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Category: Identity Celebrations

Celebrating and Honoring

Tags:  hanukkah

What Will I Need?

To keep Hanukkah in your house, you may want to begin with a traditional nine-branched Hanukkah menorah. It is a candelabrum with nine places for candles; the ninth place being set apart from the others. This special candle is called the shamash (servant) candle–it is used to light the other candles.

Such a menorah is called a hanukkiah. One additional light is usually lit on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah. Because you will be lighting an additional candle (or lamp) each night, you will need a total of 45 candles for the entire festival. (A hanukkiah can be purchased at any Jewish book or gift shop or ordered through FFOZ.)

Blessings before Lighting

According to common teachings in Judaism, the candles on the hanukkiah are lit just after sunset on each night of Hanukkah, except for Friday night. On Friday night, the candles are lit just before sunset because the Torah forbids kindling a fire on the Sabbath. Once lit, the hanukkiah is usually placed in a window facing the street so that it can radiate its light out to the world.

On the first night of Hanukkah, all three of the provided blessings are recited before lighting the hanukkiah. On all subsequent nights, only the first two of the blessings are recited.

Download a PDF card of the blessings here.

Lighting the Hanukkiah

On the first night, place a candle in the space for the shamash and a candle in the space on the far right hand side of the hanukkiah. Light the shamash, then use its flame to light the first candle before returning it to its slot. On each subsequent night, a new candle is added just to the left of the previous night's lights. On each night, begin by lighting the shamash, and then use it to light the candles on the hanukkiah. The candles are always lit from left to right. Here is an easy way to remem...

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© 2009 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, This material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission. Adapted from Light in the Darkness .

For more information about this issue, click here.

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