The mitzvah of candle lighting on Chanukkah is the only time of the year where we have options in fulfilling a mitzvah.

According to the Talmud, the basic mitzvah is “Ner ish u’baito”, one candle per household per night, meaning that even on the eighth day of the festival, each household would only light one candle.

The second level, termed “Mehadrin”, is “Ner lkol echad v’echad”- one candle per person per night. Meaning that a family of four would light four candles every night.

The highest level, “Mehadrin min hamehadrin”, follows our familiar practice of starting with one candle, and adding a candle nightly.

Just as there are different ways of lighting the candles, so too are there different places in which to light.

The preferred location of lighting is outside the entrance of one’s house. We place the candles on the left side of the doorway, thus allowing a person to be surrounded by mitzvoth, the candles on their left and the mezuzah on their right.

If, however, this is not feasible, one should place their candles in a window that faces the public thoroughfare.

The goal is to publicise the miracle of Chanukah in the eyes of the broader Jewish and non-Jewish community. The more people that can witness our candles, the better.

But the Talmud adds a third option; “b’shaat Sakana madlikim bifnim”, in times of danger, we light inside.

Sometimes we can’t afford to publicise the miracle, our joy must be personal not public. There is danger in drawing negative attention to one’s home, one’s victories, and one’s confidence. Our joy can, at times, rouse the enmity of the world… we light our candles inside.

What should our practice be in the current climate?

My emotions of late have been ambivalent; on the one hand I feel deeply proud and passionate about my Jewishness. I walk upright, kippa on my head and tzitzit on my body. We are a courageous and defiant people who, like Mordechai, refuse to bow to the pressure and negativity of those forces of hatred.

But, on the other hand, I’m nervous, and at times scared. Are people staring? Will I be confronted or affronted? Perhaps, for now, a baseball cap is better than a kippa?

Both sides weigh on me constantly.

But when it comes to Chanukah, my candles will burn brightly in our window; bringing light to a world that feels like it’s filling with darkness. My candles stand in defiance of terror and tyranny and glow with a message that we’ve been carrying for well over three millennia.

If there was ever a time to light candles, especially in our windows, it’s now.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rabbi Gad Krebs is the College Rabbi at Moriah College in Queens Park, NSW.