Are Women Obligated in Hallel on Chanukah?

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It is a well-known rule in halakha that women are exempt from positive time-bound mitzvot such as tefillin or lulav. Though this principle is established in the mishnah (Kiddushin 1:7), the Talmud (Kiddushin 34a) already seeks to qualify it by making clear that “one does not learn halacha from general statements even in a place where exceptions are provided.” Women may be exempt from many positive time-bound mitzvot, but there remain some they must perform, and a prominent example of this is the lighting of Chanukah candles. As it says (Shabbat 23a): “Women are obligated to light the Hanukah light, for they too were part of the miracle”.

In his commentary, Rashi provides ways to understand this statement. First, women suffered mightily under the persecutorial decrees of the Greeks, most prominently through the practice of prima nocta, and therefore should celebrate the Jewish people’s salvation from them. Second, women were in fact the driving force for the revolt, as can be seen in the story of Judith. Therefore, women must light Chanukkah candles all eight nights of the holiday unless another member of the household fulfills their obligation. While many are familiar with this ruling, they are often unaware that some halachic authorities also rule that women must recite Hallel on each day of the holiday as well.

This issue was addressed by Rabbi Shimon Sofer (1850-1944), the grandson of the Hatam Sofer and a noted posek in his own right who authored a collection of responsa titled Hitorerut Teshuvah. He notes that most often, Hallel is recited because of the occurrence of a festival, as is the case with the holidays of Sukkot and Shavuot. However, there are times when Hallel is also recited to commemorate a miracle that has brought salvation to the Jewish people. Tosafot (Sukkah 38a) explains that the Hallel of the Pesach seder is recited to commemorate the miracle of yetziat mitzraim, and as a result, women are obligated in it as well, for “they too were part of the miracle.”

If so, then Rabbi Sofer raises the possibility that the same logic would apply to Hallel on Chanukah, for the rabbis also enacted it to commemorate the holiday miracle. However, to address this question, Rabbi Sofer must determine what exactly is the miracle that both the Chanukah candles and Hallel come to commemorate. He ultimately concludes that despite what we may think, neither is about the miracle of the oil but rather the military victory over the Greeks. Only this miracle is mentioned in the prayer of Al HaNisim, and in theory, the miracle of the oil would not apply women at all because the lighting of the menorah is a positive time-bound mitzvah. He explains that the menorah in the Temple was only lit on the 25^th of Kislev because the Greeks had been defeated on the previous day. Its initial lighting was meant to celebrate the miraculous victory, which applied equally to men and women. Both suffered under Greek oppression, and both actively took part in the fight against them. Therefore, he rules women are obligated to recite Hallel just as men.

While not all poskim agree with this position (See Yabia Omer 6:45 and Minchat Shlomo 2:58),  Rabbi Sofer still offers an important insight that is particularly relevant to our current moment. As one can see in the war in Israel right now, suffering does not distinguish between genders, and as Israeli society has also shown, men and women must work together to achieve victory.    

התעוררות תשובה (נ”א) או חלק תע”א (מהדורה חדשה)

שאלה האם אשה חייבת בחנוכה באמירת הלל

תשובה

הנה בתוס’ סוכה (ל”ח ע”א) ד”ה “ותהי” כתבו דנשים פטורות מאמירת הלל מטעם שהוי מצות עשה שהזמן גרמה ומשמע דפטורות מכל הלל שאומרים במשך השנה אלא דהתוס’ שם ד”ה “מי” כתבו דבהלל דליל פסח דמשמע בפרק ערבי פסחים (ק”ח ע”א) דמחייבי בד’ כוסות ומסתמא לא תיקנו ד’ כוסות אלא כדי לומר עליהם הלל א”כ נשים חייבות באמירת הלל בליל פסח וכתבו דשאני ליל פסח דחייבות דאף הן היו באותו הנס משא”כ בסוכות ועצרת פטורות ועיין במגן אברהם סי’ תע”ב ס”ק ט”ז אהא דפסק שם בשו”ע סעי י”ד דגם הנשים חייבות בארבע כוסות ובכל מצות הנוהגות באותו לילה דכתב בשם תוס’ מפני שהנשים היו עיקר באותו הנס שבזכות נשים צדקניות נגאלו משא”כ בסוכה עכ”ל

Question: Are women obligated to recite Hallel during Chanukah?

Answer:

In Tosafot (Sukkah 38a, s.v. vatehi), they wrote that women are exempt from saying Hallel because it is a positive time-bound mitzvah, and the implication is they are exempt from every Hallel that is said during the year [because of this]. However, Tosafot (ibid, s.v. mi) wrote that regarding the Hallel of the night of Pesach, because they are obligated in the four cups of wine, as explained in the chapter Arvei Pesachim (Pesachim 108a), the four cups were only established [by the rabbis] so that Hallel could be recited upon them. If so, women would be obligated to recite the Hallel of Pesach night. And they wrote that the night of Pesach is different, for they are obligated because [of the Talmudic reason] that they too were part of the miracle, which is not the case for Sukkot and Atzeret [Shavuot] when they are exempt. See Magen Avraham (Shulchan Aruch 472:16) where he notes that Shulchan Aruch ruled (472:14) that women are also obligated in the four cups of wine and all the mitzvot done on that night, and he writes in the name of Tosafot that it is because women were the driving force for the miracle, for it was due to the merit of the righteous women that [the Jewish people] were redeemed, which would not apply to Sukkot…

