a liturgical puzzle

[cellio]

Lunch-time ponderings ahead...

This morning over breakfast we started out talking about Chol Ha-Moed (intermediate days of festivals -- Pesach and Sukkot) and ended up talking about Chanukah. And I still have a mostly-unanswered question.

Pesach and Sukkot are week-long festivals. (There's a third festival, Shavuot, but it's only one day so it doesn't have intermediate days.) For the week-long festivals, the first and last days are holidays, and the days in between are Chol Ha-Moed. These intermediate days are "semi-holidays"; essential work (like employment) is permitted, but they are festive days, not ordinary days. Among other things, this means that there are additions to the liturgy -- extra Torah readings and Hallel -- that are reserved for festivals.

Chanukah is not a festival, despite what a casual observer might think; it's a minor holiday. It lasts for eight days, and during those eight days there are additions to the liturgy -- like extra Torah readings and Hallel. So my question is: why is this permitted? Doesn't this give the impression, liturgically speaking, that Chanukah is a festival, on par with Pesach? When we are otherwise very careful to draw lines, how did this slip by? Isn't this marit ayin (giving the wrong impression) on a communal scale?

In some ways it doesn't matter, I suppose: anyone who is educated enough to understand the liturgical differences is also educated enough that he knows Chanukah is not a festival. But it still makes me wonder. I understand that the rabbis wanted to make Chanukah important (even if they had to fudge the true reason for the holiday), but weren't there other ways to do that, including changing the liturgy in a different way? Why emulate Chol Ha-Moed?

I'm not bothered -- just puzzled.

Comments

[cellio]

Thanks for this! That makes things a lot clearer. (I had also forgotten that chol hamoed is only half-hallel, not full hallel.)

So chol hamoed is supposed to include musaf? It's odd that I haven't seen this at the conservative shul where I go for weekday shacharit. I wonder if they're going back upstairs after breakfast and I've just never noticed; I usually leave right after bentching. (Most of that minyan is retired; I have to go to work.)