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Illuminations candles ritual1/22/2024 Click here to download a printable PDF of the Hanukkah candle blessings. The Blessingsīefore lighting the candles (but after placing them in the menorah), it is traditional to recite three blessings on the first night and then two on every night thereafter. There is no consensus among Ashkenazi rabbis, and the most widespread Sephardic custom is to recite havdalah first. As for Saturday night, the candles are lit after the sun goes down and Shabbat has ended, but there are differing opinions regarding whether the menorah should be lit before or after the havdalah rituals are completed. According to Jewish law, the menorah should be lit before the Shabbat candles on Friday evening while it is still light out. Lighting a fire during Shabbat is forbidden according to Jewish law, so there are slight adjustments to Hanukkah candle lighting on both Friday and Saturday nights. Since Hanukkah lasts for eight nights, the holiday will inevitably overlap with Shabbat at least once. Hanukkah candles are lit after sundown, when it is dark. (Think of it as lighting the candle representing the current night first.) In Sephardi communities, an extra candle - not part of the menorah - is used to light the candles that represent the nights, and then the shamash is lit last and the extra candle used for lighting is blown out. In Ashkenazi communities, the shamash candle is the first one lit, and it is used to light the others, starting with the left-most one. The blessings are said before the candles are lit. The candles are placed in the menorah from right to left (just as Hebrew is written from right to left), but are lit from left to right. Most boxes of Hanukkah candles contain 45. To complete the ritual on all eight nights with one menorah, you will need a total of 44 candles per menorah. Each night, another candle is added so that on the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, all nine candles (the shamash plus eight others) are lit. The first night’s candle is placed in the right-most spot. On the first of Hanukkah’s eight nights, only two candles are placed in the Hanukkah menorah: the shamash, or “helper” candle, which has its own designated spot (usually in the center), and another candle that designates it is the first night. This ninth spot is for the shamash, or helper candle, that is used to light the others. Your menorah should have eight spots for candles - one for each night - and an extra ninth spot that is at a different elevation. When is Hanukkah 2023? Get all the details on the holiday here.ġ932 photo of a menorah in a window in Kiel, Germany, bravely facing a Nazi banner.
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