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Chanukah: Where to Light? - Rabbi Reuven Lauffer
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where you supposed to light your candles
right botanica that's what we're doing
where where are you supposed to light
your candles so the best place to light
your candles again i'm going to give you
that a lot of them will work out what
happens over here in the yeshiva because
of course in in a public place like this
it's not exactly the same as doing it at
home but the best place to like you shut
your chanukah candles is outside the
front door pointing towards the street
now if for example you have a you know
lots of homes for example I have a
garden at the front right so it would
actually be better to light your manner
if your menorah can't release be seen
that very well from the street it would
be better to actually light it at the
entrance to the you know to the gate
leading to the path that goes up to the
house rather than by the front door
right why is that because what we
mentioned before that the midst of
Chanukah is Pierre assuming Nyssa to
publicize the miracle so the more people
who can see the lights are better it is
now there might be a couple of practical
problems with that the first problem
might be that if you live in an area
where your light start lighting things
like that in public it may bring
unwanted you know unwanted attention to
you so then you can like you should like
the candles inside we'll talk about that
in a moment the other alternative that
might be a problem is that sometimes
people live in areas where they like
something like that outside by the
morning it would have disappeared so if
that's the case and you know it would be
best to light somewhere that's safer if
the Indian over here is just you know
you don't want to leave things like that
burning outside because you don't know
what the neighbors are going to say then
the best place to light the candles
would be in a window that faces the
street if you're living in an area it's
it you know it's interesting in Jewish
history lighting your chanukah lights
could sometimes be a very dangerous
thing to do right if you're going to
have them in public over there and
people are going to see non-jews are
going to see and then it might set off
like myself a program of some kind and I
you know we had a few years ago I mean
going
maybe maybe I can't never ten years
maybe there were a couple of guys from
Chicago believe it or not who said that
people you know he lived in a road where
there were Orthodox Jews that were
living over there and he said that the
Jews that the Jews are lit their maneras
outside their front doors so you know
people threw bricks through their
windows they had swastikas dogged on
their you know on their front doors so I
you like it doesn't sound it doesn't
sound very neighborly to me I mean maybe
that's why things are done in Chicago
i'm not sure but i don't know anyway so
the thing to do is if you are living in
an area where lighting or candles you
know it's not it's not great to light
your candles in public there are
probably places in Paris where it's it's
probably not better not to draw
attention to yourself right so then you
should light inside your house not next
to the window where's the best place to
light so the best place to light would
be next to the front door on the inside
all right if your honor you know you
want the you want the candles to be lit
but you don't want to be lit in such a
prominent way that it's going to draw
unwanted attention towards you so like
them next to your front door it's enough
that there are people in the house that
are seeing the candles being lit and
there's your peer something it's a your
publicizing the miracle when you when
you light your candles next to the front
door so there's a very beautiful halacha
which says that you should light the
candles on the left hand side right why
is that because on the right hand side
you have a mezuzah and on the left hand
side you'll have the menorah and that
way when you go in and out of the door
you're going to be surrounded by
mitzvahs I don't detect it walking in
right on the left and walking video of
course if you're I'm sorry if you're if
you're lighting your Hanukkah candles on
the inside
those apps which bit from where after
you said important it's important to
publicize sometimes a vehicle say where
are you I'm sorry yeah let's go back
when you're when you're lighting your
candles on the outside of your front
door so you should like them on the
left-hand side of the door right and
again why is that because you've got the
Mozilla on the right-hand side and then
you'll have the menorah on the left-hand
side and you're going to be surrounded
by mitzvahs when you light the menorah
inside your house next to the front door
so then you should light the candles on
the light on the right-hand side because
obviously you want to have the buzzers
are on the other side that way you're
going to be surrounded again here in
Israel lots of people the majority
people live in apartment blocks all
right where are you supposed to light
your menorah when you're living in an
apartment block what's the problem if I
light outside my thigh here for example
i live on the seventh floor right and if
I light my candles outside my front door
that no one's really going to see it
because nobody's coming up to the
seventh floor and that's that and that's
their coming to see me right which I
can't imagine why they would do that and
if they do is probably not something I
want to see so therefore what what
there's no public no publicizing the
miracles what we do is that we light the
