So this video is how to light the Hanukkah Menora and why? Why do we do it that way?
First of all, how to light it? So, this is the way a Menora would be facing you to your right. This is not on my left but it would be to my right if i am lighting it. Go to your right and then this is the Shamash candle. It's always, usally a little bit higher around the end. In the first night, we light one and then the second night, we put a new one in and then we light the new candle first and then the old candle, which is obviously been replaced but the first--, we lite the candle second day candle first and the first day. Then the third day, we lite the third candle, the second candle and then the first candle, always with the Shamash. Now, I will tell you why in just a minute but first, I want to sing the brahoth. So, you light and we sing [NonEnglish]. And on the first night only, we do the Shakhiano[NonEnglish].
Now, that tune is not the only tune but it is the main tune that Europen Jews use. Really should not be used for Shabib for the rest of the year. It should be only used for Hanukkah. Now I will have the text of the brahoth in translation below on this video. Now why do we do it this way? Why do we light from the right side to the left and why do we light going from right to left and then why do we light the new day first?
Well, it goes back two thousand years to a debate at Mahalogat between the two major schools of Mishnaque, sword of the Tanahim, the Oraloa, Halo and Shamai. Now the way Shamai said to do it was to light eight candles the first night, then seven the second night, then six, then five, then four and Halo said to light now, you light one the first night, then two, then three, then four, then five.
So you see what we did, we do it Halos way. We had one every night but we light them as if we were lighting them Shamai's way. We light them from the newest day to the left going back. Now, why do we do that? Well first of all there is a compromise between two rebelic openions but why did Halo's way essentialy win that we go up and not down? What it has to do with the different reasons why we light them that way. According to the Veda Shamai, he said obviousely we light the eight candles and then down to seven, six, and Halos to the other way. Now the Rabbis, thinking about the acts of the following. They differed on their motivation behind this rulings. One Rabbi said that Shamai decided his ruling according to the days that are yet to come.
In other words, the first day we got eight, then the next day there is only seven days left, that is how many days to come. So you light seven candles. So the next day there is six left, so you light six candles etc. Halo said, "No, you do it according to the days that have passed." So, the first day, one day is passed, so you do what? The second day is the second day, two days have passed, you do two.
There was a communal dispute as to why Halo and Shamai decided the way they did.
Now there is another view that Shamai said that you do it according to the decresaing number of sacrifices offred on the temple each day of Sukkot. If you watch my video on Sukkot Hanukkah connection, basically Hanukkah which is six weeks after Sukkot replaced Sukkot in that year when the temple was desacrated because they could not celebrate Sukkot.When you read the tradition about how many sacrifices before two thousand years ago was sacreificed each day of Sukkot, they diminished by one. You started with 13, then 12, then 11, then 10 each day. That's what he--, that is what this Rabbi said Halo was thinking about, i mean Shamai was thinking about.
Now, according to the view, what it was Halo sort of motivation for going increasing one candle everyday. His motivation coined to this other view was that we increase the holyness, not decrease. There are a lot of thngs to teach about one of thesse views. I mean the idea that we increase the holyness, not decrease. We should always be looking up and not how do we increase our holyness. When we do the Amida prayer three times a day and twice of the three times in the morning and the afternoon, we do the Kadoosha. We say Holy, Holy, Holy, Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh. If you watch my video on momevents in the Jewsih prayer, you will see, we go a little bit higher on the sole of our foot each time we do holy to go higher and holyness based on kind of the Halo view of increasing in holyness.
Anyway, those are the communic dispute as to why we do it the way we do it and it is intresting to know that we basically compromised Halo essentially. One, that we go out of candle everday but we light them Shamai's way, kind of decreasing from the newest candle to the oldest candle from ledf to right. Even though we start of course, on the right side for you. If I was lighting it, it would look like this. Your left will be on my right. Anyways that's a little bit about how to light the Hanukkah Mineora and why we light it the way we do? I hope it is not too confusing but i wish you a--.
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