The candles or wicks should be placed in a straight row, and even that is, none being higher or lower than the others, none receding or protruding, and none in a circle.

Every evening of the holiday, the proper number of candles, or wicks suspended in oil, preferably olive oil, as was used in the Temple, are prepared and placed in the Menorah from right to left – with today’s flame being the last one set up. Candles made of wax or paraffin are also permitted.Įach Menorah should be owned and prepared by the person who will light it, children too. All other oils and wicks are also permissible purity of the light and lack of flickering are the most important characteristics. The preferred way to perform the ‘mitzvah,’ or commandment, of lighting the Chanukah lamps is with pure olive oil and cotton wicks, since their light is pure, and it recalls the light of the Golden Menorah in the Temple which was lit with pure olive oil. Students and singles who live in dormitories or their own apartments should kindle Menorahs in their own rooms unless otherwise instructed by the security services of their respective institutions. To read about the special role of women, check out “It’s a Woman Thing.” Each member of the family, all generations and all genders, should be encouraged to purchase, prepare and light their own Menorah. All members of the family should gather and be present at the kindling of the Chanukah lights. In the following paragraphs, we will try to give some of the answers, as they have been adopted and accepted by Jews for generations.Īs with all Jewish holidays, Chanukah is a festival best shared with family. These are but a few of the many issues that are raised each year as the Holiday of Lights, Chanukah, approaches. Learn more about the disagreements between Hillel and Shammai.īut what materials can be used as the source of the flame? How are they to be placed in the Menorah? From which side, left or right, is the lighting of the flames begun? Where should the Menorah be placed? Who should do the lighting? In the democratic spirit of the Talmud, the question was voted upon by the colleagues of Hillel and Shammai, and Hillel’s opinion prevailed thereby establishing our present practice of lighting, from one to eight. Shammai held the reverse opinion namely, on the first night, light eight lights, and proceed, diminishing the number of lights by one each night, to just one light on the final night of Chanukah.

Hillel said that on the first night we light one, on the second, two, and so on, till eight on the eighth night. In fact, it was one of the famous “machlokot,” or disagreements, between two of the greatest wise men of Israel, Hillel and Shammai, as recorded in the Talmud, in Masechet Shabbat 21b. The menorah faces the street, the Rebbe notes, and so by passers immediately feel “the effect of the light, which illuminates the outside and the environment.” In the half-century since, the Rebbe’s campaign has brought Hanukkah into the mainstream and altered awareness and practice of the festival, returning what some mistakenly dismissed as a minor holiday to its roots as a public proclamation of the triumph of freedom over oppression and a mainstay of Jewish cultural and religious life.The Jewish tradition is that on the first night of Chanukah one flame is lit, on the second night two, and so on until the eighth night when eight flames are lit.Īctually, the question of whether to begin the lighting with one flame and proceed, adding one each night, to eight on the final, the eighth, night of Chanukah or do just the opposite, begin with eight and end with one, was a matter of dispute. Schneerson, of righteous memory, launched the Chanukah awareness campaign in 1973, of which Bangor’s public Hanukkah activities are a part of. It was to encourage this profound idea that the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. The public Chanukah celebration is about sharing this light and joy with the broader community and the entire Northern Maine.”Ĭhanukah emphasizes that each and every individual has the unique power to illuminate the entire world. “Everyone is especially excited about Hanukkah this year,” said Rabbi Wilansky “People are preparing to celebrate with family and friends, to fill their homes with the light of Chanukah, and there’s a palpable joy. Complimentary Hanukkah menorahs and candles will be distributed as well for participants to light at home. The event will feature a juggler, music, latkes, and donuts.

30 at 5:30 p.m., the third night of the eight-day Festival of Lights. BANGOR - Chabad of Bangor will light a 9-foot public Chanukah menorah at Peirce Park on Tuesday, Nov.

Light my menorah