Chanukah candles actually using the
kitchen window which points back and
there are apartments behind us so the
people in the apartments behind us can
see the kanaka lights we can see them
inside the apartment as well of course
and that way we get to fulfill the
mitzvot the problem is if we were to
light them at the front the window out
of the front of the apartment we're so
high up that it's not so simple to see
these things from down below which means
that the pizza mean it's the publicizing
miracle is not going to be there what
happens over here in the yeshiva so
first of all it is completely and
absolutely forbidden to light your
menorah in your bedroom not for how
laughs it reasons whatsoever simply
because the yeshiva has not been paying
its fire insurance policy over the last
of the while and
you don't want to burn the place down
it's just you know practical practical
stuff where where the people in the
yeshiva light their candles so the
majority of the people are probably like
them in the huddle huddle has got a
whole bank of windows that point out
into the street so that's perfectly a
good a perfectly good place I'm sure
that there'll be a lot of people are
going to light their candles also up you
know up the stairs right coming into the
part where it's whether the gate is
locked over there because that's also
you know a nice open space where this
all there's no danger or setting
anything on fire and secondly its seen
by the street so it's a it's a very good
place to be lighting your candles over
here in Israel you combine menards that
most of them are very cheap now let and
actually gonna go off the way saw
something very ornate right but you know
you could just buy sort of like simple
metal things that can take all different
kinds of candles or oil depending on
what it is that you want to what you
want to use and you know it this whole
thing this whole thing will probably set
you back you know maybe thirty shekels
if you're going to somebody for shabbos
you've got two options you can either
take your menorah apparatus with you
right bless you add the sweet although
all the paraphernalia you can take it
with you or I think that kind of
provision is but you could you could
give a you know symbolic amount of money
to your host okay right shove a printer
which is you know what like I said half
a shekel maybe and that way you could
you can then become a partner inside of
his candle lighting and that means that
you're fulfilling your obligation if
you're going if you're going away for
shabbos that probably makes more sense i
would have thought unless you unless you
want to you know take it with your hosts
will be very happy to add your menorah
into their menorahs in order to allow
you to fulfill the mid stroke that's
what you want to do the menorah itself
when it's placed it shouldn't be too
high and it shouldn't be too low to high
is you know we're talking about 3 to 14
which is about 12 inches you should try
to if it's more than 20 hours witches
which is quite a quite a quite a height
but nevertheless if it's more than 20
hours then you can
to fill the bitter because people can't
see the the watchman corner I can't see
the light now in every menorah that you
buy em it's a sham I hope there will be
eight lights eight places for the
candles and then another place as well
for an extra candle that extra candle is
called eight shamash the word shamash
needs to serve right LeSean eshe you
know shawl sometimes have a shaman he's
the one who makes sure that everything
is running smoothly the word for the Sun
in Hebrew is a shemesh because it serves
God continuously in a very obvious
fashion and the shamash is there to
serve the other light what's the problem
the problem is that the Chanukah lights
can't be used for anything you can't get
any benefit from them which means you
can't get benefit you can't read from
the light you can't toast marshmallows
on them you can't do anything with them
they're just there in order to fulfill
the mitzvot and that's what you're
supposed to be concentrating one that's
what's supposed to be important for you
what's the problem the problem is that
the kanaka lights are going to give
light by definition right once you've
lit them they're going to be strangely
enough a light and therefore they're
giving off light in the room and that
could be a problem because now you're
getting benefit from the light that's
being given so along come the idea of
adding an extra candle called the
shamash and the candle is there to give
its light as well the shamash candle
light mingles together with the other
light and then it's less problematic to
get some kind of benefit right so if you
don't have a show mesh if you don't have
a shalosh burning over there you don't
have a sham is burning then it's going
to be a problem to be looking at the
candles and getting benefit from the
candles and all some people use their
showmanship orders like the other
candles as well right so let's say for
example on the on the the second night
you know what on the fifth night you
could use a match but you need a pretty
long match to be able to light all those
candles off in one go so people use the
shamash and again whatever whatever you
do it's going to be fine when you buy
your boxes of candles they're going to
come with 44 can
was in then 36 are for the the candles
that are needed for the 1 + 2 + 3 until
you get to plus 8 and the the
watchamacallit the shamash you're going
to get another 81 shemesh for each day
and i can say the shamash is pretty it's
pretty important ok when you come to
light the candles you should endeavor to
light all the candles by yourself right
