The Beis Yosef asks the question what was the neis the first day as there was enough oil to burn? The Shiltas Rav Ache (a Gaon) has the girsa לא היה בו ‘אפילו’ להדליק יום אחד there was not enough even for one day. The mefarshim explain that if we have an exact pitcher amount, something is left over when poured in the menorah. The Meiri Shabbos om Mai Chanukah Shabbos 21,2 answers the above that the finding the pitcher was itself a neis. When we are mechadesh in the Torah is a neis of siyata dishmaya see the Or Hachaim Hakadash in the beginning on Parashas Tetzaveh on shemen zayis zach pure oil, lishma, kasis lamaor, break himself in learning Torah. The Beis Yosef has two answers, one it refilled itself with itself oll, but ehat happened the last day? Two, they divided the oil into eight parts, so the first day was also a neis. They realized that when the oil became tamei, they needed eight days to produce new oil, but ein somchim al haneis, can we rely on a neis?
The Ksav Sofer Shut O;CH 132, that the argument if kavsa zakik lo, do we have to relight it when it went out before the time is dependent on these two answers, When divided into eight parts, an eight part can burn a little so the neis was that it burned long, so to commemorate the neis, we must relight it but otherwise not.
The Pnei Yehashuah explains that the argument to increase or decrease the number of candles every day also depends on this. When the oil was divided into eight parts the amount of oil left in the pitcher was seen to diminish day by day by an eight, so the neis was realized through diminishment.
The Taz explains that the first day oil was left over for other days, מנותר קנקנים נעשה נס, from what was left over the neis materialized.
Menu