Tonight, we light the fourth candle of Hanukkah.
The Babylonian Talmud preserves a renowned debate between the schools of Hillel and Shammai regarding the lights of the hanukkiyah, the Hanukkah menorah. The school of Shammai taught that on the first night of Hanukkah, we kindle eight lights and remove one light each night, kindling one light on the final night. Meanwhile, the school of Hillel, whom we follow today, taught that on the first night of Hanukkah, we kindle one light and add one light each night, kindling eight lights on the final night (Babylonian Talmud 21B).
From a purely theoretical standpoint, Shammai’s opinion seems appropriate. If, as the story teaches, the Temple’s menorah is kindled with one jar of oil that lasts eight nights, then on each successive night, the oil in the lamp would decrease.
However, the Talmud reasons that Hillel’s opinion rests upon the notion that one must always increase, rather than decrease, the sacred in the world. The light of the hanukkiyah, then, represents something sacred that we must augment throughout the days of Hanukkah.
Rather than opt for a narratively accurate progression, our ancestors instead chose one that encourages us to bring increasing amounts of light into the world, begging us to consider: When are the times in our lives when being right in our world should seem less important than bringing light into our world?
—Rabbi Josh Knobel