We have seen that the Brisker Rav explains the machlokes between the Rambam and the Rama. According to the Rambam, the hiddur must be part and parcel of the mitzvah, and the baal habayis must do the lighting, thereby enhancing the mitzvah. But the Rama holds that the hiddur can be done even after the mitzvah was finished. It is therefore possible that each person will enhance the mitzvah, even after the baal habayis finished lighting.
However, the Avi Ezri questions this comparison of the Brisker Rav. We have seen that the hiddur of each person lighting the menorah is different from other hiddurim. Rav Akiva Eiger explains that the hiddur accomplished when each member of the house lights is because they are not yotzei with the lighting of the head of the house, and they are doing their own mitzvah. Since they are doing the mitzvah itself, and not just a hiddur, even the Rambam can agree that this hiddur does not have to be part of the mitzvah itself and can be done separately.
Furthermore, as mentioned above, this hiddur is different from the regular hiddur. Usually, the hiddur is enhancing the mitzvah itself, and that must be done as part and parcel of the mitzvah. For example, the Beis Halevi writes that once a person took the esrog, since the mitzvah is done, there will be no point in taking a nicer esrog because it is too late to enhance the previous mitzvah.
However, when it comes to ner Chanukah, the hiddur is not enhancing the mitzvah itself. Rather the mitzvah is to light additional candles. Therefore, even the Rambam can agree that this hiddur does not have to be together with the mitzvah itself and can be done separately.
The Avi Ezri takes this a step further and says that even if generally speaking, the hiddur must be a part of the mitzvah, this hiddur is different. When it comes to other mitzvos, the hiddur must be a part of the mitzvah because the hiddur doesn’t stand on its own. But when it comes to ner Chanukah, the Chachamim instituted a separate hiddur, adding on to the actual mitzvah. Since, in this case, the hiddur is to add on, even the Rambam can agree that the hiddur does not have to be part of the mitzvah itself and can be done separately.
SUMMARY
The hiddur of ner Chanukah is different than the hiddur of other mitzvos in a number of ways:
- The additional candles being lit are much more than a third of the price of the mitzvah itself.
- When it comes to ner Chanukah, the hiddur of adding extra candles is optional.
- The hiddur is performed by adding on more candles, and not by enhancing the mitzvah itself.
- There is a machlokes whether we make a brachah on hiddur. But each person can recite a brachah on his own lighting because they are not yotzei with the baal habayis.
- There is a machlokes between the Rambam and the Rama. According to the Rambam, one person lights for all the people in the house, and according to the Rama, each person in the house lights his own menorah. One explanation is based on the machlokes of whether we can add a hiddur after the mitzvah was done. Others say that the hiddur of neiros Chanukah is different, and the machlokes is how Chazal established this hiddur.
RABBI NACHUM SCHEINER
