To refine, clarify, and correct what I wrote about Chanukah and the Daf (Baba Kama 30) and indirectly the reference(s) in the Mishna (“Daf Yomi Relevance to This Particular Chanukah,” The Jewish Link, December 7, 2023), Chanukah is indeed not the subject of a mesechta in the Gemara (like Purim is) or even a Perek in the Mishna—though it is mentioned in the Mishna in passing at least three times, most notably the Mishna in Baba Kama daf 62, referring to what is also mentioned in the Gemara in Baba Kama daf 30)—the reference to a passing camel that is passing by quite intentionally but that in so doing brushes against a lit Chanukah menorah quite unintentionally! (Also see Mishna in Megilla 3:4 and 3:6, which may be defined as more than passing references.)

Of further relevant interest, It has been noted that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi did not treat Chanukah as he treated Purim because of the Chashmonoim having assumed the dual roles of priesthood (kohanim) and royalty (malchus), and Rabbi Yehuda was particularly sensitive to this unprecedented consolidation of power as a descendant of shevet Yehuda and the line of the royal King David. (See Sefer Tamei Minhagim Inyonay Chanukah, Simon 847).

Rabbi Aaron I. Reichel, Esq.

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