Here\u2019s a beautiful lesson from the holiday about shalom and how significant it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Talmudic discussion of lighting the menorah, the Talmud considers the following hypothetical situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imagine that it\u2019s Chanukah, and it\u2019s also Friday night, and you only have one candle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What do you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You could use the candle to light your Chanukah menorah. Even one candle would be a reminder of the miraculous victory over the Greeks and be a celebration of the Chanukah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or you could light the candle as a Shabbos candle. Even one candle would suffice to fulfill the weekly mitzvah to kindle the Sabbath lights and light up the house for Friday night dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But with only one candle, you can\u2019t do both. You can only make one blessing on it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Talmud concludes that in this case, you should use the candle for Shabbos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why? Because the Shabbos candles symbolize shalom bayit<\/em>, peace in the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the fact that Chanukah only comes once a year, and despite the fact that it represents the survival of Judaism against all odds and against all foreign influences, the Shabbos candle wins. Peace in the home is even more important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, shalom bayit<\/em> is the true secret of our survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although there may be great fights to be fought outside<\/em> in a turbulent world, there must be peace at home inside<\/em> with family. To remind us of our commitment to shalom at home, Shalom bayit<\/em> comes before<\/em> the precious mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah menorah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about it. The Maccabees were historic champions of self sacrifice for Judaism. But even greater is the sacrifice we should be ready to make at home on behalf of shalom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try this today: Think about what things you would or should forgo for <\/strong>shalom bayit<\/em><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here\u2019s a beautiful lesson from the holiday about shalom and how significant it is.<\/p>\n In the Talmudic discussion of lighting the menorah, the Talmud considers the following hypothetical situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Imagine that it\u2019s Chanukah, and it\u2019s also Friday night, and you only have one candle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-868","daily-lesson","type-daily-lesson","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-normal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n