Each night, before lighting the Chanukah candles, you light an additional candle called the ‘Shamash’. The actual Chanukah candles are lit with the Shamash. On the rst night you light one candle. The candle is the one furthest to the right as you look out the window, (and furthest to the left if you were outside the window looking in). On the second night you add a second candle. You light the one you lit the rst night, plus the one next to it, lighting the new one rst. Follow the same procedure every night.

After lighting the Shamash, but prior to lighting the Chanukah candles, the blessings are recited. Each night two blessings are recited. On the rst night a third blessing is added. After lighting it is customary to sing “Rock of Ages/Maot Tzur”. The blessings and “Rock of Ages” are reproduced in Appendix F.

When to Light

The candles may be lit from the time it gets dark until there are people awake to see the lit menorah (either outside or inside). The ideal time to light is the rst minute you are allowed to because this demonstrates our love for doing mitzvot. However, waiting for a family member to return home and participate in this joyous mitzvah as a family trumps doing it at the earliest time. Note; on Friday night the candles are lit much earlier, before the Shabbat candles, because lighting on Shabbat is not permitted. Ordinarily, a candle that lasts 30 minutes is suf cient. On Friday nights longer lasting candles are required.

Where to Light

The reason we light the Chanukah menorah is to commemorate and publicize the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days. Since we are bid to publicize the miracle, the best places to light are the places where people will see the candles, in front of a window that faces the street,
or in the doorway to your home. (In Israel many people actually light outside).