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The
Menorah - Basic

•

Chanukah
Primer

•

Animated
Menorah

The
Menorah - Advanced

•

Lighting
on Erev Shabbos

•

Lighting
Away from Home

•

Where
to Light

•

Menorah,
Oil and Wicks

Party
Planning

•

Do-it-Yourself
Chanukah Party

•

Latkes
Galore

•

Chanukah
Specialties

•

Party
Planning

•

Chanukah
Recipes

by
Rabbi Shraga Simmons

Everything you need to know
about the Festival of Lights.

Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, begins on the 25th
day of the Jewish month of Kislev, and lasts for eight days. On the
secular calendar, Chanukah generally falls out in December.

This primer will explore:

(1) A
Bit of History

(2) Lighting
Instructions

(3) Other
Customs

(1) A Bit of History

The Hebrew word Chanukah means "dedication." In the
2nd century BCE, during the time of the Second Holy Temple, the
Syrian-Greek regime of Antiochus sought to pull Jews away from Judaism,
with the hopes of assimilating them into Greek culture. Antiochus outlawed
Jewish observance -- including circumcision, Shabbat, and Torah study --
under penalty of death. As well, many Jews -- called Hellenists -- began
to assimilate into Greek culture, taking on Greek names and marrying
non-Jews. This began to decay the foundation of Jewish life and
practice.

When the Greeks challenged the Jews to sacrifice a
pig to a Greek god, a few courageous Jews took to the hills of Judea in
open revolt against this threat to Jewish life. Led by Matitiyahu, and
later his son Judah the Maccabee, this small band of pious Jews led
guerrilla warfare against the Syrian-Greek army.

Antiochus sent thousands of well-armed troops to
crush the rebellion, but after three years the Maccabees beat incredible
odds and miraculously succeeded in driving the foreigners from their land.
The victory was on the scale of Israel defeating the combined super-powers
of today.

Jewish fighters entered Jerusalem and found the Holy
Temple in shambles and desecrated with idols. The Maccabees cleansed the
Temple and re-dedicated it on the 25th of Kislev. When it came time 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 group of
believers lit the Menorah anyway and were rewarded with a miracle: That
small jar of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply of oil could be
brought.

From then on, Jews have observed a holiday for eight
days, in honor of this historic victory and the miracle of the oil. To
publicize the Chanukah miracle, Jews add the special Hallel praises to the
Shacharit service, and light a menorah during the eight nights of
Chanukah.

(2) Lighting Instructions

In Ashkenazi tradition, each person lights his own
menorah. Sefardi tradition has just one menorah per family.

What Menorah to Light

To publicize which night of Chanukah it is, all eight
candleson the menorah should be at the same height -- and preferably in a
straight line. Otherwise, the candles may not be easily distinguishable
and may appear like a big torch.

In addition to the eight main lights, the menorah has
an extra helper candle called the "Shamash." As we are forbidden to use
the Chanukah lights for any purpose other than "viewing," any benefit is
as if it's coming from 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.

What Candles to Light

The most important thing is that that your candles
must burn for at least 30 minutes after nightfall. (Those famous colored
candles barely qualify!) Many Jewish bookstores sell longer colored
candles.

Actually, it is even better to use olive oil, since
the miracle of the Maccabees occurred with olive oil. Glass cups
containing oil can be placed in the candle holders of any standard
menorah. Many Jewish bookstores even sell kits of pre-measured oil in
disposable cups.

Where to Light

To best publicize the miracle, the menorah is ideally
lit outside the doorway of your house, on the left side when entering.
(The mezuzah is on the right side; in this way you are "surrounded by
mitzvot.") In Israel, many people light outside in special glass boxes
built for a menorah.

If this is not practical, the menorah should be lit
in a window facing the public thoroughfare.

Someone who lives on an upper floor should light in a
window. 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 fulfills the mitzvah of
"publicizing the miracle" for the members of the household.

Since the mitzvah occurs at the actual moment of
lighting, moving the menorah to a proper place after lighting does
not fulfill the mitzvah.

When to Light

The menorah should preferably be lit immediately at
nightfall. It is best to wait, however, until all the members of the
household are present. This adds to the family atmosphere and also
maximizes the mitzvah of "publicizing the miracle." The menorah can still
be lit (with the blessings) late into the night, as long as people are
still awake.

The menorah should remain lit for at least 30 minutes
after nightfall, during which time no use should be made of its light.

On Friday afternoon, the menorah should be lit 18
minutes before sundown. 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).

How to Light

On the first night, place one candle at the far
right, as you face the menorah. This applies whether the menorah is placed
next to a doorway or by a window.

Another candle is placed for the Shamash (taller
helper candle) which is used to light the others. It is not counted as one
of the candles.

First light the Shamash, then recite the blessings,
and then use the Shamash to light the Chanukah candle.

On the second night, place two candles in the two
far-right positions -- and use the Shamash to light the left one
first.

The third night, place three candles in the three
far-right positions -- and use the Shamash to light them in order, from
left to right.

