Chapter VIII

The above will enable us to understand the statement of our Sages, of blessed memory (Shabbos 21b): “It is a mitzvah to place the Chanukah lamp by the doorway of one’s house, on the outside.” I.e., the mitzvah of the Chanukah lights entails illuminating that which is “on the outside.”

Rashi and Tosafos differ as to what exactly is the “outside” that is to be illuminated. Rashi holds that this refers to the courtyard, as he explains, “But [the lamp is] not [to be placed] in the public domain, rather in one’s courtyard, for the houses in those days would open on to a courtyard.” Tosafos , however, is of the opinion that the “outside” refers to the public domain, and explains that the Gemara is referring to a house that lacks a courtyard and so opens directly to the street; if, however, there is a courtyard before the house, then it is to be placed at the entrance of the courtyard to illuminate the public domain.

There are questions that now require explanation: Why must the Chanukah lights illuminate the “outside”; if it is indeed “outside” [the domain of holiness], how can it be illuminated; of what benefit is the illumination; if it is indeed possible to illuminate it, why is it considered “outside”?

Later on in the Gemara we learn (Shabbos 22a): “Where is it to be placed? (I.e., on what side of the doorway, on the right or on the left.) R. Acha, the son of Rava, says: ‘On the right (of the entrance to the house)’; R. Shmuel of Difta says: ‘On the left.’ The law is: on the left, so that the Chanukah lamp will be on the left and the mezuzah on the right.”

Now what is the connection between the mezuzah and the Chanukah lamp? Why is it that both must be at the entrance of the house, except that the mezuzah must be specifically on the right and the Chanukah lamp specifically on the left?

In general, the right takes precedence over the left.1 [This being so,] the text should have read, “so that the mezuzah will be on the right and the Chanukah lamp on the left.” By stating instead, “so that the Chanukah lamp will be on the left and the mezuzah on the right,” we are given to understand that the mezuzah is [considered to be] “on the right” only when the Chanukah lamp is “on the left.” Thus, it is the placing of the Chanukah lamp “on the left” that enables the mezuzah to be “on the right.”

In order to understand this in terms of man’s spiritual service [it is necessary to preface] the verse [that] says,2 “You shall make for Me a Sanctuary and I shall dwell among them.” Comment our Sages, of blessed memory:3 “The verse does not state ‘in it,’ rather [it states] ‘among them,’ thus implying that each and every Jew is a dwelling-place for G-d.” And Rashi explains “You shall make for Me a Sanctuary” to mean, “You shall make a holy edifice for My Name’s sake.”

Regarding the entrance to this holy edifice that is found within every Jew, there must be a mezuzah on the right and a Chanukah lamp on the left, and the mezuzah is [considered to be] “on the right” only when the Chanukah lamp is “on the left.” It is the placing of the Chanukah lamp “on the left” that enables the mezuzah to be meaningfully “on the right.”

The Hebrew word mezuzah (מזוזה) is composed of the letter mem and the two words zu and zeh.4 Mem [numerically equal to forty] refers to Torah, [for it corresponds to] the forty days that Moshe Rabbeinu was on Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. Likewise, the Oral Torah begins with a mem (the word Me’eimasai) and concludes with a mem (bashalom).5 Zu refers to the Jewish people6 [as in the verse],7 Am zu kanisa “You have acquired this people.” Zeh refers to G-d,8 as it is written,9 “Zeh Keili This is my G-d.”

[Thus, mezuzah alludes to Torah, the Jewish people, and G-d,] for Jews are united with G-d through the Torah, as in the statement,10 “There are three things that are bound up one with the other: Israel is bound with the Torah and the Torah is bound up with G-d.” This, then, is alluded to by the word mezuzah the mem , which is Torah, unites zu with zeh.

This is the meaning of the above statement that “the mezuzah is on the right when the Chanukah lamp is on the left” the mezuzah is [considered to be] “on the right” only when one carries out the spiritual service represented by the “Chanukah lamp on the left.”

The function of the Chanukah lamp is specifically to illuminate the “outside,” i.e., to earnestly weigh one’s spiritual status. [When one does so, he will come to the realization that] although he engages in the study of the Torah and fulfills the mitzvos , and even busies himself with acts of lovingkindness, there is nevertheless found within him11 “a root whose [bitter] fruit is venom and wormwood” yeshus and sinas chinam. This is why the mitzvah of the Chanukah lamp is fulfilled specifically “on the left,” [in order that one uproot the evil of the yetzer hara that dwells in the left hand side of a man’s heart]. Only then can the mezuzah “on the right” [which is the abode of the Divine soul] be truly successful in achieving its task.

This, then, is what is meant by saying that the mitzvah entails illuminating the “outside.” Though it is indeed “outside” [the domain of holiness], there is a level of “outside” that is capable of being lit up. For there also exists a level of “outside” that [is incapable of being illuminated, and that] must be totally repulsed and rejected. He, however, who is of the previously mentioned spiritual grade (i.e., who engages in Torah and mitzvos and avodah , but inflexibly insists on the truth of his own opinions), he belongs to the level of “outside” that is capable of being illumined.

And when his outer aspect is in fact illuminated, then the “mezuzah on [his spiritual] right” finds full expression so that through his Torah study and spiritual service he realizes the Divine intent of making, within this lowly physical world, a dwelling place for G-d.

Summary:
In the holy edifice found within each Jew the Chanukah lamp must be “on the left.” This makes it possible for the mezuzah to be “on the right.” The purpose of the Chanukah lamp is to illuminate the “outside,” thereby transforming this world into a dwelling place for G-d.