Ask the Rav #2: Q&A on Chanukah & More

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Chanukah Q&A

How important is it for me to light my menorah beneath a tent Tefachim (within ten handbreadths), and what if this poses a safety concern due to small children in the house, making my spouse and me nervous?

Lighting the menorah beneath ten Tefachim is considered an ideal practice that one should strive to follow. However, when there is a genuine safety concern, safety takes precedence. As explicitly stated in the Talmud, in times of danger, one may light on the table and it suffices. Therefore, you may choose to light at a higher height or in a safer location for the sake of protecting your household.

 

Source:

See our corresponding Sefer “The Laws of Chanukah” Chapter 3 Halacha 12B!

After I lit the candles, about two minutes later I noticed that the menorah was not positioned in a sturdy way. Am I allowed to pick it up and move it to make it more secure, or does this moving jeopardize the fulfillment of the mitzvah?

Although it is prohibited to move the menorah from one room to another or from indoors to outdoors after lighting, it is permitted to adjust it slightly to ensure stability. Therefore, you may move it slightly to make it sturdy so that the mitzvah remains properly fulfilled and the menorah does not fall.

 

Source:

See our corresponding Sefer “The Laws of Chanukah” Chapter 3 Halacha 13 in Q&A that one may move it temporarily to replace it in its position right away and that one may move it slightly if it is in the way passing through the door, and certainly here for the sake of stability moving it should be permitted!

May a mourner (avel) within the year of mourning join a public Hanukkah lighting that includes festivities?

There is no issue for the mourner to attend the Hanukkah lighting itself. However, if music and dancing will take place afterward, the mourner should not remain and should leave after the lighting ceremony.

 

Source:

See our corresponding Sefer “The Laws of Chanukah” Chapter 3 Halacha 24C in Q&A that a mourner may not only participate in the synagogue lighting, but may even be delegated to light the candles from the second night and onwards and hence certainly, he may participate in public menorah lightings. However, the music restriction for a mourner would still apply and hence he would need to leave when music is played with dancing, as opposed to mere background music. For more on this topic see our corresponding Sefer “The Laws of Chanukah” Chapter 1 Halacha 4 in Q&A and “The Laws of Mourning” Volume 2 Chapter 23 Halacha 13L and 14.

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