Hello Everyone,
The holiday of Chanukah is marked by the lighting of lights (be them oil lamps or candles) .The lights commemorate the miracle of the little container of pure oil which provided light in the Temple for eight days.
The sages placed great emphasis on fulfilling the mitzvah of the Chanukah lights. The rule is that the candles must be positioned so that they will be visible to passers-by in the street in order to publicize the miracle. This being the case , there is another halacha of Chanukah which is paradoxical. The Chanukah lights are expected to burn for a period of no less than than a half hour. But should the candles be extinguished accidentally in less than a half hour there is no need to light them again.
This halacha is just puzzling. If the mitzvah of the Chanukah lights is to publicize the miracle then if the wind should blow them out immediately what have I accomplished?
There are two very different explanations for this Halacha. One explanation can be found in the Chasidic work בני יששכר and the second explanation is found in Rav Kook’s book עין איה. The explanations are as I said very different but they teach remarkable insights on the idea of Chanukah.