Q&A: A Lamp for a Person and His Household
A Lamp for a Person and His Household
Question
If the main commandment of Hanukkah is to publicize the miracle, then why is there specifically a commandment to light in one’s home (including all the fine points of Jewish law about where one sleeps and eats, etc.)? Wouldn’t I publicize the miracle more if I lit a Hanukkah menorah in the middle of Allenby Street in Tel Aviv? Granted, according to the view of the author of the Shulchan Arukh, where I fulfill the obligation on behalf of my household members, perhaps one can understand the idea of lighting specifically in my home. But according to the view of the Rema, this is seemingly not clear.
Answer
Several explanations can be suggested for this. It seems to me that you are meant to publicize the miracle primarily in your home, and from there also project it outward. Otherwise, what is the meaning of a lamp for each and every person? And in a homiletical vein, one could expand on this much more.