THIS is Chanukah!

The last day of Chanukah is called “Zot Chanukah,” literally “this is the dedication” or “this is Chanukah,” since Chanukah means “dedication.” It is derived from the Torah reading of the day, which begins: “This is the dedication of the Altar.”

The fact that the day’s moniker is “This Is Chanukah,” leads us to conclude that in some way this day expresses the essence of what Chanukah is and is the culmination of the preceding seven days.

Higher Than Nature

The number seven symbolizes nature and fixed cycles. There are seven days in a week, seven colors in the rainbow, seven musical notes, etc. The number eight, by contrast, symbolizes that which is beyond nature and its inherent limitations. Eight is otherworldly; it is miraculous; it transcends the confines of creation. On the eighth and final day of Chanukah, therefore, we leap beyond nature, reaching a far more elevated level than what was revealed in the preceding days.

Extended Repentance

Chanukah serves as a continuation of the High Holidays. “What the righteous can achieve from G‑d on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,” explains Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin, “every Jew can achieve on Zot Chanukah. In other words, anyone who did not fully repent during the Ten Days of Repentance can still have their repentance accepted until the eighth day of Chanukah. This idea is hinted to in the word zot in Isaiah: “Through this (zot), the iniquity of Jacob will be atoned.”

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom!

Candle lighting time this week is at 4:23 PM in NYC.