![light my menorah light my menorah](https://www.myjewishlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/hanukkah-lighting-menorah-cropped.jpg)
In fact, it wasn’t really Hanukkah for me until I walked outside and, looking at the lit menorah emanating from my own window, affirmed that we had arrived to this time once again. Saying the blessings and lighting the candles is a mitzvah, according to the Talmud, and by doing so, we were also recognizing the blessing of our freedom of religion and expressing our Jewish identity. We’ve proudly placed our menorahs - whether lit by candle or by bulb - in our front windows, publicizing the miracle of the holiday both to our neighbors and ourselves. Hanukkah postage stamp depicting a lit menorah in a window was an unexpected source of inspiration.įor 17 years we’ve lived on a block where there are no other Jewish families. Though Hanukkah represents a victory of light over darkness - by the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, which resulted in the rededication of the Second Temple - recent events were causing me to rethink our window menorah lighting, turning me toward sharing our menorah kindling with only family and friends.īut, surprisingly, like finding an extra Hanukkah candle in the box, a new U.S.
LIGHT MY MENORAH WINDOWS
As I pictured our menorahs burning in their usual place - the front windows of our home - a warning light began to blink. This book is a wonderful story of love and community for younger children.LOS ANGELES ( JTA) - In the weeks before Hanukkah, with anticipation of the holiday brightly filling my mind, the darkening news of rising anti-Semitism in the U.S. There is also a beautiful contemporary book called The Christmas Menorah, which tells the true story of the entire Town of Billings, Montana displaying Menorahs in their own windows, Jews and non-Jews alike, in a show of solidarity for a Jewish family whose house was attacked in a hate crime. There is an interesting discussion in the Talmud about displaying the lit Menorah just as the people are finished shopping in the marketplace (Shabbat 21b) in order to publicize the celebration of Hanukkah as fully as possible. It is customary to place the Menorah in the window to proudly and publicly celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah. This is because lighting the Shabbat candles signifies the beginning of the “Day of Rest” on which one does not traditionally kindle a fire. On the Friday night of Hanukkah, it is customary to light the Hanukkah candles before the Shabbat candles. The reason for this order is because the House of Hillel believed that the splendor of the holiday should expand each night by lighting more candles until you ultimately light all eight night candles on the final night. The last night is most magical because you enjoy the illumination of all of the candles.
![light my menorah light my menorah](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8e/ff/4a/8eff4aa114afd360f26288cab62f0b17.jpg)
When you light the candles, you light the shamash and then use the shamash to light the left-most candle first and then the second one to the right, and finally the third candle to the far right. On the third night, you place a candle on the far right, and then you place a second candle to the left of the right-most candle, you place a third candle to the left of the second candle. When you light the candles, you light the shamash and then use the shamash to light the left-most candle first and then the second one to the right. On the second night, you place a candle on the far right, and then you place a second candle to the left of the right-most candle. You light the shamash and then use the shamash to light the remaining candle. On the first night, you place a candle on the far right of the menorah. The other candles are then lit on each night, from left to right (as you face the Menorah). The other candles should not be lit directly with the match. When you light the candles, the Shamash is the first candle to be lit.
![light my menorah light my menorah](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ufE-gWhEi8w/maxresdefault.jpg)
The candles are placed in the menorah from right to left (as you face the menorah). Hanukkah thus provides us with an opportunity for an inclusive celebration with the lighting of the Menorah. The Talmud actually teaches that the mitzvah (commandment) is enhanced when more members of a family participate in the mitzvah of lighting the Menorah (Shabbat 21:B). In others, it is the mother or the children. In some families, it is traditionally the father who lights the Menorah. It is a wonderful tradition for each child to have his or her own Menorah, a family heirloom, a new purchase - or homemade. However, the more candles we light, the better! In fact, the ancient rabbis teach us that we add to the mitzvah (commandment) by lighting multiple Menorahs. Every household needs at least one Menorah.