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.
Consider the following story:
A man was trekking through a forest and found a great treasure of gold, diamonds, and precious stones. The hiker emptied his backpack of his personal items and began filling his bag with gems.
Just then, his phone rings. It is his rebbe. "Rebbe, thank you for returning my call. Please give me chizuk. I feel very depressed."
"What are you doing now?" asked his rebbe.
"I found a mountain of precious gems in the forest and am stuffing my pockets and bag."
"You are gathering gems, and you need chizuk?!" the rebbe exclaimed in disbelief.
During Chanukah, people come over to me and ask for chizuk. I wonder, "How can you need chizuk now? Every moment of Chanukah, you gather treasures, b’gashmiyus and b’ruchniyus. No one should be happier than you, and you need chizuk?!" With Hallel, the neiros Chanukah, Al HaNissim, Tehillim, Torah study, Chanukah seudos, and simply by being happy on Chanukah, we are picking up priceless treasures. So, how can we feel a need for chizuk now?"
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. Let us act wisely and use our time well while the opportunity is here.
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 in later generations, three holidays wouldn’t be enough for us, 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 during 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. Chanukah and Purim are exactly the same as they were when originally established, which is a quality these days have over the other yomim tovim due to the Churban Beis HaMikdash."
