16. Is there a connection between Chanukah candles and the lights of the Temple?
The Chanukah candles were instituted by the Sages in memory of the Temple lights, but nevertheless we see several differences between them:
– The lights of the Temple numbered seven while there are eight Chanukah candles.
– The Temple lights were lit in the Azara (Temple court) on the right side, while Chanukah candles (or oil lamps) are lit on the left of the outside.
– Temple lights were lit while it was still day-time, Chanukah lights are lit after sunset.
Chassidut explains the significant differences:
The Temple lights represent limited light, and that is why there were seven, as the number seven signifies nature (seven days of the week and so forth,), and since the light is a limited one it can illuminate only when there is additional light and only on the right side which signifies holiness. This is also the reason that after the destruction of the Temple, there was no more lighting of the Temple lights – they were limited from the beginning.
On the other hand, the Hasmoneans, through their unlimited self-sacrifice, revealed unlimited G dly light. This is manifest in that there are eight Chanukah lights. The number eight represents the supernatural – above nature, and Chanukah lights are lit outside and after dark, because the unlimited light is capable of illuminating the darkness. Therefore they are lit on the left side, which nurtures the forces of impurity. (Klipot.) This is also the reason that we continue lighting Chanukah candles during Galut (exile from the G dly revelations of the Temple eras,) and they will never be nullified. The light of Chanukah symbolizes the eternal connection we have with The Holy One Blessed be He, who is eternal and above all limitations of time and place.