QUESTION: Can you tell me something about when one lights a menorah on Friday night, especially with Shabbat being so early? Also exactly when does one light the Chanukah menorah on Saturday night at the end of Shabbat?
ANSWER: On the Friday night of Chanukah, this year Dec. 23, we always make sure that we light the Chanukah candles before sundown and before the Sabbath candles are lit. It is better not to light the Chanukah candles at all on Friday night than to light them after dark, which is a violation of the Sabbath laws. On Saturday night, Dec. 24, any time after Havdalah after dark, it is permissible to light the Chanukah menorah (chanukiah).
Jewish law requires that on every night of Chanukah, the candles must burn at least one half hour after dark. Since on Friday night we must light the Chanukah candles before Sabbath candlelighting (4:43 p.m.), it is traditional to use larger candles such as Shabbat candles or tall tapers for the chanukiah itself. For Chanukah, one might light either an oil or a candle menorah, the only requirement being that whichever type of light is used, that it be clear and bright.
There has been a great deal of discussion as to the use of an electric chanukiah. Since it is not definite as to whether or not an electric menorah fulfills the obligation of the lighting of Chanukah lights, it is best to avoid the use of such a chanukiah, except for purely decorative purposes.
In general, on a weekday night other than Sabbath night, the Chanukah candles are to be lit approximately at dark. If, however, one is not at home or this time is inconvenient, they can be lit at any time during the entire night. If one has to leave home prior to dark and may not return for the rest of the evening, the Chanukah candles may be lit about an hour before dark, provided that Chanukah lights will burn for a short period of time after dark.
On the first night of Chanukah, which was Tuesday, Dec. 20, three blessings below are recited immediately prior to the lighting of the candles (not while lighting them). On all other nights, we recite only the first two blessings.
Chanukah candles are placed from the right to left side until finally on the eighth night the chanukiah is full. We light the newest candle first; therefore, we always begin by kindling the candle at the left and proceed toward the right.
The Chanukah candles are to be lit simply for religious reasons and are not to be used for any secular purposes such as lighting other objects, reading lights, etc. However, this limited use of the light applies only during the first half hour of their burning. The rabbis of old determined that the required burning time of a Chanukah candle is one half hour, and after that time, they may be used for any other purpose or even extinguished.
It is customary to place the chanukiah in the window of one’s home, on the main table around which the family gathers, near the door, or any place where lighting of the candles will become a public event.
