Already on Sunday evening, December 14, the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah will begin. Events in its honor will take place in all structures of the Dnipro Jewish Community. However, in addition to public events, it is very important that every Jew celebrate Hanukkah in their own family.
Our website has prepared a series of materials on the topic of “Hanukkah” to help our readers better prepare for this holiday and celebrate it in accordance with Jewish traditions. Today we offer you to familiarize yourself with the laws and customs of the Hanukkah holiday, as described in the Shulchan Aruch and presented on the website www.chabad.org.
The Laws and Customs of Hanukkah
(From the Code “Shulchan Aruch”)
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On the 25th day of the month of Kislev, Hanukkah begins – a holiday that lasts eight days. This holiday was established by the Sages of the Torah in memory of the miracle that the Almighty performed for our ancestors in these days of the year.
In the 2nd century BCE, during the era of the Second Temple, the Land of Israel was occupied by the troops of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, founded by one of the generals of Alexander the Great and centered in Syria. At a certain stage, the rulers of the Seleucid Empire began to pursue a policy of total assimilation, by any means – both stick and carrot – imposing Greek culture and religion. The Jewish people were subjected to a severe test. The majority of Jewish society, unable to withstand the pressure, under threat of death penalty, ultimately betrayed the Torah and its commandments. However, the Hellenes and their accomplices, the Hellenizing Jews, were ultimately unable to completely destroy spiritual life in Israel. Thanks to the steadfastness and devotion to their faith of its best sons, the Jewish people avoided the fate of many other peoples that disappeared without a trace.
This is how Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam) tells about it in his characteristically extremely brief and clear form: “During the time of the Second Temple, the Hellenistic rulers began persecuting the Jews and their religion, forbade them to study Torah and fulfill the commandments, laid hands on their property and their daughters, broke into the Temple, destroyed the fence around it, and defiled the holy places. Israel was in great distress then – until the G-d of their fathers had mercy on the Jews and saved them from the hands of cruel oppressors, giving victory to the sons of the Hasmoneans, descendants of the High Priests, who defeated the Greeks and freed the Land of Israel from their rule. And then the monarchy was re-established in Israel – for more than two hundred years, until the destruction of the Second Temple. When they broke into the Temple, the Greeks defiled all the oil stored there, and when the Hasmoneans defeated them on the 25th of Kislev, they searched and found no ritually pure oil except for one small jar hidden in the ground, sealed with the seal of the High Priest. From this seal, they knew that the Greeks had not touched this oil, and it was not defiled. Although the oil in the jar would have been enough to keep the Menorah lit for only one night, a miracle occurred: with it they lit the Menorah for eight days – until ritually pure oil was prepared. Therefore, the Sages of that generation decreed that every year these eight days will be days of holiday, when ‘Hallel’ and ‘Al Hanissim’ are recited, and every night lamps are lit at the entrance to homes to commemorate the miracle.” (“Mishneh Torah,” chapter “Laws of Hanukkah,” 3).
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The word Hanukkah means “dedication” – the dedication of the new Temple altar instead of the one defiled by the Greeks. Furthermore, the name of the holiday hints at the date when the light of the Temple Menorah, symbolizing the light of Torah, the light of Divine wisdom, blazed again. The word Hanukkah can be divided into two parts: chanu (“they rested”) and “kaf”-“hey” (25) – i.e., on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, when the service to the Almighty was resumed in the Jerusalem Temple.
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Since ancient times, the custom has developed to hold more abundant meals than usual on the days of Hanukkah, accompany them with traditional songs composed in honor of this holiday, and tell about the miracles that the Almighty performed for our ancestors in those days.
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Fasting is prohibited on the days of Hanukkah – even for a groom and bride if their wedding day coincides with these days. Fasting is permitted on the eve of Hanukkah and the day after its conclusion.
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Work is permitted on the days of Hanukkah. However, according to an ancient custom, all the time while the Hanukkah lamps are burning, women do not work. This custom is based on women’s deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty for the miracle of Hanukkah, as the abuse they suffered during Greek rule was particularly severe: Greek rulers appropriated the right of the first night with every Jewish girl getting married.
