Hanukka: a Family Holiday

          Ḥanukka is a family holiday on several levels.

          The rededication of the Temple, which is the celebration of Ḥanukka, was brought about through the unity of a single Jewish family, that of Matityahu and his five sons. (We can note the contrast between the Ḥanukka story and the Torah portions which are always read on the Shabbatot of Ḥanukka, which deal with the conflict between Joseph and his brothers, demonstrating what can go wrong when a Jewish family is disunited.)

          Further, the basic commemoration of the rededication of the Temple centers upon the family:

Our Rabbis taught: The mitzva of Ḥanukka (requires) one light for a man and his household (that is: one light is lit every evening of the eight days for the entire household).

          Rabbi Kook notes that the conflict between the Greeks and the Jews was a conflict of philosophies of life. The Greeks abhorred the Torah approach, one of whose basic ideas is purity and modesty within family life. The Torah approach stood in stark contrast to the Greek focus on the physical pleasures of life. Therefore, our Sages established the basic practice of Ḥanukka as a family event.