so you're if you're you know i'm not
saying is clearly but let's say you know
the sixth night of chanukah there's a
lot of candles that need to be lit then
you should really make sure that your
lighting all the candles unless you've
got to rush to do another Mitzvah so for
example you've got to rush to go to
daven you have done yet then you know
then you can let somebody else take over
the the you're fulfilling the obligation
in its simplest form right the
obligation is being fulfilled through
lighting one candle we spoke about that
yesterday we'll talk about the Broca's
of insertion soon but how do you like if
you like you like make the broth and you
like like one candle you fulfilled your
obligation somebody else can I take over
in order to let you perform a different
a different lid too if needs be right
but preferably the best thing to do is
to allow is to give yourself enough time
to be able to do this now this is
important for error of showers Eric
Chavez's a little air of chávez's if
there's a lot to do in a very limited
amount of time arrows Chavez can occur
is one of the shortest air of Chavez's
of the year right Chavez's going to come
in very early what do we say we spoke
around around around four o'clock maybe
even a few minutes before four o'clock
just start getting rid oh yeah after
December the 21st no think so it started
a five or six after that it will eat
each week it will become later right so
but only only by a few minutes so let's
say for example Chavez is a four o'clock
then the next week it will be at 40 you
know 405 and the week after that for 10
and then at some point of course i'll
change the clocks and then the the
difference will be enormous yeah but
that's over here in israel right in in
in other countries the difference is
from week to week a very and actually
very marked a very big so for example in
London in the summer for example in
London you can have a 20-minute
difference between one showers to the
nexus because it's been determined by
the Sun setting right and as a summer
days get longer right so you've got more
time until the Sun sets and that gives
you you know along a long a day then you
had the week before and that means that
instead of Shub is coming in at whatever
instead of it coming in at let's say at
eight-thirty it's going to come in the
next week at quarter tonight instead so
something you know you get calendars
that have all the times in them and you
have to you know follow the times to
make sure that you're doing things
correctly in all in all events right on
erev shabbos you've got to you've got to
get your shabbos has got to be got ready
that can occur candles have to be lit
the Shabbos candles have to be led and
you've got some linker so what most
people will do an arrow shabbos is that
a government or early just to give
themselves a little bit more time
because you know it really it really is
tight and time wise it really is tight
so what you'll probably find is over
here in the yeshiva for example they'll
have an early man early Miniver or maybe
even too early miniatures right at some
point and they're there for your
convenience right just to make sure you
can get this all done in time otherwise
it really is a problem some places have
some shoes have a minyan early familiar
and then the other minyan at the regular
time for minister and if you know then
you've got to squeeze everything in and
go rushing off to shore whatever you'll
do the best that you can right okay no
one one one more halacha for today and
the nura's come in all different kinds
of sizes and shapes as well and some
menorahs come they have a back to them
right so they're here they look they
look like that right and the candles be
at the front and the back it's like a
decorative thing if you've got an vanora
that looks like that how are you
supposed to light it hit the problem if
I if I light it like this so that the
people in the house get to see it get to
see the candles then the people in the
street can't see the candles if I light
it fly
this so that the lights are facing the
street then the people in the house
can't get see the candles so because of
the halacha appear assuming Nyssa of
publicizing the miracle it's better that
the lights face the street the more
people that can see it the better it's
going to be however my son-in-law showed
me a little a little idea which is
really very simple and makes you wonder
how come you never thought about it
yourself but if you if you light your
candle if you if you light it like this
at an angle that way the people in the
house can see the candles and the people
in the street can see the candles as
well and maybe maybe that's an even
better way of lighting the candles
because that way you're publicizing the
miracle to everybody out and in as well
the other menorahs are less complicated
if you don't know this doesn't have a
back right then you don't have to worry
about anything because it can be seen
from both sides and interestingly enough
there's even a locker that two people
can share one the Noah at the beginning
of Hanukkah so you can like on one side
they can light on the other side and the
next day like that on the third day then
when you get to the full stats of
problem because if everybody's lighting
for candles then the whole tomorrow is
being used and it looks like it's the
eighth day when it's not the AIDS Day
which means that for the first three
days you can share the menorah itself
with somebody else using your own each
one using their own candles because
there'll be a gap between the two sides
by the fourth day you can't do that
anymore and you'll have to share in a
different way altogether