Why do we count up on Chanukah? Why not count down?
Because the foolish mistakes we make in life all fade and disappear.
But the light of our mitzvahs accumulates, shining each day more and more.
From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. Subscribe and get your dose daily. To order Rabbi Freeman’s latest book, Wisdom to Heal the Earth, click here.
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That counting up originated with Rabbi Akiva who argued that learning grows little by little- not at once.- like Shammai wanted. Of course, that includes Mitzvot one by one! No doubt about it -given human nature.
Yes, the lighting of the Hanukkiah is by itself a living lesson of how to behave in a Jewish way. Hanukkah itself is a return to Judaism, and that is why the Hashmonaim fought to throw out the Syrian-Greeks,
My only "regret" is that it falls in December, and sadly, we have the same issue of assimilation in the US that we encountered with the Greek culture. It was Hanukkah gelt ( money) not presents every night, not a Hanukkah ginger bread house either! Not a gnome in the shelf either !
That in itself is not a Mitzvah. Thinking about how to improve ourselves to do what H' requires is !