Laws of Chanukah - Rabbi Menachem Cohen shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to the “Lema’an Yishme’u” podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 Shalom and blessings. We’re now in the days leading up to Chanukah. This is our opportunity to get into the Chanukah spirit, to learn about Chanukah, know the halachos, and observe Chanukah properly—to bring light to ourselves and our surroundings with the light of Chanukah, the light of the Geulah, the light of goodness. To be surrounded by light, and thereby drive away all the darkness. Chanukah is marked by many miracles. There were three main miracles, connected to one another in sequence. They happened on consecutive dates, and they also represent progressively higher spiritual levels: one level, then a higher one, then an even higher one; one miracle greater than the next. The first miracle of Chanukah was the victory in the war. The Jewish people were in a situation where the Greeks were trying to oppress them. They laid hands on their property and their daughters and caused them terrible suffering. Hakadosh Boruch Hu helped them, and the Hasmoneans came with mesirus nefesh and defeated all the Greeks, overcoming that darkness. That victory took place on 24 Kislev. We celebrate beginning on the night of 25 Kislev because that was when they rested after the victory, but the victory itself was on 24 Kislev. Then came another miracle. After the Hasmoneans came and purified Your holy Sanctuary, they entered the Beis Hamikdash and wanted to light the menorah. But they needed oil, and all the oil was impure. They did not want to light it with impure oil; they specifically wanted pure oil. A miracle happened, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu helped them find one flask

02:28 Speaker 2 of oil sealed with the seal of the Kohen Gadol. That was the second miracle, on 25 Kislev. Then came a third miracle: that flask of oil was enough for only one day. What would they do on the remaining days? So Hakadosh Boruch Hu performed a third miracle, and instead of lasting one day, the oil burned for eight days. This third miracle became apparent on 26 Kislev, because on 25 Kislev the flask already contained enough oil for that day. On the 26th, the further miracle began: it continued burning for the seven additional days. That is why we celebrate Chanukah for eight days—because the oil in that flask lasted eight days. Now, the 24th, 25th, and 26th of Kislev allude to three levels of miracles. The first miracle was relatively natural. The Hasmoneans came with mesirus nefesh and defeated the Greeks, but they did so through an ordinary war. Granted, Hashem “delivered the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, and the wicked into the hands of the righteous.” Still, it happened relatively within the ways of nature. And that corresponds to the number 24. It is written that 24 corresponds to the words “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever,” which contain exactly twenty-four letters in Hebrew. That expresses the revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu within the world, within nature. It is a revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, but within the world’s natural order. Then comes the next miracle: finding the flask of pure oil. Finding that flask was

04:29 Speaker 2 a greater miracle. It was less natural, because normally the Greeks would have defiled everything. Yet here, a flask of pure oil was revealed. Pure oil also alludes to a level of holiness, of special purity, and that fits with the 25th. What does 25 represent? It corresponds to the verse, “Hear, O Israel: Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.” This is the revelation of Hashem’s oneness, the revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu above nature. That verse contains exactly twenty-five letters in Hebrew. Then we reach a miracle that is entirely above nature: the oil burning for eight days. A quantity of oil that would normally burn for one day now lasted eight days. That is completely beyond nature. This happened on 26 Kislev. The number 26 is the numerical value of Hashem’s four-letter Name, the revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, Who was, is, and will be. And that is the progression. We start gradually, work on ourselves, make an effort, and do what we can within the ways of nature. Little by little, we see more and more how Hakadosh Boruch Hu helps us, until we reach a point where He reveals Himself to us so completely that the limits of nature matter less and less. There is a revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu above nature. That is what Chanukah teaches us: to keep adding more and more light, to keep adding good things. Gradually, the darkness and the less-good things disappear, until they no longer matter at all. I’ll also mention a small point about this flask of oil. It’s interesting to ask exactly how much oil it held—how many liters. The miracle, and especially what we’re going to learn

