Reply To: Chanukah Thoughts

As Beis Yosef asks what was a neis the first day since the pitcher was enough for the first day. He answers that they divided the oil for eight days so it was not enough for the first day. The Pnei Yeshuah in Shabbos explains that this is the reason for the Beis Shamai for lighting backwards from eight to one because the neis was recognized in the pitcher where the oil was seen to diminish from eight eights to one eight. The Beis Hillel holds that they used the whole oil the first day so the neis increased day by day. The Ksav Sofer explains that this is the argument if we have to relight it if it goes out. Those who hold that we must relight it also believe that they divided the oil. An eight part can burn a little so the neis was that it burned long so if we don’t relight it, we are not commemorating the neis. The Taz says that some oil was left over the first day and this is the meaning ומנותר קנקנים נעשה נס לשושנים, because the brocho cannot fall on nothing, as we find by Eliyahu that the oil only materialized as long there were pitchers.