There was a “chocham eched” [particular sage] who recently brought an apartment, and this apartment is directly across the road from an apartment in which one of the gedolim live in. This chocham has two windows in which he is able to light Chanukah candles, one faces towards the house of the gadol hador, and the other one faces a busy street. This chocham wanted to know if perhaps there is a special inyan to light in the window which faces the apartment of the gadol hador?
If there is more pirsumay nisa [publicizing of the miracle] by lighting in the window facing the gadol’s apartment, as generally speaking lots of people come and go from the gadol’s house, then it would seem that it’s better to light in that window. If, however, there is more people passing by the window on the other side, then seemingly there is no advantage in lighting on the side facing the apartment of the gadol.
Birchas HaGomel Should Be Recited in the Presence of Two Rabbonim
However, R’ Pinchos Bugatz shlita (ר' פינחס בוגץ) points out that perhaps there is an inyan to light by the window which faces the house of the gadol. The Gemara in Berachos (54b) teaches, that when reciting birchas hagomel, it should be recited in the presence of ten people, and two of the ten should be rabbonim as it says, ובמושב זקנים יהללוהו – “In a sitting of elders you shall praise Me”. This is brought down in Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 219:2). Therefore, since the mitzvah of ner Chanukah was established to thank Hashem for the miracles, perhaps there is an inyan to light in a place where rabbonim will be able to see, in order to fulfill the concept of, ובמושב זקנים יהללוהו.
Machlokes Rashi and Rambam
Seemingly this would depend on a machlokes between Rashi and the Rambam, how to learn a Gemara in Shabbos (21b). The famous Chanukah sugya ends off: לשנה אחרת קבעום ועשאום ימים טובים בהלל והודאה – “The next year, they fixed and made these days, days of Yom Tov, for Hallel and Hoda’ah”. Rashi explains: לא שאסורין במלאכה, שלא נקבעו אלא לקרות הלל ולומר על הנסים בהודאה – “Not that these days are forbidden in doing melachah, only, that on these days we read Hallel and recite Al HaNissim. The obvious question is, why does the Gemara not mention lighting Chanukah candles, especially as this Gemara is discussing what Chanukah is? It’s extremely difficult to understand why the Gemara misses out the fact that they enacted on Chanukah to light Chanukah candles?
Although Rashi is seemingly very difficult, the Rambam learns the Gemara differently. The Rambam (Hilchos Chanukah 3:3) writes:ומפני זה התקינו חכמים שבאותו הדור שיהיו שמונת הימים האלו שתחלתן כ"ה בכסלו ימי שמחה והלל ומדליקין בהן הנרות בערב על פתחי הבתים בכל לילה ולילה משמונת הלילות להראות ולגלות הנס. וימים אלו הן הנקראין חנכה והן אסורין בהספד ותענית כימי הפורים. והדלקת הנרות בהן מצוה מדברי סופרים כקריאת המגלה . - “And because of [the miracles of Chanukah], the Chachomim of that generation designated these eight days, starting from the evening of the twenty-fifth of Kislev, as days of happiness and Hallel. And we light candles daily in the evening by the entrance of our homes on all eight days of Chanukah, to show and reveal the special miracle that happened. And these days are called Chanukah. One may not fast or eulogize on these days, just like on Purim. And the lighting of the candles on these days is a mitzvah mi’d’Rabbonon, just like the mitzvah of reading the Megillah on Purim.”
The Rambam learns that when the Gemara says: ועשאום ימים טובים – “They made these days into a Yom Tov”, it means that the days of Chanukah are days of simcha, like the Maharshal (Yam Shel Shlomah, Bava Kama 80) learns that there is an obligation of simcha on Chanukah. Then he learns that when the Gemara says Hallel it means Hallel. Then when the Gemara says “hoda’ah”, the Rambam understands it to mean: ומדליקין הנרות על פתחי הבתים להראות ולגלות הנס – “That we light candles at the entrance of our house, to show and reveal the miracles” - not like Rashi he learns “hoda’ah” to mean Al HaNissim. In fact, the Rambam only mentions Al HaNissim in Hilchos Tefillah, as he learns it’s a din in Hilchos Tefillah to mention מעין המאורע [about the times] but it’s not so much a din in Chanukah. In short, the Rambam learns that when the Gemara mentions “hoda’ah”, it refers to lighting Chanukah candles.
It comes out that there is a machlokes Rashi and Rambam as to why we light Chanukah candles. According to the Rambam we light Chanukah candles to give hoda’ah, thanks to Hashem, for the miracles. Whereas according to Rashi it is to do with pirsumay nisa. According to the Rambam that it is an inyan of hoda’ah there is room to say that just like birchas hagomel should be recited in front of two rabbonim to fulfill ובמושב זקנים יהללוהו, similarly Chanukah candles should be lit in front of rabbonim as well, and one should light on the side facing the gadol hador. According to Rashi, however, that the idea of Chanukah candles is to do with pirsumay nisa and not to do with hoda’ah, then there is no special inyan to do it in front of rabbonim, more than regular passerby’s.
(Based on a Teshuvah from R’ Naftoli Kopshitz shlita)
