The Chanukah Menorah

The Chanukah Menorah is a candelabra with nine branches. It is also called a chanukiah.

The Ninth branch – While there are only eight nights of Chanukah, an extra candle is lit every night to be a “helper,” and is used to light the other candles. This candle is called the shamash. The place for the shamash on the menorah should be differentiated from the other lights. Usually it is higher, lower or out of line with the others.


--Instead of a menorah, one may light a series of tea candles (for example) one next to the other.

--The lights should be in a straight, even line without any differentiation in height between the eight Chanukah lights, or however many are lit that particular night. The lights may be in a semi-circle as long as all of the lights can be viewed at the same time.

--There should be enough space between lights so that two flames do not burn together or cause the candle next to it to melt.

Oil or candles — The sages said that it is preferable to use olive oil for the Chanukah lights, since the miracle took place with olive oil. One may use wax or paraffin candles or other types of oils as long as they produce a steady light.