Here’s another ethical issue and Jewish source response:

Case

Deborah’s Hebrew school teacher made a big deal out of teaching the class that the big mitzvah of Hanukkah is to “advertise the miracle.”  She said that the real idea was to let everyone see your hanukkiyah and to tell the story of hanukkah to as many people as possible. Deborah told this to her parents, and she and her father spend the next week working in the garage making a huge oil-burning hanukkiyah.  When Hanukkah came they put it on the front lawn. The hanukkiyah was so large that lights six, seven and eight stuck out into the street. On the last night of hanukkah, Zvi was walking past Deborah’s house to a Hanukkah party, carrying a whole bunch of balloons. At just the wrong moment the wind picked up and blew the balloons into light eighth, and they exploded and up in flames.  The wind took the burning ribbon and plastic and blew it into Fido’s doghouse, which burned down. Of course, there was a big fight over who should rebuild the doghouse – Deborah of Zvi.

Who is responsible for paying for Fido’s doghouse?  Is this negligence or an act of God?

Answer

[a} In the Mishna  of Bava Kamma 6:6 we find:

“If a camel was loaded with flax and was walking on a public street, and some of the flax stuck into a shop and caught fire on the storekeeper’s lamp, and in turn the building caught fire, the camel owner would be responsible.  If the lamp was outside the store, then the store owner would be responsible. If the lamp was outside the store, then the store owner must pay. But if the lamp was a hanukkiyah, the camel owner must pay.”

Therefore Zvi is responsible for what his flaming balloons did, even though the hanikkiya was sticking out into the street.  If it had been any other kind of fire, Deborah’s family would have to pay.

[b] The Talmud made an exception for hanukkiyot because of the rule: “The mitzvah of Hanukkah is to advertise the miracle” (Shabbat 21b).  

There are two notions: (a) That on Hanukkah one should have an expectation of public hanukkiyot and therefore be careful.  And (b) that rather than make people fearful of showing off their hanukkiyot and doing Hanukkah in a big way, hanukkiyot are given a liability exception.  That is a unique and special Hanukkah law.  

Joel Grishaver, “You Be the Judge”, pgs. 25-26

Used with permission from Joel Grishaver