Questions tagged [menora-chanukia]

A 9-branched candelabrum lit by Jews during the holiday of Chanukah. (Distinct from the 7-branched gold candelabrum that was lit in the Jewish Temple.)

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Is there an imperative to have a fancy menorah?

Is it considered a meritorious practice to have a fancy/expensive/large menorah? Normally the imperative to beautify mitzvos is related to the mitzvah item itself (e.g. talis, tefillin, esrog), so ...
not-allowed to change my name's user avatar
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744 views

What may a menorah look like?

I'm designing a menorah to build for next Channukah. Are there anything about the Law on how a menorah should look, other than that it holds 9 candles? Must it exactly resemble the traditional ...
eternalsquire's user avatar
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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, potatoes,...
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Do I need a menorah?

It's been common practice for a very long time (perhaps as early as 60 years after the Chanukah miracle) to use a menorah (aka "chanukiyah") to light the Chanukah candles with. Do I need a menorah to ...
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14 votes
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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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6 votes
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Source for not referring to Chanuka lights as a "menora"

Following up on this question about the use of the words "menora" or "chanukiya" to refer to Chanuka lights: I find it interesting that the use of "chanukiya," popularized in 1897 through a secular ...
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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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Fill m'nora in order?

I know that (at least when lighting at a window), one lights the Chanuka m'nora from left to right: the new lamp first and rightward from there. I've seen people careful to fill them with oil (or ...
msh210's user avatar
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Could the minhag of lighting menorah in Shuls have developed from when guests would stay in Shul?

Could the minhag (=custom) of lighting menorah in synagogues have developed from when guests would stay in the synagogue? Does anyone bring this as a source for the minhag? If so, would it not apply ...
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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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How old is the chanukiyah?

Another question asks about the differentiation between the words "chanukiyah" and "menorah" when referring to the special 8-branched (+1) candelabra for Chanukah. An answer there suggests: All of ...
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Different miracle-publicization strategies on Chanuka and Purim

There are two commandments during the year that are explicitly associated with "publicizing the miracle" ("פירסומי ניסא"): lighting Chanuka candles and reading Megilat Esther on Purim. These are the ...
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Alarm clock in place of a shomer

There is an idea that one can an appoint a shomer (guard) to daven maariv (shma) and some achronim extend this idea to lighting the menorah. What this does is allows one to do work and eat something ...
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Chanukiah location

What it the ideal place to put a chanukiah for lighting? Is it better to put it in the window, outside or inside? Does it depend on where you live?
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Whence the minhag to light in shul by day?

In pretty much every shul and yeshiva I've been in has lit Chanukah candles by shacharis, the same number of candles that were lit the night before. What is the source for this custom, and why is it ...
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Electric Menorah

Are electric menorahs good for lighting on Chanukah? To remove some of the more obvious issues, let's assume that: It runs on batteries It's an incandescent bulb There are separate physical switches ...
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Chanukiyah height restriction and modern architecture?

I have learned that, to publicize the miracle, the Chanukah candles must be within 20 amot of the ground. Yet when I was in Jerusalem during Chanukah some years ago, I saw chanukiyot in windows of ...
Monica Cellio's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
272 views

Blindness and Lighting Menorah

Are the Blind responsible to light the Menorah on Chanukah?
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2 answers
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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 ...
Dave's user avatar
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Why do we light Chanukah candles in the shul?

Talmud Shabbat (I think it's around p. 21a) says that the mitzvah of lighting candles is in one's home. I did not see any mention, there, of a requirement to light in the shul. So, a few questions: ...
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What's the best way to make wick-and-oil work for Chanukah?

I've tried lots of fancy fluffy cotton wicks that just burn out. Some people have those little metal holder-thingies to keep the wick in place; some use bobby pins as holder thingies. If your oil ...
Shalom's user avatar
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8 votes
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Is it true that it is 'Hiddur Mitzvah' to have the Hanukkah lights stay lit for longer?

Does it make a difference if the Hanukkah lights are lit for an hour or an hour and a half? Is it more of a 'Hiddur Mitzvah'?
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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 do you get oil residue off of a menora?

