Sunday, December 21, 2008
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The Laws of Chanukah
1. There is no obligation to have a festive meal on Chanukah, however, most have the custom to have festive meals to celebrate the rededication of the
2. It is customary to eat dairy foods and foods fried in oil (such as latkes and doughnuts[1])
3. It is forbidden to fast on Chanukah, even if one has a Yahrtzeit for a parent.
4. It is customary for children to play with a Dreidel; but there is no Jewish source for “gift giving” on Chanukah.
5. There is a special Mitzvah to give charity on Chanukah (especially giving GELT to support Torah scholars)
6. All forms of work are permitted on Chanukah, however women have a custom to refrain from work every evening for the first ½ hour while the Menorah is lit. The main custom is for women to refrain from heavy household chores such as laundering, house cleaning, ironing, and sewing (cooking is allowed)
7. The whole Hallel is said every day of Chanukah. (Tachanun and Lamnatzeach are omitted)
8. The Al Hanisim prayer is added to the Amida during the blessing of Modim, to the Birchas Hamazon in the second blessing. If one totally forgets to say this prayer, one is not required to repeat the Amida or Birchas Hamazon.
The Menorah, Oil, and Wicks:
1. There is a concept of “Hidur Mitzvah” [beautifying the Mitzvah] on Chanukah. One should obtain as beautiful a Menorah as possible. The order of preference for materials is silver, copper, other metals, glass, wood, and china.
2. The Menorah lights should stand in a straight line and all at the same height. (do not buy a staggered menorah!)
3. One may light without the use of a Menorah (ie. using several cups/candles placed in a straight line).
4. It is preferable to use olive oil, since the miracle in the
5. One should use only kosher oil. 100% virgin oil is acceptable even without a kosher certification.
6. All wicks may be used, but the best is cotton, wool, or linen. (some have the custom to use new wicks every night)
7. One may not throw away used wicks in the garbage. One should wrap them in a bag before discarding them.
8. Electric lights and gas lamps are not valid for the Mitzvah of the Menorah.
Who Lights the Menorah:
1. The Ashkenazic custom is to beautify the Mitzvah by having each male member of the family light a separate Menorah. A woman living on her own is required to light a Menorah (daughters may light their own, wives should not).
2. The custom is to educate boys to light their own menorahs (including all halachos!) from the age of six or seven.
3. If the husband is out of town, either the wife or a son over Bar Mitzvah should light the Menorah for the family.
Where to Light:
1. There is a concept of “Pirsumei Nisa” [publicizing the miracle] of Chanukah. Therefore, the Menorah should be placed in the window facing the street (in
2. The lights should preferably be between 11 – 35 inches from the floor of the room (if you live in an apartment, under no circumstances may it exceed 35 ft. from the ground outside, rather light it at the entrance to the apartment).
3. If a person has neither a door nor a window that can be seen from the street, then the Menorah should be placed on the left side of the doorway leading into the room that is most used during the evening.
4. Several people may light by the same window, but effort should be made to space the Menorahs apart, so that one can easily see the number of lights in each Menorah. It is preferable for each person to light by a different window.
5. In case it is dangerous to light in any of those places, one should light on a table that is safe and out of reach of kids
6. If one is sleeping over, one may light his own Menorah or pay for some of the oil that the host uses.
When to Light:
1. There are many customs as to when to light; one should follow the custom of their family, community or rabbi[2].
2. One should do everything possible to light within ½ hour after nightfall. If this is not possible, he may light any time during the evening until Halachik dawn. (if the entire night passed without lighting, the Mitzvah has been lost. On the next night, he should light the same number as anyone else, even though he missed a night)
3. The lights must be able to burn for at least ½ hour after nightfall. (be careful to add enough oil!!)
4. It is customary to leave the lights burn themselves out. However, if it is necessary [e.g. everyone is leaving and there could be risk of fire] one may extinguish the lights after the required ½ hour.
5. If sufficient oil or candles were placed in the Menorah when it was lit, the Mitzvah has been fulfilled, even if the lights went out within the required time. One is not obligated to rekindle the lights, although it is correct to do so. The blessings should not be repeated when relighting the Menorah.
6. If you must come home late: if the family is still up, light; if not, appoint your wife or a messenger to light for you at the proper time, if that’s not possible, light without a blessing.
Lighting the Menorah:
1. The custom is to light one light on the 1st night and adding another light each night (ie. 8 lights on the 8th night).
