Chanukah

In the past, people gathered at home just before nightfall. At sunset, then, the streets were full of people returning home. The sages therefore ruled that the time for lighting Chanukah candles is "from sundown until the marketplace has emptied out."

On Purim, the faith in God's omnipotence and the Torah's divinity were revealed. On Chanukah, the faith in personal Divine Providence was revealed: God delivered the many into the hands of the few. We, too, must strive to see God's providence in all.

The turning point in Hellenist culture came when classic paganism became a general idea. This happened when they stripped paganism of its religious content and transformed it into a cluster of ideas - purposive, active forces became laws and domains.

When buying oil for Chanukah, one should not say, “This oil is for Chanukah,” for some authorities hold that by making such a statement one dedicates all of the oil for Chanukah candles alone, including that which remains in the bottle after Chanukah.