LAWS OF CHANUKAH
-- by Rabbi Dov Miller
While assimilation is a major problem among Jews today, in the days
of the second Bais Hamikdash (the Temple), assimilation was
government policy. Led by their king Antiochus, the Greeks banned
Torah study, looted property belonging to the Jews, and
violated young Jewish women.
The Greeks finally entered the Temple and defiled almost all the oil
in the sanctuary. Three miracles then occurred:
- the Chashmonayim, the greatly outnumbered family of priests who fought the Greeks, proved victorious;
- one small flask of oil with the seal of the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest) was discovered to be still intact;
- and, with that one flask of oil, the light in the menorah in the Temple lasted for eight days, until newly squeezed pure olive oil became available.
The following year the Rabbis established the eight days, beginning
with the 25th day of Kislev (the day that the victory took
place), as a festival for praise and thanks to
G-d. They called the holiday Chanukah (Chanu [they
rested]; kah [25th]).
Materials for the Menorah
Because the miracle of Chanukah involved olive oil, it is
preferable to use olive oil for the menorah. Similarly, it is
preferable to use cotton or flax wicks. Nonetheless, almost any oil
and wick or any candle can be used.
The lights should be in a straight line so that the number of burning
lights is easily recognizable.
The mitzva of the menorah is the act of
lighting. Therefore, the proper amount of fuel must be in the menorah
at the time of lighting (adding oil after lighting does not help if
the proper amount was not in the menorah during lighting).
Initially, there should be enough fuel to burn at least half an hour
after nightfall.
An electric menorah should not be used.
Placement of the Menorah
Since the purpose of lighting the menorah is to publicize the
miracle—pirsumei nissah—the menorah should be
placed in view of as many people as possible. It is preferable to put
the menorah in a window facing the street. If a person lives
in a tall apartment building, placement becomes a bit more
complicated and a Rabbi should be consulted. If there is no window
facing the street, then the menorah should be placed next to
an open front door, opposite the mezuza.
The menorah should be set on a surface between 12 to 40 inches
from the ground.
The menorah should be put in its proper place before
lighting and not moved after it is lit. When lighting more than one
menorah in an area, they should be spaced so that each set of
lights is distinguishable from the others.
Time of Lighting
The best time to light the menorah is when night begins—when
three stars come out. If this is not possible, the menorah can
be lit at a later time, as long as there is another member of the
household awake or, if living in a single-person household, when it
is still early enough for travelers to be in the street
(approximately 8 p.m. in Sharon). Otherwise, the menorah is
lit without blessings.
During
Chanukah, no new activity should be started within
half an hour of nightfall. If a person was already involved in an
activity, he can continue. However, the menorah should be lit
as soon as possible after night has begun.
If a person cannot light the menorah after nightfall, the
candles can be lit about 1 hour before nightfall (Ask a Rabbi for the
earliest possible time, if necessary.) However, there must be enough
fuel to burn at least half an hour after nightfall.
If the menorah was lit properly but some of the lights were
extinguished unexpectedly, one is not obligated to rekindle them.
Still, it is preferable to rekindle them without the blessings.
Since the obligation of lighting the candles is based on each house
of residence—ner ish u’veiso—the
menorah should be lit at home even if one is away for the
evening, as long as the person is sleeping at home.
When away from home for the night, a person should light a menorah
for himself in the place he is staying—that is considered to be the
person’s residence. If there is no menorah available, a
small amount of money should be given to the host to purchase a
portion of the materials used in the host's menorah. If one is
staying at a place such as a hospital, nursing home, or hotel where
one cannot light a menorah, a small amount of money should be
given to someone to light a menorah for him.
On Friday evening the menorah must be lit before
the Shabbos candles. There must be enough fuel to burn at
least 30 minutes after the appearance of three stars
(this year, 5:29 p.m.). Regular Chanukah candles will not burn
that long and other candles should be used. The earliest one may
light the menorah erev Shabbos this year is 3:21 p.m.
There are various customs regarding the order of the havdala
and lighting the menorah after Shabbos. Each person
should follow his custom. If there is no custom, the havdala
should be recited first.
Brochos
(Blessings)
On the first night of Chanukah, three blessings are recited:
1) l’hadlik ner shel Chanukah, 2) she’asah nisim
la’avoseinu, and 3) shehechiyanu. On the other nights,
only the first two blessings are recited .The blessings should be
completed before the candles are lit.
Immediately after the first candle is lit, it is customary to begin
to say haneiros halalu.
If one forgot to make the blessings before beginning to light the
menorah, all of the appropriate blessings can be
recited unless the lighting has been completed. In that case, the
blessing must be skipped.
If a person cannot light the menorah and will not be able to
have someone light for him, then the blessing of she’asa nisim
(and shehechiyanu on the first night) should be recited when
seeing a lit menorah.
In Shemonah Esrei and in Birkas Hamozon a special
prayer, Al Hanisim, is added for all eight days of Chanukah.
If one forgot to recite this prayer, the following rules apply: 1)
If the name of G-d at the end of the blessing was not mentioned yet,
one should go back, say the Al Hanisim prayer, and then
continue from there, or 2) If the name of G-d has been mentioned,
then the Al Hanisim prayer can be added to the end of the
Shemonah Esrei before saying yi’hiyu l’ratzon imrei fi.
In Birkas Hamazon, a special harachoman is
recited—Harachaman hoo ya’aseh lanu nisim v’nifla’os
k’sheim she’asisa la’avoseinu bayamim haheim bazman
hazeh (then the Al Hanisim prayer is inserted, starting
with bimei Matisyahu ...).
Whole Hallel is recited throughout the holiday. Tachanun
and Lamnatzei’ach are omitted.
Lighting the Menorah
Men, women, and children who reach the age of understanding are
required to light the Chanukah menorah. Married women fulfill
their obligation through their husbands.
We fill the menorah with candles or oil from right to left.
However, we light the menorah from left to right.
The prevalent custom is to have each person light the amount of
candles corresponding to the day of the holiday (first night—1
candle; second night—2 candles).
One cannot use the Chanukah light for personal needs.
Therefore, an extra candle, a shamash, is lit, just in case
the light from the menorah is inadvertently used. The shamas
for the first half hour h should be distinguishable from the
other lights, for example, higher than the other lights.
Since Yehudis, the daughter of Yochanan Kohen Gadol, played
an important role in the Chanukah victory, the custom is that
women don't do housework for the first half hour while the Chanukah
lights are burning.