06:21 Speaker 2 about Chanukah, centers on lighting the Chanukah candles: how each person should light them at home, how we do it on Erev Shabbos and after Shabbos, and how we do it during mivtza Chanukah, in a shul, and when bringing it to the public. All of this is thanks to that flask of oil. So how much was in the flask of pure oil? Interestingly, it held three and a half log. In the Beis Hamikdash, they always lit all the lamps. It wasn’t like today, when we light one on the first night, two on the second, and so on. There were seven lamps, and each held half a log. Why? So it would burn from the beginning of the night until the end. Three and a half log, if we calculate it, comes to a little more than a liter. We know that a revi’is, the measure used for a cup of Kiddush, is a quarter of a log. So the amount in that flask of pure oil was about a liter and a hundred milliliters. With that liter, that small amount—roughly a bottle of oil—the miracle happened. And it leads to the miracle of our adding more and more light, gradually dispelling the darkness. Let’s begin by explaining the best way to light the Chanukah candles. Chanukah has finally arrived, and a person wants to light. Where is the best place to light? What is the best time? What is the order of lighting? That’s what we’ll discuss now. First, regarding the best place to light the menorah, we need to know that our Sages told us where to light the menorah, where to light the

08:19 Speaker 2 The Chanukah menorah. It says, “The mitzvah is to place the Chanukah light at the entrance to one’s home, on the outside.” That is the original place to light the Chanukah candles: outside, at the entrance to the home. It also says that if a person lives in an upper story, on the second floor, he places it in the window of his home; and in a time of danger, “he places it on his table, and that is sufficient.” He puts it on his table, and that is enough according to the basic law. Some people still follow the practice of placing the menorah outside, and many do so. Others place it at the window if they live high up. But the Chabad custom, as has also been practiced for generations in other places—not only in Chabad—is to light the menorah inside the home. Where? At the entrance to one of the rooms. According to Chabad custom, the best place to light is at the entrance to one of the rooms. There are several explanations for this. I’ll briefly give one of them: from the outset, we want the lighting of the menorah at home to be primarily for the person lighting it and for his household. It was observed that the Frierdiker Rebbe was particular that no one else be present, only he and his family. That is apart from public lightings. The lighting of the menorah at home is a more inward matter, meant to awaken the inner lights, the light of “the soul of man is the lamp of Hashem”—the innermost point. It should not be so conspicuous. According to Kabbalah, too, the Chanukah lights, the lights of the menorah, relate more to the wisdom within the soul, revealing the essence of the soul. So it is done with less fanfare. It is not a bonfire; it is one candle or several candles, but not a bonfire. It must not be a bonfire.

10:21 Speaker 2 So we light it at the entrance to one of the rooms, on the left side. Why on the left? So that the mezuzah is on the right and the Chanukah light is on the left. The mezuzah is on the right side, and the Chanukah light is on the left, so that the person entering the room is surrounded by mitzvos. He has both the mitzvah of mezuzah and the mitzvah of the Chanukah menorah. That way, he is entirely surrounded by mitzvos. That is why the Chanukah light should be on the left. In other words, you stand at the doorway, see which side the mezuzah is on, and place the menorah on the other side. If there is no mezuzah, ideally you should choose the entrance to a room that does have a mezuzah. If there is no mezuzah and you have no other place to light, then light there and put it on the right side. The halachic authorities say that where there is no mezuzah, it is preferable to put the menorah on the right. But ideally, we light where there is a mezuzah: the mezuzah on the right and the Chanukah light on the left. Place the menorah within the doorway, directly opposite the mezuzah. It should be within the doorway, as close as possible to the doorframe. It is best that it not be far from the doorframe—at most, within a tefach of the entrance, eight centimeters. Put the menorah there, as close to the doorframe as possible, on the left side of the entrance to one of the rooms, as we said. Regarding children, the Rebbe instructed that, as part of the Chanukah campaign, as part of educating children, and as part of making their room into a small Beis Hamikdash, a miniature sanctuary, children should light at the entrance to their own room. In this way, we make their room a place of holiness, since lighting the Chanukah menorah corresponds to lighting the menorah in the Beis

