DECEMBER 26 • 2019 | 27

T

he sages teach us a
primary function of
lighting the menorah is
pirsumei nissa, publicizing the
great miracle that God per-
formed on our behalf when the
Temple Menorah lamps lasted
eight days in the time of the
Maccabees.
Therefore, we light the
menorah in a window, a
place that is highly visi-
ble to the outside world,
a feature not found in
any other mitzvah. We
should try to light it
when it starts to get dark
outside and people are
heading home.
Based on the desire
to publicize the miracle,
the ideal place for a
menorah would be right
outside our front door.
In Israel, most people
light their menorahs in
that spot. In the diaspora, where
the Jews have historically been
the victims of oppression, we’
ve
been forced to move the light-
ing indoors.
The sages teach us that a
person should place the meno-
rah on the left side of the door.
Because the mezuzah is on the
right, the householder will be
surrounded by mitzvot when
entering his home.
Is there any significance to
which mitzvot are on what
side when one walks in or out
of his home?Interestingly, the
mezuzah and the menorah
represent two opposing ideas.
The mezuzah is representative
of compromise. Rashi says we
should place it vertically, and
Rabeinu Tam says we should
place it horizontally. In practice,
we place it diagonally in a com-
promise between the two.
The menorah represents

steadfast and unwavering
commitment to Jewish values.
It commemorates a mira-
cle that occurred to a small
group of people that refused
to be washed over in the tide
of assimilation. This group
merited seeing the last open
miracle that the Jewish people
witnessed.
Let’
s get back to the
placement of these objects
in our doorway. As we
walk into our homes,
the mezuzah is on our
right, the dominant side,
reminding us that when a
Jew comes into his home,
he must be prepared to
make compromises in
order to uphold the sha-
lom bayit, the peace of the
home.
However, as one walks
out of his house, the
menorah is on the domi-
nant right side to signify to us
that we cannot compromise
our Jewish values at all when
we are out in the big world. We
cannot allow ourselves to make
ethical lapses that we normally
wouldn’
t do at home just to help
business go more smoothly.
We cannot allow our morals
to become a bit more relaxed
around the office, nor can we go
hang out with friends in a man-
ner that contrasts to the sanctity
of our Jewish home.
We need to take every aspect
of the moral fiber of the Jewish
home and bring it with us into
the world outside, without a
smidgen of adjustment or mod-
ification. This is the message of
the placement of the menorah
and the mezuzah; together they
make a portal of perfection.

Rabbi Leiby Burnham is director of out-
reach for the Weiss Family Partners in
Torah at Yeshiva Beth Yehudah.

Parshat
Mikketz:
Numbers
28:9-15;
Zachariah
2:14-4:7.
(Shabbat
Rosh
Chodesh)

Rabbi Leiby
Burnham

27 | DECEMBER 26 • 2019

Spirit
torah portion

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