Lighting Hanukkah Candles Outside

Erev Hanukkah 5771

Most every Jew living in Israel, who lights Hanukkah candles, lights them outside. Jews who focus on a miracle involving oil light candles outside. Jews who focus on the killing of fellow Jews who fell in with the Greeks, their anti-Torah beliefs and culture, light candles outside. Jews who want to pretend that the war leading up to Hanukkah was a spiritual war only, light candles outside.

Even many of the totally misguided Jews, who fantasize that Hanukkah is a nationalistic holiday, absent of any Torah, light candles outside.

There are only a few hold outs, who light candles inside their homes, some not even near a window.

So, why do we in Israel light candles outside? Certainly it is the ideal place to light them, according to most halachic authorities. In galuth, (exile) we got used to lighting them inside, first, due to fear of anti-Jewish violence, and later due to local fire regulations.

But, as Jews, living in our own, proper Homeland, there is nothing to stop us from lighting candles outside, not even the Eruv Rav-controlled government,...yet.

Even the window box, Hanukkiah holders we use to protect the candles from blowing, and the fire from escaping, are inexpensive, and last for years.

We light Hanukkah candles outside,...because we can.

This simple act is so subtle that we do not even think about how it unifies those of us all living in Eretz Yisra'el, Haredi, Religious Zionist, and secular Jews.

This simple act reminds us all that we have inched just that much farther away from Galuth, and that much closer to Ge'ulah (Redemption), whether we want to acknowledge it or not.

Hanukkah Same'ah!