Another candle is placed for the Shamash (taller helper candle) which is used to light the others. On the first night, place one candle at the far right, as you face the menorah.
#My menorah today how to#
See this simple, animated guide on how to light Hanukkah candles. See more detailed instructions for lighting on Friday afternoon, and special guidelines for travelers and guests. And since the menorah needs to burn for 30 minutes into the night, the candles used on Friday need to be bigger than the regular "colored candles" (which typically don't burn longer than a half-hour). On Friday afternoon, the menorah should be lit 18 minutes before sundown. As we are forbidden to use the Chanukah lights for any purpose other than "viewing," during those 30 minutes no use should be made of its light. The menorah should remain lit for at least 30 minutes after nightfall. The menorah can still be lit (with the blessings) late into the night, as long as people are still awake. It is best to light in the presence of many people, to "publicize the miracle" and add to the family atmosphere. The preferable time to light the menorah is at nightfall. See more detailed instructions for where to light the menorah. Since the mitzvah occurs at the actual moment of lighting, moving the menorah to a proper place after lighting does not fulfill the mitzvah.
If for some reason the menorah cannot be lit by a window, it may be lit inside the house on a table this at least "publicizes the miracle" for the members of the household. One who lives on an upper floor should light in a window. (The mezuzah is on the right side in this way we are "surrounded by mitzvot.") If this is not practical, the menorah should be lit in a window facing the public thoroughfare. To best publicize the miracle, the menorah is ideally lit outside the doorway of your house, on the left side when entering. See more detailed instructions for what type of menorah, oil and wicks. You can also purchase a box of pre-measured oil in disposable cups. Small glass cups containing oil can be placed in the candle holders of any standard menorah. (Those famous colored candles barely qualify.) Many Jewish bookstores sell longer colored candles.Īctually, it is preferable to light with olive oil, since the miracle of the Maccabees occurred with olive oil. The candles must burn for at least 30 minutes after nightfall. In addition to the eight main lights, the menorah has an extra helper candle called the "Shamash." Since the Shamash does not count as one of the eight regular lights, your menorah should have the Shamash set apart in some way – either placed higher than the other candles, or off to the side. Otherwise, the candles may not be easily distinguishable and may appear like a big torch. To publicize which night of Chanukah it is, all eight candles on the menorah should be at the same height – and preferably in a straight line. Sefardi tradition has just one menorah per family.
In Ashkenazi tradition, each person lights his own menorah. Menorah Lighting InstructionsĪ menorah is lit in every household, and also in the synagogue. To publicize this historic victory and the miracle of the oil, Jews today observe a “Festival of Lights” for eight days – lighting a menorah for eight nights. That small jar of oil miraculously burned for eight days straight, until a new supply of oil could be brought. Wanting to re-light the Menorah, they searched the entire Temple, but found only one jar of pure oil bearing the seal of the High Priest. The Jewish warrior heroes recaptured the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, cleansed it of idols, and re-dedicated it on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. After three years, against incredible odds, the Maccabees miraculously defeated the superpower of that time. The Jewish priest Matitiyahu, and later his son Judah the Maccabee, led a guerrilla warfare against the Syrian-Greek army. When the Greeks challenged the Jews to sacrifice a pig to a Greek god, a band courageous Jews took to the hills (near modern-day Modi’in) in open revolt against this threat to Jewish life. The story of Hanukkah is about this clash of cultures. Many Jews (called Hellenists) began to assimilate into Greek culture, decaying the foundation of Jewish life and practice. The Greeks emphasized external beauty, and attempted to secularize the Jews by abolishing key the Jewish practices of circumcision, Shabbat, and Torah study – under penalty of death. Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greek superpower in the second century BCE, during the time of the Second Holy Temple.
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