Which side of menorah to light first

Falls in the Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually corresponds with December. We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and bring you ads that might interest you. Join Our Newsletter Empower your Jewish discovery, daily. Sign Up. Discover More. Hanukkah Hanukkah From candle-lighting to Maccabees and latkes to dreidels.

This leads me to another debate that is not covered in the course: do we light the candles from right to left or left to right? Before we can answer that question, we need to decide whether to put the candles in the menorah from the right side or the left side.

I know. What difference does it make? There are lessons to be found in even the smallest details. For example, in Talmudic times two great sages—Rabbis Hillel and Shammai—debated whether to light one more candle for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah until the menorah was full, or to start with all eight candles and then light one less each night until the menorah was empty.

Shammai argued that we should light one less until the end of Hanukkah because that is what would have happened with the miracle of the oil burning for eight nights: the light would have become smaller each night until it went out. Hillel argued that by lighting one candle for each day of Hanukkah, we express the miracle of the lights that burned for eight days. Light brings hope, and reminds us to continue shining hope, faith, and good deeds into the darkest corners of our world.

The candle for the first night is put on the right side of hanukiyyah. Since these lights are holy, it is forbidden to make practical use of them; therefore, a special shamash servant candle is used to light the others. Join this growing community and explore interactive, meaningful and fun experiences that are easily accessible on the go or at home.

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