We go through different, special times in the year, and often, as we leave those periods, we feel sadness, disappointment at leaving the Yom Tov, the closeness to Hashem, and the beauty of the moed. However, we must always remember to look at what we have in our pockets. Hashem does not just send us Yamim Tovim to enjoy, but to take them with us and act upon the lessons and influences we have experienced.
With the Yom Tov of Chanukah this goes even further. We know that Pesach is a time of great si’atah dishmayah. We go b’chipazon, we jump levels, and receive great boosts in ruchniyus. However, it is essentially impossible to receive madregos for free, thus we must go back and build up, level by level, to solidify that which we have achieved. How do we do so? We utilize the period of sefiras ha’omer climaxing in Shavuos, to build up to what we have achieved until we are able to retain it. The same is true of Sukkos and Chanukah.
L’Halacha we are mosif veholech, in accordance with Beis Hillel. However, Beis Shamai are of the opinion that we are poches v’holech, we begin with eight candles and reduce them by one each day. What is the reason for this? The gemara explains that the candles correspond to the korbanos ha’chag - the steadily decreasing number of korbanos offered on Sukkos. What is the connection between these two things?
