Not Spreading the Light, but Striking It: Chanukkah and the Holiday of the Heart “Spread the light,” “light up the darkness,” are the messages we hear so much this time of year when it comes to Chanukkah. From commercials to synagogue programs, sharing the light is the common theme. And understandably so, the primary concept of Chanukkah is the miracle– the miracle of the war and the miracle of the oil. The central mitzvah of this holiday is pirsumei nisa, to share and publicize the miracle. We fulfill this precept by placing our menorah by our windows and showing the world our pride. We are told in the Talmud that we must keep the menorah lit for at least 30 minutes until all of the foot traffic leaves our neighborhoods making sure that every passerby takes in the power of the lights. But there is another halacha that seems to go against this principle. We are told in the Talmud that if, after lighting our candles, the light mistakenly burns out or blows out, we don’t have to reign