Why Is Chanuka Omitted From The Mishna? A Survey...[Updated with two less spelling errors:-)]

לזכות שמואל אלכסנדר בן נעכא גיטל שיצמח לאילני רברבי ויאיר לכל העולם כולו בנשמתו המיוחדת

A question that has puzzled our Sages for the generations: Pesach has its own mesechta. Purim has its own mesechta. Succos - ditto.

Chanuka? Chanuka!! Such a geshmake holiday like Chanuka is not even mentioned in the mishna!!

??

In the gemara in Shabbos there is a discussion of Chanuka [why in Maseches Shabbos when its more natural habitat would be Meseches Menachos where the lighting of the menora in the mikdash is discussed is another question worthy of more thought. See Pri Tzaddik on Chanuka] but that authoritative body of literature we affectionately call the mishna has no discussion at all. [There is a brief mention of Chanuka in the mishna in Bava Kamma 62b in the context of arson but not latkes or dreidel עיין שם].

Much ink has been spilled attempting to solve this riddle. We will briefly and superficially present a number of solutions:

1] The Jews were afraid to get the Romans suspicious that the Jews were planning another rebellion.

2] Everybody knew about it so it wasn't necessary to mention it in the mishna. Ideally Torah she-beal peh was supposed to remain oral and was only written because there was a concern that it would be forgotten. Since there was no danger of forgetting Chanuka they didn't write it down.

3] Chanuka is the holiday that celebrates the victory of the wisdom of the oral law which has a more human component over the human wisdom of the Greeks. It was only apropos that it should remain oral. In a similar vein it is suggested that the oral law symbolizes toil and hard work. If Chanuka were spelled out then we wouldn't have to work hard to understand it.

4] A controversial answer: Rebbi Yehuda HaNassi was from Shevet Yehuda and he was resentful of the Chashmonaim that they took the kingship against the command of Yaakov Avinu "לא יסור שבט מיהודה" - The kingship rests with Shevet Yehuda and not with any other tribe. The Chashmonaim were Kohanim and thus precluded from kingship. Others couldn't accept that Rebbi would omit this important event because of a personal vendetta.

I myself don't think it was personal - it was an objective decision to leave it out. They went against the Torah and that mandates an omission.

Whether it was actually a sin is ALSO the subject of much discussion and yours truly is presently writing an article on the topic with the help of his Beloved Creator. May He give me the time and energy to finish...

5] A Kabbalistic answer: Chanuka is the holiday of the hidden light [אור הגנוז] and must thus remain hidden.

6] It is already mentioned in the body of literature called "Megillas Taanis" so it is not necessary to mention it again.

7] We don't want to celebrate militarism. It was necessary at the time but historically it instilled within us negative attributes of violence, aggression and militancy which were often to our detriment. We are people of the book and not of the sword. How fitting as many commemorate the yahrtzeit of R' Meir Kahana הי"ד. It is no coincidence that the gedolei yisrael of all groups did not join forces with him. [It is also clear that his view that it is impossible for Jews to live in peace with their cousins was spot on. I really believe that if they had their own State somewhere in Angola the world would be a better place:-)]. The ideal Torah way is דרכיה דרכי נועם וכל נתיבותיה שלום. Peace and pleasantness.

Whatever the true reason - we have some food for thought:-).

עפ"י מאסף אסופות ח"ה וע"ע בפחד יצחק [חנוכה מאמר א] בשו"ת ציץ אליעזר חי"ט סי' כו, מועדים וזמנים ח"ו, ובס' משמר הלוי חגיגה טו החלפת מכתבים מרתקת בנושא שלנו