Moreover, this custom reminds of the miracle performed by the Almighty for Yehudit, the daughter of the High Priest from the Hasmonean family. When she was forcibly brought to the Greek ruler, she pretended to be ready to yield to his desire and fed him food prepared from cheese and causing thirst. Then she got him drunk with wine, and when he fell asleep, she cut off his head and brought it to Jerusalem. Seeing the head of the slain commander, the Greek soldiers fled in fear.
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The commandment to light the Hanukkah lights should be performed extremely meticulously.
This commandment is obligatory for all: even a pauper living on alms is obligated to borrow money or sell his clothes to buy oil or at least candles for the Hanukkah lamp.
From ancient times, a custom spread to perform the commandment of lighting the Hanukkah lights in a way called in the Talmud mehadrin min hamehadrin, “the best of the best.” Namely: each family member lights his own lamp, and on the first night – one light, on the second – two, and so on, until on the eighth night all eight lights are lit.
Although women are also obligated to light the Hanukkah lights, since the miracle of Hanukkah saved them from cruel suffering and, moreover, a woman played a special role in this, it is nevertheless not customary for women to light the Hanukkah lamps: they fulfill their duty by being present when the husband or father lights the lights and answering “amen” to the blessings he recites. Even an unmarried woman does not light the Hanukkah lamp herself. At her request, any man can do it, even if he has already fulfilled this obligation himself. But the woman is obligated to be present and answer “amen” to the blessings he recites.
Boys begin lighting Hanukkah lights some time before reaching adulthood, but recently the custom has spread widely to accustom even the youngest to performing this commandment – as soon as they can light the lamp and recite the blessings.
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The most suitable for performing this commandment is considered a metal lamp (the so-called hanukkiah), into which olive oil is poured. If there is no olive oil, candles can be lit or the lamp can be filled with any other oil – preferably one that does not smoke and burns with a bright, clean flame. (The commandment is not considered fulfilled if electric bulbs mounted on the Hanukkah lamp are lit.) Any material suitable for this purpose can be used as a wick for the Hanukkah lamp, but it is best to make a wick from cotton or linen threads.
There is a custom to use new wicks for the Hanukkah lamp every day; however, some Torah authorities point out that old wicks burn better and therefore wicks should not be changed unless necessary. When lighting the lamp again, the wick left from the previous night is moved to a new place to light it first.
A wax candle is customarily used as the shamash (“servant”) – the ninth lamp from which the other eight are lit.
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The candles or oil cups should be in a straight line (not a semicircle or zigzag) and at the same level (one not higher or lower than the others). The distance between them should be small but not so much that one candle melts from the heat of another or that the flames of adjacent lamps merge.
The oil remaining in the lamp cups and the burnt wicks after Hanukkah are burned, as they served to fulfill the commandment and are forbidden to be used for any mundane purpose. But the oil remaining in the bottle that was poured into the Hanukkah lamp can be used without restrictions.
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According to the initial decree of the Sages, Hanukkah lamps should be lit at the entrance to the house, to remind or give an opportunity for people passing by on the street to learn about the miracle performed by the Almighty for us. This is exactly how it was done in the era of the Mishnah and Talmud. However, since the Jews exiled from their Homeland live among hostile nations, the custom of lighting Hanukkah lamps inside the house gradually spread.
It is customary to place the Hanukkah lamp on a chair in the doorway on the left side of the person entering, so that the mezuzah is opposite the Hanukkah lamp, on the right side of the person entering.
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If several people light Hanukkah lamps in a family, care should be taken that the lamps are placed in different places – then it will be immediately clear how many lights are burning that night.
The lamp should be no lower than 24 cm and no higher than 80 cm from the floor. If it stands a little higher – it’s okay. But if the Hanukkah lamp is at a height of 9.6 m or higher, the commandment is not considered fulfilled (therefore, one should not place the Hanukkah lamp on a window of an apartment located more than 9.6 m from the ground).
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The Hanukkah lamp is lit in the house where one lives permanently and in the room where one usually eats.
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Hanukkah lamps are lit after sunset, between Minchah and Maariv (and therefore Maariv is prayed a little later than usual during Hanukkah).
If for some reason the lamps could not be lit at the specified time, they can be lit and the blessings recited until the household members are asleep. After everyone has already gone to bed, the Hanukkah lamp is lit without reciting the blessings.
