Q&A: Laws of the Megillah and Hanukkah
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Laws of the Megillah and Hanukkah
Question
Do you have any idea why Maimonides called it “Laws of the Megillah and Hanukkah”? He should have written either “Laws of the Megillah and the Lighting of the Lamp,” or alternatively “Laws of Purim and Hanukkah.” But here he mixed terms: on the one hand Megillah (and not Purim), and on the other hand Hanukkah (and not the lamp).
(This question is not mine. It is Rabbi A. Weiss’s.)
Answer
No. You can think of cute homiletic ideas, but I doubt there is any substantive reason here. That’s just how he happened to formulate it.
Discussion on Answer
Simply put, because the Hanukkah lamp used to be called “Hanukkah,” unlike in modern Hebrew, where it is called candle-lighting or a Hanukkah menorah. So it is “Megillah and Hanukkah.”
Megillah has the numerical value of 88; Hanukkah has the numerical value of 89, in the sense of “one rises in holiness,” and the secret of “adding and continuing,” and therefore he ruled in accordance with Beit Hillel. And this is the secret of the point of holiness that ascends front and back, as it says, “And you shall see My back,” and likewise the idea of “You shall walk after the Lord your God.” Enough said for one who understands.