12:33 Speaker 2 Hamikdash. When a child lights the menorah at the entrance to his room, he feels more personally connected to it, and he also makes his room a holier place. So it is important for children to light at the entrance to their own room. If that is not possible, they can also light at another doorway, but it says that it should not be in the parents’ bedroom. It is not advisable to light in the parents’ bedroom. The parents light at the entrance to one of the rooms. If it is easy to arrange, it is preferable to light at the entrance to the room where people eat, whether the kitchen or the living room. Now, the time for lighting. When is the time to light? Ideally, the best time is at sunset. As the sun sets, that is the best time to light the Chanukah candles. “Its mitzvah begins when the sun sets.” The best time is at sunset. The Chabad custom is to light at the beginning of sunset and to have the candles burn for fifty minutes, so that we satisfy both opinions. One opinion holds that we must light at sunset, and then half an hour is sufficient. The candles must burn for at least half an hour; that is one interpretation of what we said: “Its mitzvah begins when the sun sets and lasts until people have ceased passing through the marketplace.” In other words, that describes a length of time. From sunset until people have ceased passing through the marketplace is half an hour, so the candles must burn for half an hour. Some opinions hold that half an hour from sunset is enough. Other opinions count the half hour from nightfall, which is about twenty minutes after sunset. We follow the Chabad custom of satisfying both opinions: we light at sunset, fulfilling the opinion that the time begins at sunset, and use candles that will burn for fifty minutes

14:33 Speaker 2 so that we also satisfy the opinion that the time begins at nightfall. That gives us half an hour from nightfall as well. So we satisfy both the opinion that counts from sunset and the one that counts from nightfall. That is the most preferable time. If someone cannot manage that—if he has to go somewhere beforehand or gets home late for some reason—he may also light throughout the night, as long as people are still out in the street. The same applies if, say, someone is in isolation and cannot—there are no people there; that is not a problem. You can light with a bracha as long as people are still outside. If no one is out anymore because it is very late—midnight and onward, until morning—then you need to wake someone up, or come home with one other person. As long as there is one other person with you, you can light with a bracha. Once the night has ended, you can no longer light with a bracha. You can light without a bracha the next day, during the daytime, but not with a bracha. In a case of need, if a person cannot light at night and can only light during the day—for example, if he is somewhere else; this comes up very often on mivtzoim, in the Chanukah campaign, as we’ll discuss shortly—then he can only light during the day. We cannot light in the daytime itself, but we can light from plag haminchah. Plag haminchah is about an hour before sunset. From then, one may light the candles,

16:17 Speaker 2 But only if the candles can burn for half an hour after sunset. In other words, if you lit them during the preceding hour—say, an hour before sunset—the candles need to burn for at least an hour and a half. Why? Because they need to burn for half an hour after sunset. In that case, you may light with a bracha, but they must burn for at least half an hour after sunset. If not, light without a bracha. The order of lighting: What is the order? You light the first candle on the right, and on each following day you add another candle to its left. At the beginning I start on the right, because we always start on the right. According to halacha, according to the Torah, “All your turns should be to the right.” We start with the rightmost candle. After that, we add another candle to its left and always begin lighting with the new candle. So it is always from left to right, from left to right. We start with the new candle and continue lighting until we reach the last candle to be lit that day. On the first day, there is one candle on the right; on the second day, two candles; and so on until the eighth day, when we light all the candles, starting with the new one and ending with the first. That is the order of lighting. That is the best and most beautiful way to light the candles. Of course, our custom is also to remain near the candles for at least half an hour. That is the best and proper practice, though it is not essential, and if necessary, one may leave earlier. Now I want to discuss lighting Chanukah candles in various special circumstances: on Erev Shabbos, on Motzaei Shabbos, during mivtza Chanukah, and in various places. When may one light