When you light olive oil in a metal menora, some of the oil invariably finds its way into the cracks between parts of the menora. How do you remove this residue?
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7 votes
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Defining residence for purpose of candle lighting

Do you light Shabbat or Channuka candles in the place where you sleep/dwell or in the place where you will be spending the evening? Does it make a difference if you are going to be sleeping out of ...
Avi Zuber's user avatar
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1 answer
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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 the ...
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6 votes
1 answer
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Third blessing on the second night of Channukah

If someone didn't light Channukah lights on the first night, does he/she then say the third blessing (Sh'hecheyunu) on the next night?
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What should one do if the shamash burns away before the other candles?

One important reason to keep a shamash candle burning in a hanukkiah is because Hanukkah candles are not supposed to be used except for fufilling the mitzvah. The shamash candle allows one to use its ...
Mike's user avatar
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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 ...
Charles Koppelman's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
216 views

When did the practice of lighting flames for Chanuka begin?

It seems clear from the G'mara that the institution of Chanuka as a holiday began the year immediately following the seminal story - with praising of God and commemorating miracles, but there is no ...
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Glass boxes and Hadlaka Oseh Mitzvah [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Fish Tank Menorahs I think this is a familiar question, but since I don't have an answer, I'll ask it here. Since the halacha is that Hadlaka Oseh Mitzva (the conditions at ...
Mark's user avatar
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4 votes
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Edible oil for menorah

Is there any halachic benefit or hiddur to using an edible fuel for menorah? ( I think those premade menorahs use a olive oil that most people would find disgusting and inedible.)
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When to light the Shamash when lighting Menorah?

When lighting my Menora, saying the relevant Brachot, and lighting the Shamash, what order should I follow? I think the best way is: 1. Shamash 2. Brachot 3. Chanukah-Lights But someone said, the ...
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Lit the menorah at my mother's home, then again at my home. Which brachot are said?

Note: This is related to Lighting the menora in shul and at home. How many brochos need be said?, except that in that case one of the occasions involved a minyan, and the explanation offered in ...
mweiss's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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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? I can think of two options: The person lighting faces south ...
Avrohom Yitzchok's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
172 views

Has there been a discussion of changing the maximum height in halacha?

In halacha certain things are considered invalid because the exceed the maximum height which people will notice, 20 amos (menorah, sukkah, korah). In modern times many (most?) people live in areas ...
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3 votes
1 answer
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Hidden Meaning in "Oyfn Pripetshik"

There is a certain Yiddish lullaby called "Oyfn Pripetshik," which was written by Mark Warshawsky in the late 1800s. Here you can see the lyrics in the original Yiddish with no translation, ...
ezra's user avatar
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2 votes
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If צאת is late, then פלג is late. When does one light the מנורה on Friday?

One cannot light the Chanuka lights before p'lag hamincha (Shulchan Aruch 672:1), not even on Friday evening (Mishna B'rura 679:2). If he did so, his lighting is invalid (Shaar Hatziyun 672:4). P'lag ...
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2 votes
1 answer
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Is there a problem with two people lighting a double chanukiah?

Is there a problem with two people lighting from a chanukiah that has two Shamashes and 16 candles? Say, Shamash, 8 candles, Shamash, 8 candles, all on one structure?
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Lighting Chanukah candles in a shul without minimum candle staying time

Mishnah Berurah par. 4 on O.C. 572:1 says that the Chanukah candles should stay lit a minimum of 1/2 hour. Besides the main mitzvah to light at home, there is a separate one to light in shul, and one ...
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2 votes
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Should you extinguish Chanukah candles that are still lit the next night?

If someone lit Chanukah candles with enough oil/wax to last more than 24 hours and now wants to light the same Hanukiah the next day with the original candle still burning what would the proper action ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
192 views

Clarification on "use" of Chanukah candles

In the Haneirot Halalu paragraph, said by many, after lighting the Chanukah candles, there is a phrase stating "we are not permitted to use them". I also understand that the candles must stay lit for ...
DanF's user avatar
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Can/should one undo a miracle?

Partially based on this question and answer If a person experiences a miracle related to a mitzvah, for example a Chanukah candle is lit with only enough oil to last one hour and it miraculously ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar
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Where's the eighth miracle? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Beis Yosef Question Inspired by this question. If the sealed jug of oil that they found had enough to light the Menorah for one day, then there were only seven miraculous ...
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