When the time for lighting the Hanukkah lights arrives, it is forbidden to eat or engage in any activity at all – even Torah study. If something has been started, one must interrupt to perform the commandment on time. Moreover, even half an hour before this time, it is desirable to stop any activities other than Torah study.
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On the first night of Hanukkah (from the 24th to the 25th of Kislev), before lighting the first light, three blessings are recited: “Blessed are You… who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light,” “Blessed are You… who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time,” and Shehecheyanu.
On the remaining days of Hanukkah, before lighting the lights, only the first two blessings are recited (“To kindle the Hanukkah light” and “Who performed miracles…”).
Married men light the Hanukkah lights while wearing a gartel (special belt). They do not light the lights until they have recited all the required blessings. “HaNeirot Hallalu” (“These lights”) is read after lighting the number of lights corresponding to that evening.
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On the first evening, the light is lit in the rightmost cup of the Hanukkah lamp; on the next evening, another one is added to the left of the first; on the third, the one immediately to the left of the second, and so on. The lights are lit from left to right: first in the new cup, then in the one nearest to it on the right, and so on.
The Hanukkah lights must burn for at least half an hour after tzeit hakochavim (the appearance of stars). Therefore, in total, they must burn for at least 50 minutes. On Friday, when they are lit even earlier (see below, point 19), a correspondingly larger amount of oil should be poured into the lamp cups, or larger candles should be used.
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The lights of the Hanukkah lamps are sacred, as they are lit with the sole purpose of fulfilling a commandment. Therefore, it is forbidden to use their light for reading, for example, or for any work. To avoid violating this prohibition, the shamash used to light the lights is placed higher than the other lights (so that it can be distinguished from them). Thus, the light of the shamash illuminates a larger area, and if it is necessary to do something near the Hanukkah lamp, it is considered that the light of the shamash was used.
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It is not customary to light one Hanukkah light from another, and even more so to light the shamash from it. If one of the lights goes out before the minimum burning time of the Hanukkah lamps has elapsed, it is relit using the shamash or some other candle. Blessings are not recited when doing this.
The Hanukkah lamp may not be moved before the minimum time that the Hanukkah lights must burn has passed. After this, the lamp may be moved, even if the lights have not yet gone out.
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It is customary to sit near the burning Hanukkah lights for about half an hour. As the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel, said: “It is worth listening to what the Hanukkah lights are telling.” (Friday is an exception, when people hurry to finish the last preparations for Shabbat.) It is best to use this time for Torah study, as the essence of Hanukkah lies in the liberation from the ban on studying Torah.
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Hanukkah lights are also lit in synagogues – to spread the news of the miracle even wider. It is customary to place the Hanukkah lamp by the southern wall, parallel to it, as the Menorah once stood in the Temple. Furthermore, in the synagogue, the Hanukkah lamp is placed higher than 80 cm from the floor.
The Hanukkah lights are lit in the synagogue during the Minchah prayer, before Aleinu, and all the required blessings are recited; after that, “HaNeirot Hallalu” is read (or sung to a known melody). However, no one, not even the one who lights the lights, fulfills their duty regarding the commandment in this way: everyone is obligated to light Hanukkah lights in their own home and recite all the blessings. An exception is made only for the one who lit them in the synagogue for the first time this year: when coming home, he does not recite the “Shehecheyanu” blessing again if he is alone in the house (for his wife and other adult household members, he repeats this blessing).
It is customary for the Hanukkah lights (including the shamash) to burn in the synagogue also during the Shacharit prayer; they are lit without reciting blessings at that time.
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On Friday, the Hanukkah lights are lit first, then the Shabbat candles. Thus, the Hanukkah lights are lit even before sunset, but despite this, the required blessings are recited.
Usually on Fridays during Hanukkah, Minchah is prayed earlier than usual. But if there is too little time left before Shabbat begins, the Hanukkah lights should be lit first, and then Minchah should be prayed.
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A Hanukkah lamp, even an extinguished one, is muktzah. Therefore, it is forbidden to move or carry it throughout Shabbat. If the lights in a lamp lit on Friday went out before the required time had elapsed, it is forbidden to relight them.
