The blessings over the Chanukah lights

A blessing just for watching

The Gemara (the Talmud, the written record of the rabbis' debates) says a person who sees a Chanukah light must bless too. On the first night, the one who only watches says two blessings and the one who lights says three. Rashi (the great medieval commentator, who died in 1105) pictures someone walking through the market who spots a menorah in a courtyard. The Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law) applies this to a person who did not light, will not light that night, and has no one lighting for them at home.

The blessing proves what the mitzvah is

Is the mitzvah to light the menorah, or to set it in place? One proof is the blessing itself. We say "to light," so the lighting is what counts. If someone who is not obligated in mitzvot lights it, such as a small child, the Gemara says he "did nothing at all." The Shulchan Aruch adds that this holds even if an adult then sets it down. It also mentions an opinion that allows a child old enough to be trained. The Rema (notes for Ashkenazi Jews) adds that where each person lights, such a child should too.

Bless first, then light

The Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles of Krakow, whose notes on the Shulchan Aruch are the standard for Ashkenazi Jews) writes: say all the blessings before you begin to light. He is following the Maharil, a German rabbi who died in 1427. This fits a rule in the Gemara: you bless over a mitzvah before you do it. So even on the first night, all three blessings come first, and only then the first flame.

Sell your clothes for oil

The Rambam (Maimonides, a great medieval scholar and doctor who died in 1204) calls the Chanukah light extremely dear. He writes that even a person with nothing to eat except charity should ask for help or sell his clothes, buy oil and lamps, and light. His reason is to make the miracle known and to thank God for it.

One more light each night

The Gemara says the basic mitzvah is one light a night for the household. The more careful light one for each person, and the most careful change the number every night. Beit Hillel (the school of the sage Hillel) says start with one and add. Beit Shammai says start with eight and go down. One reason for Beit Hillel: in holy things you go up, never down. The Shulchan Aruch says to bless over the newest light, since it shows the miracle growing.

Seven is nature. Eight is above it.

The Maharal (Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague, a great Jewish thinker who died in 1609) explains why the oil lasted eight days. The world was made in seven days, so seven is the number of nature. What is above nature comes after seven, on the eighth. His example: by nature a baby is born uncircumcised, and brit milah, which goes beyond nature, is on day eight. He ties the oil to the Holy of Holies, where the Greeks had no power. Now think about the eight nights again.

הנהגת עולם הטבע הוא תחת מספר ז', כי בז' ימים נברא העולם הזה הטבעי. ולפיכך מה שאחר הטבע הוא תחת מספר שמונה

A miracle inside time

Kedushat Levi (by Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, a great Chassidic master who died in 1809) looks at the end of the blessing: "in this time." The miracles of Egypt, the sea, and the Jordan were above time and above nature, he says. Chanukah and Purim happened inside nature. The Hasmoneans (the Maccabees) fought a war, and on Purim Esther was queen. So the blessing says that inside time, inside this world, God made miracles, and it was all from Him.

כל הניסים היו למעלה מהזמן כמו ניסי מצרים וים סוף וירדן... מה שאין כן נס חנוכה ופורים היה בתוך הטבע

Chanukah is the holiday of sight

Kedushat Levi pairs three holidays with three things a person does. On Chanukah it is sight: the mitzvah is done with lights, and lights, he says, are about seeing. He writes that on Chanukah the people of Israel see the good with their minds. On Purim it is speech: you read the Megillah. On Pesach it is action: you eat matzah. Now look at the lights again.

רק בחנוכה ישראל רואין הטובה בשכל והוא במחשבה... ולכך בחנוכה בנרות כי הוא לשון ראיה ואחר כן פורים הוא הדיבור כי קורין את המגילה ובפסח הוא במעשה שאוכל מצה

When the fire is gone, do it anyway

The Gemara (Shabbat 22b) asks which act makes the mitzvah: lighting the lamp, or setting it in its place. Kedushat Levi says both views are "words of the living God." Lighting is the ideal: doing the mitzvah on fire, with real longing. Setting it down is for times when a person has fallen from his level and the high feeling is gone. Then he must not skip the mitzvah. He does it anyway, even without the fire.

הדלקה עושה מצוה, פירוש שלכתחלה צריך האדם לעשות המצוה בהדלקה ובהתלהבות בתשוקה נפלאה... לא ימנע מלעשות המצוה חס ושלום, אלא יעשה בהנחה, פירוש גם בלי התלהבות

Which blessings do I say, and on which night?

Night one: three. Lehadlik ner Chanukah (to light the Chanukah light), she'asa nisim (who did miracles), and Shehecheyanu. Every night after: the first two. The Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law) rules this, and it comes from the Gemara (the Talmud's discussion of the law). The Story section explains why Shehecheyanu is the one that drops.

I forgot to bless before I lit. Can I still?

Forgot Shehecheyanu on night one: say it on night two, or when you remember (Shulchan Aruch). The Mishnah Berurah (a law commentary, about 1900): that means while lighting on a later night; once you have lit, skip it that night. Say all blessings first, since a blessing comes before the act (the Rema, Ashkenazi notes on the Shulchan Aruch). Forgot, but some candles are unlit: say them all. All lit: skip lehadlik, but say she'asa nisim (and on night one Shehecheyanu). Both from Rabbi Akiva Eiger (died 1837).

My friend says "ner shel Chanukah." Who is right?

Both have a source. The Gemara says "ner shel Chanukah," and the Mishnah Berurah says every law authority has it that way. The Kaf HaChaim (a law commentary written in Jerusalem in the early 1900s) says "ner Chanukah," as printed here, is the more precise wording and the wording of the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the great teacher of Kabbalah in Tzfat, 1500s). One reason it gives: you may not use the Chanukah light, so the words show it is only for the mitzvah.

When do I light?

At night, from the end of sunset. The Gemara's window: sunset until the marketplace empties, about half an hour (Shulchan Aruch). Missed it? You can light all night. The Mishnah Berurah reads "end of sunset" as when the stars come out; many earlier authorities meant about 15 minutes sooner. If you pray Maariv (evening prayer) later, it says light first, like the Vilna Gaon (1700s), and make them last half an hour past the stars. Stars out, not lit: pray first. Friday: light early, Chanukah before Shabbat candles.

Which candle do I light first?

The newest one. Night one: the rightmost candle. Night two: add a candle on the left, say the blessings, light the new one first, then turn right and light the older one. Every night you start with the newest, because the added candle stands for the miracle growing (Shulchan Aruch). The Mishnah Berurah says you turn right because the sages taught that any turn you make should be to the right. It also records a view that a menorah by a door starts with the candle nearest the door, and says either way is fine.

Do girls light and bless?

Yes. The Gemara says women are obligated in the Chanukah lights, because they too were part of that miracle, and the Shulchan Aruch rules that a woman lights. Where each person lights their own, the Mishnah Berurah quotes one authority who says a woman need not light, but may, and then she blesses. If no man is home, she lights, with the blessing.

I'm at school, camp, or a friend's house. Do I light?

A guest is obligated too (Gemara). The Shulchan Aruch: a guest for whom no one lights at home pays the host a perutah (a tiny coin) to share in the oil. The Rema: since we now light indoors, some say you light where you eat, and that became the custom. The Mishnah Berurah says students away from home must at least share in the oil, unless they eat regularly at the host's table. It is better to light your own, even one candle. Blessing: yes if no one lights for you at home; if you know they do, some say no.