2. One should begin on the first night by lighting from the right end of the Menorah as one faces it. Each night, an additional light is placed next to those of the previous night, gradually filling up the Menorah towards the left. When lighting the Menorah, one kindles the newest light first, i.e. the left-most one and proceed to light from left to right.
3. When lighting, one should stand close to the newest light which is kindled first, slightly to the left of the lights – so one does not pass over the lights before kindling the leftmost first.
4. One is required to light a Shamash [additional light], since the lights are holy and one may not derive any personal benefit from them. (It is customary to use a candle for the Shamash. However, oil is also acceptable)
5. The Ashkenazic custom is to light the Shamash before the blessings are recited. After reciting the blessings, the Shamash is used for kindling the Chanukah lights and is then placed in the Menorah.
6. The Shamash should be placed away from the other lights, to distinguish it from them. If the Shamash is close to the other lights it should be placed higher than the rest. If this is difficult, it may be laced lower. If candles are being used, one may use a longer candle for the Shamash. (If several Menorahs are lit, each one should have a Shamash)
7. Before lighting, the family should be called together and instructed to have intent to be included in the blessings.
8. On the 1st night, 3 blessings are said (See Artscroll Siddur pg. 782[3]); on other nights, only blessings 1 & 2 are said.
9. The lights should only be kindled after all the blessings have been recited.
10. One should not speak until all the lights have been kindled unless the conversation concerns the Mitzvah.
11. After the first light has been kindled, it is customary to sing “Haneros Hallalu,” while kindling the remaining lights. Then, some have the custom to sing “Maoz Tzur.” (some have the custom to remain by the lights after lighting)
12. After the Menorah has been lit, it should not be moved to another location, unless a fire hazard has developed.
13. It is forbidden to have any personal benefit from the lights, such as: a) reading by their light, b) eating a meal by their light, and c) lighting a candle from their flames. One may not even eat a Mitzvah meal or learn Torah by their light. Only if another light is lit in the same room is such activity permitted.
14. Oil that remains in the Menorah at the end of the night may be reused the next evening. Any remaining oil in the Menorah after the eighth day may not be used for anything else. [It is even forbidden to use such oil for another Mitzvah e.g. Shabbos lights.] It should be burned. The same is true for the used wicks at the end of Chanukah.
15. Leftover oil in the bottle that has not been designated for the Mitzvah of lighting may be used for any purpose.
Lighting on Shabbos:
1. On Friday afternoon, one should preferably daven Mincha before lighting the Menorah. If this is not possible, one may daven Mincha after lighting the Menorah.
2. The Chanukah Menorah should be lit before the Shabbos lights. However, if time is short, the wife may light the Shabbos lights as soon as her husband has kindled one Chanukah light (one needn’t wait for other Menorahs to be lit)
3. If the husband is not ready to light the Menorah and time is short, the wife may light the Shabbos lights first, and the husband may still light the Menorah afterwards, provided it is still before sunset.
4. The optimal time is to light the Shabbos lights 18 minutes before sunset; and to complete all the Chanukah lighting before the Shabbos lights. The earliest time to light Chanukah or Shabbos lights is 1 ¼ Halachik hours before sunset.
It is forbidden to light Chanukah or Shabbos lights after sunset.
5. Remember: The Chanukah lights must be capable of burning until ½ hour after nightfall. Therefore, on Friday afternoon one must be especially careful to use sufficient oil or long candles for at least 1.5 hours. It’s useless to kindle on Friday afternoon the standard small candles or small quantities of oil which only light for ½ hour.
6. On Saturday night, the main custom at home is to recite Havdalah before lighting the Menorah (some reverse it).
7. A person who lights the Menorah first may not use the lights for Havdalah since it is forbidden to benefit from the Chanukah lights, even for another Mitzvah.
[1] The blessing on eating Latkes depends on how they were prepared. If they are made from potato flour, the blessing is “Shehakol.” If they are made from grated potatoes and you can recognize pieces of potato, the blessing is “Borei Pri Hoadama.” The blessing for doughnuts is “Borei Minei Mezonos.”
[2]
[3] There are three Brachos (blessings) which are recited when the Chanukah candles are lit.
1. "Baruch ata Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Melech ha'olam, Asher kid'shanu b'mitzvosav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Chanukah"
Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and has commanded us to Kindle the Chanukah light.
2. "Baruch ata Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Melech ha'olam, She'asah nisim la'avoseinu, bayamim ha'hem baz'man hazeh"
Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has made miracles for our forefathers, in those days at this season.
3. Recited on the first night only
"Baruch ata Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Melech ha'olam, She'hecheyanu, vekiyemanu vehigi'anu laz'man hazeh"
Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.