Hanukkah, a holiday commemorating the miracles surrounding the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century BCE
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Can one throw out a Menorah?
Is it an issue to discard a menorah that has been used for the mitzvah of Neros Chanuka?
What if the menorah is made from something not usually used for a menorah? For example,bottles, cans, ...
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Preferable time to light Chanukah Menorah
What is the preferable time to light before Marriv or after and after dark or before?
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Celebrating the Hashmonaim as part of Hanukkah
The Hashmonaim are an integral part of the Hanukkah story.
BUT after the story of Hanukkah the Hashmonite family did some very terrible things (wars between Jews etc) during their reign.
Why do we ...
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Should the Ten Tribes observe Chanuka and Purim?
Assuming we will, at some point, be reunited with some or all of the exiled Ten Tribes of Israel, will we expect them to celebrate holidays that are specifically Judaic in nature, by which I mean that ...
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Dreidel - Nun (Neis) Gimel (Gadol) Hei (Haya) Shin (Shom) - (Pei - Po)
Outside of Eretz Yisroel when we play Dreidel we use - the Nun for Nochamol (go again), the Gimel for Gantz (empty the bank), the Hei for Halb (half the bank), and the Shin for Shtel Arain (put money ...
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Bircas HaMazon of Channukah after the last day
In OC Siman 695 Sif 3 that if one starts their Purim seudah by day and finishes by night they should still say "Al Hanisim" in Bircas HaMazon. The Machaber brings an opinion that says to not say it; ...
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When lighting Chanukah candles on both entrances to courtyard, can I use only one candle?
In Hilchos Channukah OC Siman 671 Sif 8 we learn the halacha that if someone has 2 entrances to their courtyard they must light Chanukah candles by both of them. This is so that passers-by won't see ...
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How are Spartans the son of Abraham?
I was reading the Book of Maccabbees (I and II) over shabbat and in it there is a letter written to Sparta to ask for peace, goodwill and friendship.
In the reply letter back from Sparta, they affirm ...
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Which Talmudic source for Ḥanukah is the real source?
What is the Talmudic source for Ḥanukah?
In discussing candles for Shabbath, the Talmud (Shab. 21b) goes into a discussion about candles generally, touching upon Ḥanukah candles, and ultimately asks, ...
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December greeting responses
How do you respond when greeted, during the Winter "holiday season" by a non-Jewish acquaintance with each of the following?
Happy Chanuka (in proximity to Chanuka)
Happy Chanuka (not in proximity ...
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What does the word לאַטקעס (latkes) mean?
לאַטקעס is the Yiddish word used for the potato pancakes commonly eaten on Chanukah. Where does the word לאַטקעס come from originally? What exactly does it mean?
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Are chanukah menorahs lit from the left or the right?
There are different authorities that state the chanukah menora should be lit from the left or the right. Which is correct?
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Relighting Chanukah lights that extinguish
In light of this answer (no pun intended) which directs you to never pass your hand over a light without lighting it, what happens when the lights extinguish before you've lit fully.
There are ...
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Why are there eight days of Chanukah if there were only seven miracles?
There is a famous question asked by the Beis Yosef (R' Yosef Karo): Why do we celebrate eight days of Chanukah if the miracle lasted only seven? The jug of oil contained enough to be lit for one day, ...
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Why by the mitzvah of chanukka we must light at both doors so other wont be suspicious
The Halacha is:
That if one has more then one door at his house, he must light the menorah at all doors... The reason is because others might think that someone lives here but didn't light the ...
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Do Jews believe the content of Maccabees (I-IV) is true?
This related question touches on the book of Maccabees.
I was wondering if Jews believe the content of Maccabees (I-IV) is true, even though it is outside the canon. If any of the Rishonim or ...
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What's done on Zos Chanuka?
I know people call the last day of Chanuka "Zos Chanuka" (taken from Bamidbar 7:84, read on that day). How is it specially commemorated if at all? I've heard it is, but know no details.
I'm not ...
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Making a Seudah into a “Seudas Mitzvah”
The Rema in Hilchos Channukah Siman 670 Sif 2 writes that if zemiros and shvachos (songs and praise) are said by a Seudah on Channukah it becomes a "Seudas Mitzvah" (without this it only has in it ...
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What is the appropriate use of the shamash on an oil menora?
It seems that with wax candle menoras, the shamash is generally lit first and used to light the other candles, but with an oil menora this is not possible. So should you light the shamash before the ...
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Making Bracha on Channukah Candles in Jail
Someone who is in jail and is able to light Channukah candles, can/should he make a bracha?
I don't know if being in Jail is considered to be like having a home that someone would have a chiyuv to ...
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“Why Hanukkah?” - revisited [closed]
The Talmud in Shabbos asks the famous question "Mai hanukkah" what is hanukkah?
I would like understand that question from a modern day perspective.
After all, the spiritual component of hanukkah is ...
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Does the Kohen Gadol place his seal on oil used for the Menorah?
The Gemara in Shabbat 21b says:
...For when the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oils
therein, and when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed against and defeated
them, they made ...
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What exactly happened on the 25th of Kislev?
What historical event (if any) actually took place on the 25th of Kislev to cause that date to be the commencement of Chanukah?
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Sell the shirt off his back for Menorah, but not for anything else?
Halacha brings that one who has no money for Chanukah Lights must sell the shirt off his back to acquire them why is this the case versus almost all other Mitzvos which require up to a fifth of his ...
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Using Havdallah Candle for Ner Channukah
The M"B in Siman 681 Sif-Katan 1 brings from the Bach and Ateres Zakanim that one may use the "Ner Channukah" first for Havdallah, put it out, then light it again for Channukah. This is even better ...
