The Laws of Chanukah vol. 3, no. 31
On the evening of the 25th of Kislev (this year coinciding with the 6th of December) we light the first light of the Chanukah menorah. Our sages arranged this mitzvah with three levels of observance. One can fulfill the mitzvah by lighting only one light each of the eight nights regardless of the number of people in the household. A preferred level of observance entails that each one of the household members lights one light each night. An even more preferred level of observance is adding an additional light each night, which is the prevalent custom today. According to the Ashkenazic custom other family members light as well and add additional lights each night. In the Sephardic tradition only one person lights for the entire household adding an additional light each night.
One may rely on the lesser preferred ways of performing the mitzvah in times of difficulty such as financial hardship or technical problems.
The main aspect of the mitzvah is to publicize the miraculous burning of the oil of the Menorah for eight days in the Temple. In the times of the Talmud it was customary to place the menorah outside to best publicize the miracle. However, in the many years of our exile living among gentiles there were periods when it was dangerous to openly display the performance of a mitzvah. Therefore the custom developed to light inside the house and “publicize” the mitzvah to the family members. Nowadays the prevalent custom is to place the menorah near a window in order that passerbys can see the lights. If no window is exposed to passerbys, the common custom is to place the menorah on a table easily visible to the household.
When more than one person lights they should position their menorahs so that it can be discerned that more than one person is lighting and how many lights are being lit.
One should avoid using a menorah whose branches stand at varying levels or so close together that it is dificult to discern the number of lights. There is a concern when using candle menorahs that the candles should not melt together.
Since it is prohibited to derive benefit from the light of the Chanukah menorah it became the custom to light an extra light every night called the shammash. This way, one could benefit from this light and avoid using the menorah. According to the Ashkenazic custom the menorah is lit with the shammash. It is situated either higher or apart from the other lights. Even when numerous members of the household light each one should light a shammash.
