There is a very important feature of Chanukah called Pirsumei Nissa. This is the requirement to publicize to the world the miracles that occurred for us then. How important is publicizing it? Very.It is so important that the Rambam (84:12) tells us that even if we don’t have food to eat except what is given in charity, one should borrow or even sell the shirt off his back in order to buy oil (or candles) and light them. It is more important to do this for Chanukah than it is for any other Mitzvah. Any time there is a requirement to publicize a miracle one must ‘spend every last nickel’ in order to fulfill that requirement. For other Mitzvos one may not deplete more than 20% of his wealth (SA, OC - 656).
The reason for this has to do with the fact that by publicizing this Mitzvah, one makes a Kiddush HaShem… he sanctifies God’s Name. That is what Pirsumei Nissa does. It tells the world that God miraculously saved His people. That is why it is important to light the Menorah while people are still out and about. The Gemarah in Mesheches Shabbos gives us the window of time Pirsumei Nissa is accomplished: Ad SheTichleh Regel Min HaShuk… until people typically stop walking in the street.
The question arises as to whether publicizing the miracle is meant only for Jews… or is it meant for non Jews as well? Rashi explains that ‘the people in the street’ that that Gemarah speaks of are the non Jewish Tarmudai who were wood collectors in the Talmudic era. It would therefore seem from Rashi, that we are concerned with non Jews.
There are another source to look at. If one looks at Chazal's Chanukah ‘insert’ of Al HaNissim into our daily prayers (the Shmoneh Esereh) one will see the following language: ‘And You made a great and holy Name for Yourself in the world’. This refers to non Jews since it is immediately followed by the phrase ‘and to Your people, Israel, you worked a salvation’. So the ‘world’ referred to in the previous line is the non Jewish world.
When comparing Chanukah to Purim, it raises another interesting question.
Purim also has the requirement of Pirsumei Nissa. This is accomplished by reading the Megeilla. But that is done ‘in house’ so to speak. We only publicize it to other Jews, not to non Jews. Why does Chanukah require us to publicize the Mitzvah to non Jews whereas Purim …and Pesach too for that matter… require publicizing only to Jews?
The Rav provides an answer. If I understand correctly this is what he says.
We look at the Rishonim in Mesehces Sanhedrin (61 B) which discusses whether there is a death penalty for the sin of idol worship. There is a dispute as to whether it is incurred if one transgresses out of the fear of being killed. The question is not whether it is permissible. It is not and one must allow oneself to be killed. The question here is what happens after the fact. Is one who transgresses, liable for the death penalty?
The Amorah, Rava, tells us he is not. This is because one is liable only when one actually accepts that deity by oneself, not if forced. According to Rava, then, why then should one be required to sacrifice one’s life rather than worship an idol?
The answer can be found in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos (Halacha 9) where he writes the following. One may not listen to one (an idol worshipper) who is forcing him to worship an idol. He must not think that in his heart he is still a believer and will be forgiven. This is the essence of Kiddush HaShem… sanctifying God’s name in which all of the children of Israel are commanded. Even though he doesn’t believe in the deity he is being forced to worship, he must show the idol worshipper that he does not believe in his deity. So he is required to sacrifice his life but is not executed if he doesn’t
Thus we can see the reason to differentiate between the Chanukah and Purim. Chanukah is precisely the story of being forced to worship idols by the idol worshipping Antiochus and his Syrian invaders. As the Chanakah portion of Shemoneh Esreh says, It was non Jews, the Yevanim (Syrians) who ‘battled to make them (Israel) forget Your Torah and to transgress the statutes of Your will’. As such there is the same Kiddush HaShem requirement to publicize the miracle to non Jews.
The miracle of Purim on the other hand was to save the Jews of Persia from mass murder. That requires publicizing the miracle in order to acknowledge our faith in God. And that is applicable Israel, not idol worshippers. As the Pasuk in Tehilim says, Israel has faith in God, Who is their salvation and their shield.
Taken from Harirei Kedem - Vol. One: 160
