מאי חנוכה? What is Chanukah?
Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad has a novel interpretation of the Gemara in Mesechta Shabbos that discusses the Gemara’s question, “Mai Chanukah?” “What is Chanukah?” which we usually explain as “Chanu”, “they rested” on “Kah”, "the 25th" of Kislev. He wants to suggest that the Gemara’s question is, “Why is the holiday called Chanukah, rather than “Nachukah” which would more appropriately indicate that the Jewish people reposed from the war with the Greeks? He answers that they called it Chanukah rather than Nachukah because Nachukah connotes a cessation of work which is usually associated with a Yom Tov. But this was not the case, as the Chachamim of the time did not establish it as such; rather they established it specifically as a day “Lhodos U’Lehallel”, as a day “of praise and thanksgiving”. Therefore he says they switched around the letters to Chanukah instead of Nachukah .
He suggests another approach to this by stating that perhaps they switched the letters around, placing the “Ches” at the beginning of the name, to indicate that the holiday was established for eight days indicated by the Ches at the start of the name, as opposed to the usual practice of establishing only one day for “praise and thanksgiving”.
He suggests another approach to this by stating that perhaps they switched the letters around, placing the “Ches” at the beginning of the name, to indicate that the holiday was established for eight days indicated by the Ches at the start of the name, as opposed to the usual practice of establishing only one day for “praise and thanksgiving”.
Ben Yehoyadah on Shabbos 31b
Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad
Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad
