As I mentioned in the previous post Chaukah receives a rather lengthy Talmudic discussion in the Second Chapter of Tractate Shabbos. However, that is in the Talmud. The Mishnah however does not discuss Chanukah whatsoever, and it only enters into a discussion in Tractate Shabbos in a tangential manner. (The Mishnah forms the corpus of the Oral Law and the Talmud is commentary on the Mishnah, primarily focused on the source material for the Mishnah as well as explanation of Mishnaic statements. This is not the place for a comprehensive discussion of the nature of the Mishnah and Talmud, please use the links on the words above (each leads to a different source) for more information.)
All the other holidays, with the exception of Shavuot which lacks any unique mitzvoth, have tractates devoted to their study: Pesachim, Rosh Hashonah, Yoma, Sukkah, Megillah. Chanukah, by contrast, is mentioned only in a second-hand manner in a number of places. One example is that in the midst of a discussion about responsibility for starting a fire, the Mishnah speaks of a store-keeper who has a lamp burning outside his store which catches on the load of a passing animal creating a conflagration. A discussion ensues if the consequences were different if the lamp was a Chankah Menorah. But there is no comprehensive discussion in the Mishnah about lighting Chanukah candles, while, by contrast, there is a lengthy discussion about the laws on reading the Megillah on Purim. Why did the Sages of the Mishnah choose to ignore Chanukah when writing the Mishnah.
Needless to say there are many answers offered to this question. I will share with you the answer of the CHID"A. He notes that the purpose of the Mishnah was to commit to writing what had previously been taught and studied orally. The Torah in written form is a very terse document that demands further elaboration and explanation. That explanation had been provided to Moshe at Mt. Sinai by God orally and was transmitted in that manner for 2,000 years. When people began to have difficulty with memorizing the entire body of work Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi took it upon himself to edit and redact the Mishnah.
However, even before his time there were certain works that had been committed to writing. One of those is called Megillath Taanith, which is a compilation of historical events in which the Jewish people faced an existential threat and were saved. In ancient times each of these days was a minor holiday. Chanukah was already included within Megillath Taanith, it was not a part of the Oral Law, but was already in writing. Indeed, much of our discussion in Tractate Shabbos revolves around the statements about Chaukah that are found in Megillath Taanith which includes details about the laws of Chanuakh as well. As such there was no need for Chanukah to be included in the Mishnah as a tractate in its own right.
All the other holidays, with the exception of Shavuot which lacks any unique mitzvoth, have tractates devoted to their study: Pesachim, Rosh Hashonah, Yoma, Sukkah, Megillah. Chanukah, by contrast, is mentioned only in a second-hand manner in a number of places. One example is that in the midst of a discussion about responsibility for starting a fire, the Mishnah speaks of a store-keeper who has a lamp burning outside his store which catches on the load of a passing animal creating a conflagration. A discussion ensues if the consequences were different if the lamp was a Chankah Menorah. But there is no comprehensive discussion in the Mishnah about lighting Chanukah candles, while, by contrast, there is a lengthy discussion about the laws on reading the Megillah on Purim. Why did the Sages of the Mishnah choose to ignore Chanukah when writing the Mishnah.
Needless to say there are many answers offered to this question. I will share with you the answer of the CHID"A. He notes that the purpose of the Mishnah was to commit to writing what had previously been taught and studied orally. The Torah in written form is a very terse document that demands further elaboration and explanation. That explanation had been provided to Moshe at Mt. Sinai by God orally and was transmitted in that manner for 2,000 years. When people began to have difficulty with memorizing the entire body of work Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi took it upon himself to edit and redact the Mishnah.
However, even before his time there were certain works that had been committed to writing. One of those is called Megillath Taanith, which is a compilation of historical events in which the Jewish people faced an existential threat and were saved. In ancient times each of these days was a minor holiday. Chanukah was already included within Megillath Taanith, it was not a part of the Oral Law, but was already in writing. Indeed, much of our discussion in Tractate Shabbos revolves around the statements about Chaukah that are found in Megillath Taanith which includes details about the laws of Chanuakh as well. As such there was no need for Chanukah to be included in the Mishnah as a tractate in its own right.