18:33 Speaker 2 and say a bracha? When may one not say a bracha? How is it done? What is the order? And a little about the foods of the holiday. First, Erev Shabbos. What exactly is the order of lighting on Erev Shabbos? On Erev Shabbos, we must light before sunset. We cannot light at sunset, even though sunset is the best time on all the other days. On Shabbos, lighting is forbidden, so we must light beforehand. The order, therefore, is to daven Mincha first, before lighting the Chanukah candles. Why? Because we light the Chanukah candles before the Shabbos candles, so we first daven Mincha, then light the Chanukah candles. As a matter of halacha, we do not light them after the Shabbos candles; we light the Chanukah candles first. Since that must be before the Shabbos candles are lit, we need more oil or larger candles so that they burn for at least seventy minutes. Why? Because, as we said, the Chabad custom is for them to burn for fifty minutes after sunset, plus another twenty minutes between candle-lighting time and sunset. So they need to burn for at least seventy minutes. In any case, when preparing the candles, you need to calculate carefully and put in enough oil for an hour and a half, or use larger candles—larger wax candles. The shamash is a wax candle, so it should be larger. The Chanukah lights themselves should be oil lamps. That is the most meticulous practice according to Chabad: the Chanukah lights should use oil, olive oil, and the shamash should be a wax candle, with enough to burn for at least seventy minutes. Now, there are several things to keep in mind. Care must be taken when setting up the menorah so there is no risk of violating Shabbos. If someone wants to move the candles afterward—or the chair on which the menorah stands, right? Sometimes children pass by and might knock it over or break it, so someone may want to move the chair. In that case, one should put a book or bread on the chair before Shabbos. Or, if one wants to move the tray, put a book or bread on the tray before Shabbos. Then the tray or chair may be moved under the rules of muktzeh as a base for both a prohibited and a permitted item. It holds a prohibited item, the menorah, and a permitted item, the bread or book. So the tray or chair may be moved. Of course, it may be moved only after the candles have gone out. Once they have gone out, it may be moved. While the candles are burning, there is a concern about extinguishing or kindling a flame, so we leave them in place and do not touch them until they go out. After the fact, if someone has already lit the Shabbos candles, it is still possible to light the Chanukah candles afterward—of course, only as long as Shabbos has not begun. Once Shabbos has begun, one obviously cannot and must not light any candle. That is regarding Erev Shabbos. So we need to prepare early and be organized, to avoid any risk of violating Shabbos, G-d forbid. Now, regarding Motzaei Shabbos: What exactly should the order of lighting be? Usually, at home, a person makes Havdalah, separating the holy from the weekday, and then lights the candles. Once Havdalah is finished, Shabbos is over and the Chanukah candles may be lit. Afterward, we say Veyiten Lecha, and one can enjoy the warmth of the candles during Melaveh Malkah, and so on. Of course, we are not permitted to benefit from them or use them, only to look at them. Looking at the candles and telling their story is certainly fitting and desirable—all the time, not only on Motzaei Shabbos.

20:34 Speaker 2 At home, then, the order is Havdalah, the Chanukah candles, and then Veyiten Lecha. In shul, the order is first Maariv, then lighting the candles, and then Havdalah. Why? Very simply: if Havdalah were made after Maariv, many people would just go home. We want the lighting to take place with a large crowd and with publicity. One of the purposes of the Chanukah candles is pirsumei nisa, publicizing the miracle and awakening everyone to it. So it is important, appropriate, and indeed the halacha that the lighting take place before Havdalah. Before Havdalah, everyone is still waiting for it. So the Chanukah candles are lit immediately after Maariv; then Aleinu is said, followed by Havdalah in places where the custom is to make Havdalah in shul. As for women, may they say the bracha when lighting the Chanukah menorah? The answer is that a woman, too, is obligated in this Chanukah miracle. Women have the same obligation as men because they, too, were part of that miracle. But a woman’s husband fulfills the obligation on her behalf, or her father fulfills it on her behalf. Therefore, women and girls do not say the brachos or light Chanukah candles. The husband fulfills their obligation, just as both men and women are obligated in Shabbos candles, but the woman lights the Shabbos candles and fulfills the man’s obligation. Here it is exactly the reverse: the man lights the Chanukah candles and fulfills the obligation for his wife and daughters. If a woman has no one to light for her, she needs to light

22:37 Speaker 2 We are not permitted to benefit from them or use them, only to look at them. But looking at the candles and telling the story of the candles is certainly appropriate and desirable—all the time, not only on Motzaei Shabbos. Now, that is at home. At home, the order is Havdalah, Chanukah candles, and then Veyiten Lecha. In shul, the order is first Maariv, then lighting the candles, and then Havdalah. Why? Very simply, because after Maariv, if Havdalah is made first, many people will just go home. We want the lighting to take place with a large crowd and to be publicized. One of the purposes of the Chanukah candles is pirsumei nisa—to publicize the miracle and awaken everyone. So it is important, fitting, and correct—and this is the halachah—that the lighting take place before Havdalah. Before Havdalah, everyone is still waiting for it. So first we light the Chanukah candles immediately after Maariv, then say Aleinu and make Havdalah, in places where it is customary to make Havdalah in shul. As for women, can a woman recite the blessings when lighting Chanukah candles? The answer is that a woman is also obligated in the mitzvah of Chanukah candles. Women are obligated just as men are, because they too were part of that miracle. But a woman’s husband fulfills the obligation on her behalf, or her father fulfills it on her behalf. Therefore, girls and women do not recite the blessings or light Chanukah candles. The husband fulfills their obligation for them. Similarly, both men and women are obligated in Shabbos candles, but the woman lights the Shabbos candles and thereby fulfills the man’s obligation. Here it is exactly the reverse: the man lights the Chanukah candles and fulfills the obligation for his wife and daughters. If a woman has no one to light for her, she needs to light.