Follow this same procedure each night of Chanukah...
until all the lights are kindled and glowing brightly!

The Blessings

Watch
animation of how to light the Menorah

Listen to the
blessings for lighting the Menorah

Print formatted
text of this blessing

The first two blessings are said with the Shamash
already lit, but immediately prior to lighting the Chanukah candles.

BLESSING #1

Baruch ata Ado-noi Elo-heinu melech ha-olam, Asher
kid-shanu bi-mitzvo-sav, Vi-tzee-vanu li-had-leek ner shel Chanukah.

Blessed are You, the Lord our God, King of the
universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to
kindle the Chanukah light.

BLESSING #2

Baruch ata Ado-noi Elo-heinu melech ha-olam, Shi-asa
nee-seem la-avo-seinu, Baya-meem ha-haim baz-man ha-zeh.

Blessed are You, the Lord our God, King of the
universe, Who made miracles for our forefathers, in those days at this
season.

BLESSING #3

This blessing is said on the first night
only.

Baruch ata Ado-noi Elo-heinu melech ha-olam,
Sheh-he-che-yanu vi-kee-yimanu Vi-hee-gee-yanu laz-man ha-zeh.

Blessed are You, the Lord our God, King of the
universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this
season.

The following paragraph is said each night, after
the first light has been kindled:

Ha-nerot ha-lalu anach-nu mad-likin Al ha-nissim
vi-al hanif-laot Al ha-tshu-ot vi-al ha-milchamot She-asita la'avo-teinu
Ba-yamim ha-heim, ba-zman ha-zeh Al ye-dey kohan-echa haki-doshim.

Vi-chol shmonat ye-mey Chanukah Ha-nerot ha-lalu
kodesh heim, Ve-ein lanu reshut li-heesh-tamesh ba-hem Ela leer-otam
bilvad Kedai le-hodot u-li-hallel li-shimcha Al ni-secha vi-al niflo-techa
vi-al yeshua-techa.

We kindle these lights For the miracles and the
wonders For the redemption and the battles Which You performed for our
forefathers In those days at this season Through Your holy priests.

During all eight days of Chanukah These lights are
sacred And we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them But only to
look at them In order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name For
your miracles, Your wonders, and Your salvations.

(3) Other Customs

After lighting the Chanukah menorah, families enjoy
sitting in the glow, singing and recalling the miracles of yesterday and
today. A number of other customs have developed, including:

eating "oily" foods like fried potato latkes
(pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts), in commemoration of the
miracle of the oil

giving Chanukah gelt (coins) to
children

spinning the dreidel, a four-sided top with
a Hebrew letter on each side (sivivon in Hebrew)

What is the origin of the dreidel?

In times of persecution when Torah study was
forbidden, Jewish children would learn anyway. When soldiers would
investigate, the children would pull out a dreidel and pretend to be
playing.

The letters on the dreidel are nun, gimmel, hey,
shin -- the first letters of Nes Gadol Haya Sham - "A Great
Miracle Happened There." (In Israel, the last letter is a Pey -- "Here.")
One way to play dreidel is to see who can keep theirs spinning for the
longest time. Or alternatively, to see how many dreidels you can get
spinning simultaneously.

Another version of dreidel is where players use
pennies, nuts, raisins, or chocolate coins as tokens or chips. Each player
puts an equal share into the "pot." The first player takes a turn spinning
the dreidel. When the dreidel stops, the letter facing up determines:

Nun - nothing happens; the next
player spins the dreidel

Gimmel - the spinner takes the
pot

Hey - the spinner takes half the pot

Shin - the spinner matches the pot

Happy
Chanukah!

#10 of 11 in the Aish.com
Chanukah How-To Guide Series

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About the Author

See more articles by
Rabbi Shraga
Simmons
Listen to
audio by
Rabbi Shraga Simmons

Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Rabbi Shraga Simmons
spent his childhood trekking through snow in Buffalo, New York. He has
worked in the fields of journalism and public relations, and is now the
Co-editor of Aish.com in Jerusalem.

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VISITORS COMMENTS: 6

DennisCast
12/20/2006 9:19:00 PM
beautiful
I enjoyed very
much!!

Clara 12/15/2006 2:08:00 PM
Great Site,
wonderful information, great blessings
Keep this information
coming, it is so refreshing and enjoyable and I wish to thank you most
sincerely for everything.

DebbraLandau 12/13/2006
5:48:00 AM
Wonderful summary of the story of Chanukah.
I will
print this one and read it to my grandchildren.

jeffaaronson 12/11/2006
10:44:00 AM
Colored candles
If you keep the small colored
candles in the freezer until you put them in the menora, they will burn
much longer.

Mindy 12/10/2006 1:01:00 PM
Hanukah
instructions
Rabbi Shraga Simmons has done it again. This was a
well written article, detailed interesting and I give it 4 stars and 2
thumbs up....smashing good fun.......God bless.....and happy Hanukah
......mindy Lippel

Anonymous 12/10/2006 10:55:00 AM
I
find all the e-mails very interesting.
I look forward to reading
ALL the material you send.

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