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Why did it take so long to make new oil?
The miracle of Chanukah that we commemorate was that the oil burned for 8 days, until they were able to replenish it. Why did it take 8 days to make new oil for the menorah? The normal process for ...
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Why don't we light the full menorah all 8 days?
If the reason we light candles on Chanukah is as a commemoration for the fact that the lights of the menorah burned for 8 days on fuel that was only sufficient for 1, why don't we light our menorahs ...
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Does the order of lights in a menorah face the house or the street?
I have always been taught that lights in a chanukiah should be inserted from right to left. So on the first four nights, only lights to the right of the shamash are lit (assuming a shamash in the ...
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“m'nora” on Chanuka
My kid came home from school one day insisting that the thing we light on Chanuka is not a m'nora but a chanukiya. I replied that that's the word most Israelis use now but that m'nora is a perfectly ...
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Rambam in Mitzvah of Ner Channukah: why “Shemen and Neros”?
The Rambam writes in Hilchos Channukah Perek 4 Halacha 12:
אפילו אין לו מה יאכל אלא מן הצדקה שואל או מוכר כסותו ולוקח שמן ונרות ומדליק
What is the reason the Rambam wrote to take "Shemen and ...
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Rambam and Mitzvah of Ner Channukah (Chaviva hi ad ma'od)
The Rambam writes in Hilchos Channukah Perek 4 Halacha 12
מצות נר חנוכה מצוה חביבה היא עד מאד
The Mitzvah of Ner Channukah is very "chaviv"/"dear" mitzva (please correct this translation.) What ...
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Mitzvah of Ner Channukah — not until after churban habayis?
Someone said over today (in then name of the Sfes Emes) that the mitzvah of Ner Channukah didn't officially "start" until the 2nd Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, since it was established as somewhat of ...
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Who is “the blaspheming foe” of Maoz Tzur?
In the song Maoz Tzur it says
לְעֵת תָּכִין מַטְבֵּחַ מִצָּר הַמְנַבֵּחַ -
which the OU translates as -
When You will have prepared the slaughter for the blaspheming foe.
Who is this ...
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How is the menora lit in the synagogue?
The menora in the synagogue is normally situated on the south side of the synagogue (O Ch 671 (7)).
On which side of the menora is it lit:
The person lighting faces south and the first candle is as ...
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Chanuka lighting: BeZman (at the best time) or Pirsumei Nissa (publicization of the miracle)?
Is it better to light candles at bezman, or later when there will be more pirsumei nissa? I find 4:30 (approx candlelighting time in NYC this year) to be too early to catch the regular "rush hour." Is ...
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We are Christian but have been invited to celebrate with friends tonight
We are invited to dinner tonight with some Jewish friends. I am excited that my six year old has such an opportunity to learn about another holiday, and the traditions taht accompany it. We've read ...
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“Prepare your Menora before Shabbat!”
In this recent "Halocho a Day" blog post, Danny Schoemann leads off with
This week, Shabbat is also Erev Chanuka; prepare your Menora before Shabbat!
This sounds like a nice idea for reducing ...
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First time lighting Chanuka candles is on second night
If one didn't light Chanuka candles until the second night, how many candles should he light?
According to the reason that we add a candle a night is "Maalin Bakodesh" (we always add in holiness), ...
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Fish Tank Menorahs
There are people who light in a Fish Tank Menorah among then Reb Eliyashiv and Reb Kanievsky arguably the two most prominent Halachic authorities in the world.
There is an inherent problem in that ...
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Why aren't Purim and Channuka considered a violation of לֹא תֹסִפוּ?
It says in Devarim 4;2:
לֹא תֹסִפוּ עַל הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ מִמֶּנּוּ לִשְׁמֹר אֶת מִצְוֹת יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם
...
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Possessions on a tree where Hung
In Maoz Tzur we say:
רֹב בָּנָיו וְקִנְיָנָיו עַל הָעֵץ תָּלִיתָ
Did we really hang his (Haman's) possessions on a tree?
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Are you yotzei by lighting candles through a grama?
Does one fulfill the mitzvah of lighting candles (sabbath or chanukah) if done by a grama (indirect action)? Example
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How to measure Menorah height
A menorah should preferably be within 10 tefachim from the ground (though higher than 3 tefachim). Are these ten tefachim measured to the base of the menorah, or to its top, or to the actual level of ...
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Are there mystical underpinnings to Maccabi?
One of the explanations I have heard for the title מכבי is that it is an acronym for the pasuk 'מִי-כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם ה (Shemos 15:11). Is there any reason, mystical or otherwise that that pasuk (or ...
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Chanukiyot inside or out?
Shabbat 22a says that the halacha is that we should place the chanukiyah outside, within a hand-breadth of the door, to the left. In Israel I've seen people do this, placing the chanukiyah in a glass ...
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Why is it called “Zos Chanukah”
Why is the eighth, and last, day of Chanukah called "Zos Chanukah" and what is it significance?
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Calculation methods for intermediate time of chanukah lighting
We know that there are those who light chanukah candles at sunset and other at tzeis but there are some poskim lighting between at an intermediate time, for example :
Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav ...
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Were the Books of Maccabees found in the Dead Sea Scrolls?
Were there copies of any of the Books of Maccabees (and/or Megillas Antiochus) found amongst in the Dead Sea Scrolls?
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Torah versus Chukei Ritzonecha
In Al Hannisim we say:
לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּורָתֶךָ וּלְהַעֲבִירָם מֵחֻקֵּי רְצונֶךָ
"To make them forget Your Torah and violate the decrees of Your will"
In this context what is the meaning of ...
