Remember the miracles you did a thousund 100 years ago, a thousand years ago, 2,000 years ago. You've already given to us so many miracles. And in every circumstance, the Jewish people may themselves be feeling what? Downtrodden and not worthy of Hashem's gifts and miracles. We need to remind ourselves that even when we're in a lowly state, Hashem remembers us and will pick us up because the reality is Hashem throughout all circumstances. You have done so many miracles, brought so many wonders to us. And therefore, when we light our Kaneka candles and we recite that brahan, we ask of you that even if we're not we're not worthy in of our own right, we ask you, Hashem, please remember the miracles you brought in every generation and bring us miracles and wonders as well. My friends, as we prepare for the awesome y of as we look ahead the awesome and to lighting our our nut and to reciting those of let's indeed take these messages to heart and my braha is that we indeed should be blessed to remind the entire world of the many miracles Hashem has done to sustain the Jewish people. May we be inspired to experience that renewal that to grow stronger in a hashem and may we be blessed to see and experience miracles.