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At the conclusion of Shabbat, after Maariv, in the synagogue, the Hanukkah lights are lit first, and only then is Havdalah performed. At home, the opposite is done: first, Havdalah is performed, and then the Hanukkah lamp is lit.
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An onen (see 152:1) does not light the Hanukkah lights himself if another person can do it, but answers “amen” to the blessings. However, if he is at home alone, he must light the Hanukkah lights without reciting the blessings.
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A mourner (avel, see 152:1) does not light the Hanukkah lights in the synagogue on the first night of Hanukkah, as he should not recite the “Shehecheyanu” blessing publicly. However, on the other nights, he has the right to light the Hanukkah lights in the synagogue.
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Throughout all the days of Hanukkah, the thanksgiving prayer “Al Hanissim” (“And for the miracles”) is added to the 18th blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer and to the second blessing of Birkat Hamazon.
If one omitted “Al Hanissim” in Shemoneh Esrei but remembered before uttering the name of G-d in the conclusion of that same 18th blessing, it is read immediately. However, if one remembered after having already uttered the name of G-d, one finishes the Shemoneh Esrei and does not recite “Al Hanissim.”
When reciting Birkat Hamazon, the same rule applies: if one omitted “Al Hanissim” and remembered before uttering the name of G-d in the conclusion of that same blessing, one reads “Al Hanissim” immediately. Nevertheless, in Birkat Hamazon, there is an opportunity to make up for the omission if one could not do so in the 2nd blessing: at the end of the 4th blessing, before the words “HaRachaman (The Merciful One), He will grant us…”, one should insert: “HaRachaman, He will perform miracles for us just as He performed for our forefathers in those days, at this time,” and then recite the entire text of “Al Hanissim.”
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If on Shabbat during Hanukkah, while reciting Birkat Hamazon, one recited “Al Hanissim” but forgot to recite “Retze,” then when repeating Birkat Hamazon from the beginning, “Al Hanissim” does not need to be recited a second time.
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Every morning throughout the eight days of Hanukkah, the complete Hallel is recited in Shacharit.
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During the days of Hanukkah, it is customary to prepare traditional Hanukkah dishes: potato pancakes (latkes in Yiddish) and donuts (sufganiyot). The method of their preparation using vegetable oil is also connected with Hanukkah, reminding of the Hanukkah miracle. In memory of another miracle (see above, point 5), dairy foods are eaten – especially dishes made from cheese.
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By custom, on the night of the fourth or fifth day of Hanukkah, parents give their children (regardless of age) “Hanukkah gelt” (hanuke gelt in Yiddish or dmei Chanukah in Hebrew), which, in principle, may be used by them at their discretion. However, part of this money should be given to tzedakah (charity). Children should be accustomed to this from a young age, especially since it is customary to give more money to tzedakah during Hanukkah than usual.
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By custom, during Hanukkah, children play with a dreidel (spinning top), nuts, etc. However, one should avoid games of chance (cards, etc.) – not only during Hanukkah but on all other days of the year, because these games involve a spiritual impurity of extreme strength.
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The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, formulated the following rules, the observance of which contributes to the best fulfillment of the commandments and customs associated with Hanukkah.
a) Every Jew should try to persuade their neighbors and acquaintances to light Hanukkah lamps – so that no Jewish home remains without lights during this holiday.
b) All men, regardless of age, including even young boys, should light Hanukkah lights.
c) During the days of Hanukkah, adults should gather Jewish children, including those who have no concept of Judaism, tell them about the miracle of Hanukkah, and explain to them how to properly light the Hanukkah lamp.
d) It is desirable that all Jewish children – both boys and girls – receive “Hanukkah gelt.” Children should be explained that part of this money they should give to their friends as “Hanukkah gelt,” and another part should be given to tzedakah (on Friday, twice as much money should be allocated for tzedakah).
e) Children should be taught that during the days of Hanukkah, more time should be devoted to Torah study, especially that which is related to Hanukkah.
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One of the greatest disciples of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz, said: “Every year on Hanukkah, when the Hanukkah lamps are lit, the light created on the first day of Creation and then hidden by the Almighty is revealed in the world, and it is also the light of Moshiach.”
