The Procedure for Lighting the Chanukah Candles

When discussing the laws of the Chanukah candles, we must address three issues: 1) the proper time for the lighting; 2) the proper place where the candles should be lit; 3) the procedure for the lighting. The preferred time for lighting the Chanukah candles is fifteen minutes after sundown. This time of year, sunset occurs at approximately 4:30pm, and so one should preferably light the Chanukah candles at 4:45pm. If one is able to come home from work to light at this time, he should do so. If not, then the candles may be lit later. It must be emphasized, however, that on Sunday, for example, when most people do not have to work, the candles should be lit at the ideal time even if on weekdays this is not possible. A person should not assume that since on workdays he lights at 8pm he can or should light at that time on Sunday, as well. According to some Poskim, lighting later than the preferred time is allowed only on the level of "Bedi’abad" ("after the fact"), and therefore every reasonable effort must be made to light at that time. Even if one cannot light at that time on weekdays, he should certainly do so on Sunday. Ideally, the candles should be lit outside by the doorway to one’s home, on the side opposite the Mezuzah. The practice to light indoors was begun because it became dangerous to light outside, where the candles would be seen by hostile gentiles. Nowadays, this danger no longer exists in most areas, and therefore it is preferable, if one can, to light outside the front door, using a special glass box to protect the candles from the wind. The Mezuzah is situated on the right side of the doorway (when one enters the house), and the Menorah should thus be placed on the left side. The more conventional practice, however, is to light indoors, and this is the practice of even many great Torah leaders, and there is certainly a legitimate Halachic basis for this custom of lighting indoors by a window that faces the public domain. On the first night of Chanukah, one lights the rightmost candle on the Menorah, and then on each subsequent night one adds a candle to the left. The lighting is done from the leftmost candle rightward (the direction of writing English). Before lighting the Chanukah candles, one recites two Brachot: "Le’hadlik Ner Chanukah," and "She’asa Nissim La’abotenu Bayamim Ha’hem Ba’zman Ha’zeh." On the first night, we add a third Bracha – " She'hecheyanu." It should be emphasized that the custom of the Sefaradim is to recite for the first Bracha the text of "Le’hadlik Ner Chanukah," and not "Le’hadlik Ner Shel Chanukah." This Bracha differs from the Bracha recited over the Shabbat candles, when we indeed include the word "Shel" ("Le’hadlik Ner Shel Shabbat"). Sefaradim should thus recite "Le’hadlik Ner Chanukah," and not "Le’hadlik Ner Shel Chanukah." This first Bracha contains thirteen words, which correspond to Hashem’s thirteen attributes of mercy. When reciting this Bracha, one should try to have in mind that each word represents the corresponding attribute. More importantly, even if one cannot have these detailed intentions, he should certainly recite the Brachot slowly and concentrate on the plain meaning of the words. One should not begin lighting the candles until after he has completed reciting all the Brachot. As soon as one lights the first candle, he should recite "Ha’nerot Halalu." One should not begin reciting "Ha’nerot Halalu" before the first candle is lit, but he does not have to wait until the other candles are lit. It is proper after lighting the Chanukah candles to pray for one’s and one’s children’s success in Torah learning and religious observance. We light a total of 36 candles over the course of Chanukah, which correspond to the 36 tractates of the Talmud. When we light each candle, we should pray for success in our efforts to master the corresponding Masechet. Furthermore, it is proper to spend some moments gazing at the Chanukah candles after the lighting; one should not simply light and then walk away. Although it is forbidden to make personal use of the light of the Chanukah candles, one should spend a few moments looking at the light, as it is invested with special spiritual power that is capable of elevating the soul.

 By Rabbi Eli Mansour