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Is Chanukah (חנוכה) lighting an individual mitzvah (מצוה) or a household obligation? The machlokes between Tosafot and the Rambam (רמב"ם) over mehadrin min hamehadrin reflects this fundamental chakira. The Rambam's household model explains why mehadrin expresses gratitude for each soul saved from the Greeks through one unified lighting.
This shiur provides a detailed analysis of the Gemara (גמרא) in Shabbos (שבת) 21b regarding the three levels of Chanukah (חנוכה) lighting: the basic mitzvah (מצוה) (ner ish ubeiso), mehadrin, and mehadrin min hamehadrin. Rabbi Zweig examines the fundamental disagreement between Tosafot and the Rambam (רמב"ם) regarding how to understand these categories. Tosafot argues that mehadrin min hamehadrin refers to the standard practice of lighting 1-8 candles corresponding to the nights, while mehadrin refers to lighting one candle per person each night. This avoids the problem of ambiguity - if you light 80 candles on the eighth night, observers wouldn't know if it represents eight nights with ten people or one night with 80 people. The Rambam, however, interprets mehadrin min hamehadrin as building upon mehadrin, requiring progressively more candles (10, 20, 30... up to 80 on the eighth night for a ten-person household). Rabbi Zweig explores whether the mitzvah is fundamentally an individual obligation (like Rashi (רש"י) suggests) or a household obligation (like the Rambam implies, comparing it to mezuzah). According to Rashi's interpretation, each person has their own obligation, and the mehadrin represents ten separate mitzvos being performed. According to the Rambam, there's one household obligation, and the mehadrin beautifies this single mitzvah by expressing gratitude for each soul saved in the war against the Greeks. The shiur addresses the Lekach Mishneh's criticism that the widespread Sephardic custom (lighting 1-8 candles regardless of household size) doesn't correspond to either the basic mitzvah, mehadrin, or mehadrin min hamehadrin according to the Rambam's understanding. Rabbi Zweig suggests that this custom can be understood as multiple people jointly participating in one lighting, which accomplishes the same spiritual purpose as the Rambam's interpretation but in a more practical manner.
Shabbos 21b
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