Taking Advantage of These Days
The Kedushas Levi (Kedushah 2) tells a mashal of a king who opened his treasury for a day, and everyone could come and take whatever they desired. "Woe to the fool who doesn’t take advantage and sleeps all day." These are extraordinary days. We can gain so much from each moment of Chanukah—woe to those who don't take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.
The Gemara (Shabbos 21) says, "On Chanukah, one mustn’t give hespedim (eulogies)." We can explain that the Gemara hints that after Chanukah passes, we shouldn't give hespedim and eulogies over lost opportunities. We should be wise and use our time well when the opportunity is before us.
In Moaz Tzur we say, קבעו שמונה ימי בינה בני. This can be explained as the בינה בני, the wise people, קבעו שמונה ימי, draw as much as they can from these holy, eight days.
The Sfas Emes (לשנה ה"ד ד"תרמ) writes, "The yomim tovim are called רגלים שלש (literally, 'three feet') because they are the pillars that hold up the world. In earlier generations, three holidays were sufficient. Hashem knew that three holidays wouldn’t be enough for us in later generations, so Hashem added Chanukah and Purim. About us, it states, אין נפגע שוטה, a fool doesn’t feel.' [We are like fools because we don’t realize just how important Chanukah and Purim are to us.] But the early scholars and the true ovdei Hashem certainly felt and realized that it is impossible to exist without [Chanukah] and without Chanukah lecht, which illuminates the darkness.
"I think we can gain more during these holidays [of Chanukah and Purim than by the three regalim] because we can keep Chanukah and Purim in their entirety. By the other holidays [Pesach, Shavuos, Succos], we lack the mitzvah of לרגל עליה, to go up to the Beis HaMikdash, which was the primary joy of the holiday. But we can keep the mitzvos of Chanukah and Purim fully. We can keep Chanukah and Purim exactly as they were originally established, which is a quality that Chanukah and Purim have over the other yomim tovim due to the Churban Beis HaMikdash."
