How to light a Hanukkah Menorah

Submitted by Shahar Geva on Thu, 08/29/2013 - 10:23

The miracle of Hanukkah is commemorated by the lighting of the candles for eight days.

The Hanukkah Menorah is a lamp-stand with eight candle holders in a row and a ninth candle holder (the shamash) which is set higher then the other eight holders. The Menorah, which had seven candle branches was used in the Temple before it was

destroyed in 70 CE. The Hanukkah Menorah is used during the holiday of Hanukkah to commemorate the miracle that occurred to the Jews in the Temple after its destruction where there was only a little bit of oil left for one day and it miraculously lasted for eight days.

The Menora Hanukkiah is lit at sundown to publicize the miracle. The Menora should be attractive and all the candle lights lined up in a straight row and the ninth holder set higher then the others. The candles are placed from right to left but the candles are lit from left to right. A blessing is said when lighting the candles. On the first night, we light one candle from the right and on the second we light two candles starting from the left to the right, third night three candles from left to right and so on and so forth. The shamash is used to light the candles because the candles cant light each other. Once the shamash has lit all the candles it is placed on a higher part of the Menora. The Menora is lit in sundown or early evening hours and burn for at least 30 minutes. We place the Menora near the entrance of

the house or by a window to publicise the miracle. It is preferable to use olive oil with wax wiks to light the Menora but specially made candles are also used. The candles are special and can only be looked at and not used for anything else. On Hanukkah, it is customary to eat food made with oil such as donuts and latkes (fritters).

Menoras comes in many different designs. Israel-Catalog has many beautiful Menorahs for sale.

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