24:41 Speaker 2 And recite the blessing, but not in a public place. For reasons of modesty, it is not appropriate for women to come and recite the blessing in public places. Let’s move on. We spoke about publicizing the miracle, so let’s talk a little about the Chanukah campaign and lighting Chanukah candles in a shul. Many people ask: What is the basis for doing this? You can light candles as many times as you want, but what is the basis for reciting a blessing? There are actually two circumstances in which you can recite a blessing during the Chanukah campaign, when you go out and help people fulfill the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles. The first is like lighting Chanukah candles at home. If a person is in his store and he will not be lighting at home, this is his Chanukah candle lighting. The store, the place where he is, is like his home—“a candle for each person and his household.” He can light there and recite the blessing even if no one else is present. The second is when there are at least ten people present. Then you can light and recite the blessing. Why? It is like a shul. People do not fulfill their obligation through the lighting in shul. The person who lights there also lights at home, either afterward or beforehand. Nevertheless, he can light in shul with a blessing. Why? It is an enactment of the Sages: to publicize the miracle, one may—and should—light in shul. At least ten people are there to see it, so one may light and recite the blessing. The same applies in public places, even on the street, or in places where many people gather. You can light with a blessing and give the public the opportunity

26:35 Speaker 2 to see the Chanukah candles, hear words of Torah, and so on. But the Rebbe gave an instruction on this: tell people to light candles at home as well. In other words, you have to tell them that this is like the lighting in shul. People sometimes mistakenly think that seeing Chanukah candles lit means they have fulfilled their obligation. They saw the lighting on the street or somewhere else and think that is enough. No, it is not. They also need to light Chanukah candles at home. So tell them that, in addition to the lighting here, they need to light at home to fulfill the mitzvah. If there are fewer than ten people and no one is fulfilling their obligation through this lighting—for example, the store owner has already lit—then you may light, but without a blessing. Let’s talk about something else connected with eating on Chanukah, one of the important and beloved customs. It is not an obligation, either from the Torah or from the Sages, but “a Jewish custom is Torah,” and there is value in eating the holiday foods. We eat sufganiyos and foods made with oil to commemorate the miracle of the flask of oil. We also have a custom to eat dairy foods to commemorate the miracle involving Yehudis and the dairy foods she brought. It is a good and meaningful custom. There is an interesting point worth knowing about eating sufganiyos. Under halachah, a sufganiyah is a little different from other foods. If, for example, I take cake or cookies, eating a large quantity may require me to recite Hamotzi. It depends on the food, but with many foods, if I eat enough to make a meal of them,

28:44 Speaker 2 I will have to recite Hamotzi. There are also cases where it is appropriate for a conscientious person to be stringent and recite Hamotzi. But because a sufganiyah is deep-fried in oil, it is considered cooked, so one always recites Mezonos beforehand and Al Hamichyah afterward. One explanation I heard is that the Sages instituted the custom of eating these foods—sufganiyos or similar foods, over which one always recites Mezonos and Al Hamichyah—so that we would recite Al Hamichyah. In Al Hamichyah, we say, “for Your altar and for Your Sanctuary.” Mentioning the altar alludes to another miracle Hakadosh Boruch Hu performed for us: when the Chashmonaim arrived, they found that the Greeks had destroyed the altar, and they rebuilt it. So we also thank Hakadosh Boruch Hu for the altar that was rebuilt. May one eat sufganiyos or other foods before lighting Chanukah candles? The answer is that one may eat up to 57 grams of Mezonos—up to the volume of an egg—or eat fruit before lighting. If someone is there to remind people to light Chanukah candles and, of course, not to forget Maariv if they have not yet davened it, then one may eat more, even a meal. But as we mentioned, ideally one should light the Chanukah candles as soon as possible after sunset. If someone is out on the Chanukah campaign, there is more room to be lenient about eating, because he is occupied with a mitzvah.