Ilustration Credit: Noa Kelner
עניני דיומא The Calendar
The goal of Hanukkah candles is פִּרְסוּמֵי נִיסָא (pirsumei nisa, publicizing the miracle). When God does a miracle for us, one way to show gratitude is to tell everyone about it!
This impacts WHEN we light the candles:
מִצְוָתָהּ מִשֶּׁתִּשְׁקַע הַחַמָּה עַד שֶׁתִּכְלֶה רֶגֶל מִן הַשּׁוּק.
The mitzvah is from sunset until traffic in the marketplace ends.
By lighting when people are still outside, perhaps walking home from work, we have an audience to see our act of pirsumei nisa.
Pirsumei nisa also impacts WHERE we light:
If your house opened up to a public street, you used to place your Hanukkah lights outside your door on the left side of your entrance (Shulhan Arukh OH 671:5-7). Nowadays, many people light by a window inside their home (Kaf HaHayyim, 671:39).
- Why is publicizing the miracle so important? What does that teach us about the purpose of celebrating this holiday?
- What can we learn from this to remember during the rest of the year?
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Click here to return to the Table of Contents for Hanukkah from Devash
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Click here to return to the Table of Contents for Hanukkah from Devash
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