הא דאמר ריב”ל שבת כ”ג ע”א נשים חייבות בנר חנוכה שאף הן היו באותו הנס ואמאי לא אמר ג”כ דחייבות בהלל הלא גם הם היו באותו נס ועוד דהא כתבו התוס’ בסוכה שם דהטעם דנשים חייבות באמירת הלל בליל פסח משום שהיו באותו הנס משא”כ בסוכה ועצרת א”כ ה”ה גם בחנוכה שייך מטעם זה לחייבם בהלל ואדרבה הלל שאומרים בחנוכה הוא על נס נצחון המלחמה והנשים היו כמו אנשים באותן גזירות וגם עיקר הנס היה על ידי אשה יהודית כדאיתא ברש”י שבת שם וברשב”ם פסחים שם ויעויי”ש בתוס’ ד”ה היו וגם היו באותן גזרות כדכתב שם רש”י ועוד דרש”י דמפרש דברי ריב”ל שחייבות בנר חנוכה משום שהיו באותו הנס

Regarding Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s statement (Shabbat 23a) that women are obligated to kindle the Chanukah light because they too were part of the miracle, why is it that he did not mention that they are also obligated to recite Hallel, for they too were part of the miracle? Furthermore, Tosafot wrote in Sukkah that women are obligated to recite Hallel on Pesach night because they were part of the miracle, which would not apply to Sukkot or Atzeret. If so, the reason should also apply to Chanukah and they should be obligated in Hallel. All the more so Hallel, which is recited because of the miracle of the military victory, and both women and men were included in the persecutorial decrees [of the Greeks]. Also, the driving force of the miracle was through the actions of the woman, Judith, as cited in Rashi (Shabbat, ibid) and Rashbam (Pesachim, ibid). See also Tosafot (ibid, s.v. hayu) that they were subjected to the persecutorial decrees and as Rashi wrote there. Furthermore, Rashi explains Rabbi Yehoshua’s words that they are obligated to kindle the Chanukah light because they were part of the miracle,

מאי שייכות להם בנס דמנורה וגם הלא הדלקת המנורה הוא מעשהז”ג דאיננו אלא מערב עד בוקר ונשים פטורות כמו כל קרבנות ציבור ולמה יהיו חייבות בנר חנוכה צריכים לומר כמו שתי’ הפרי חדש (סי’ עת”ר) קושיות הבית יוסף דאיזה נס נעשה בלילה ראשונה ותי’ דמה שמדליקים בליל כ”ה הוא מטעם שמחת נס נצחון המלחמה בכ”ד כמו שמדליקים נרות בכל שמחה ולפי”ז א”ש הא דנשים חייבות להדליק נר חנוכה וה”ה מה שמדליקים בכל הימים י”ל שמדליקים מטעם זה אלא שצירפו אליו ג”כ נס דמנורה ונוסחת אמירת על הנסים מעיד על זה אמרינן הנרות הללו אנו מדליקים על הנסים והנפלאות והתשועות והמלחמות שנעשה לאבותינו בזמן הזה נקט תשועות ומלחמות וגם נסים ונפלאות בלשון רבים ואילו היה הכוונה דוקא לנס דמנורה היה צריך לומר נס בלשון יחיד ואפילו אם הכוונה גם על נס דמנורה מ”מ לא הזכיר בו בפירוש נס דמנורה לפי”ז ממילא מוכח דכיון דנשים חייבות בנר חנוכה משום שעיקרו נתקן משום נס המלחמה או משום שניהם יחד מכש”כ בהלל דרק משום נצחון המלחמה לבדו נתקן דחייבות בו מק”ו כיון שהיו באותו גזירה וגם בגזירת ביטול שבת לנשים כמו באנשים ונעשה נס על ידיהם א”כ ממילא מוכח כיון שחייבות בנר חנוכה מכש”כ דחייבות בהללו

But what connection do they have to the miracle of the menorah, and also, the lighting of the menorah [in the Temple] is a positive time-bound mitzvah, for it is only from the night until the morning, and women would be exempt as they are from all communal sacrifices. [If so] why would they be obligated to light Chanukah candles? Rather, one must explain it according to the answer of the Pri Chadash (670) to the question of the Beit Yosef regarding what was the miracle of the first night of Chanukah? [If there was sufficient oil for one day, then the miracle was only for seven days, and the first day was not a miracle.]  He answers that they lit on the night of the 25^th of Kislev because of the joy of the miracle of the military victory [over the Greeks] on the 24^th of Kislev, for one lights candles at every time of joy. Because of this it makes sense that women are obligated to light Chanukah candles and the same is true as to why they light on all the days. However, they also joined it [the practice of lighting candles on Chanukah] with the miracle of the menorah even though they didn’t mention it explicitly [in the Al HaNisim prayer]. From this, it can be proved that women are obligated to light Chanukah candles because the practice was established primarily to commemorate the miracle of the military victory or because of both [the miracle of the military victory and the oil] together. It is undoubtedly the case that this must be true with Hallel, which was only established because of the military victory, that they should be obligated in it. All the more so since they too were subject to the persecutorial decrees and the decree to nullify Shabbat applied equally to women and men, and they were the driving force for the miracle. If so, it appears that since they are obligated to light the Chanukah candles, all the more so, they are obligated in Hallel.