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Question: As a part of our shlichus, we arrange a public menorah lighting every year in the center of our city. Yet at home, I light my menorah indoors and not outside because today is still considered a sha’as hasakanah. Should I be lightingt publicly, and then light privately or should we go back to ikar hadin of lighting outdoors?
Answer: The question of where to place the menorah reflects on how halacha evolves in response to external circumstances adapting to times places.
The Gemara[1] teaches: “The ner Chanukah should be placed at the entrance of one’s home, outside. If one lives upstairs, it should be placed at a window facing reshus harabim. B’shaas hasakanah, in a time of danger, it is sufficient to light it on one’s table.” Sha’as ha-sakanah refers to times when local authorities or non-Jewish neighbors opposed public observance of Mitzvos.
It would stand to reason that during the calmer periods of our long galus the menorah was lit outside. And indeed, this is still the practice of many Jews in Eretz Yisrael. However, in chutz la’aretz, the practice is otherwise. Even during peaceful times virtually everyone light indoors — some near a window, some near the doorway, but always inside.
This is sourced in the minhagim of the Rishonim. In 13th-century Spain, the Rashba described lighting indoors as the standard minhag. Even earlier, in 11th-century Germany, Rabbeinu Yoel recorded that Jews there lit indoors as well. In Italy, too, the Shibolei HaLeket (of Rome) mentions the minhag.
Indoor lighting was undoubtedly the prevailing minhag throughout the Ashkenazic world. The Rema[2] acknowledges this when he writes, “In our times, when we all light indoors…” — essentially giving formal support to the old minhag.
Yet the question remains: Why do we light indoors today? While it’s true that antisemitism always lingers in the background, it’s highly unlikely that outdoor lighting will cause any harm today. In places like the United States, religious expression is accepted and even encouraged, and public menorah displays are typically welcomed.
This question is not a new one, as the Sefer HaIttur[3] (12th century, France) seems to address it. After citing the Gemara’s instruction that “b’shaas hasakanah one lights indoors,” he adds: “And once the minhag began, it remained.” In other words, even when the reason no longer applied, the practice continued.
But why would a custom remain if the original reason had fallen away?
Several explanations have been offered.
One of the Rishonim, the Sefer HaNeyar (attributed to one of the French Baalei Tosafos, the exact author is unknown,), writes that as long as Jews live among non-Jews, it is considered a sha’as hasakanah. The Levush[4] gives a similar reasoning: since Jews are under gentile authority, even without active danger, it retains the sha’as hasakanah status. Clarifying this sevarah, Rav Elyashiv[5] explains that these factors may not suffice to justify an initial change in the takkanah, but once it was modified during times of real danger, the change remains so long as even a remote risk exists.
Perhaps we can offer another explanation focusing on the concern that circumstances could again return to sakanah. Tosafos[6] mentions this regarding the placement of tekias shofar — originally done during Shacharis but moved to Musaf in times of persecution. Even after the threat passed, the change remained, as danger might reoccur one day.
A more conceptual approach, quoted in the name of the Brisker Rav[7], suggests that when the Gemara allowed indoor lighting during danger, the takkanah itself was fundamentally altered. That is, once a sha’as hasakanah occurred, Chazal established a new mode of fulfilling the mitzvah — lighting indoors providing in-house pirsumei nisa. Thus, even when the danger subsided, the nature of the takkanah had already changed, allowing the mitzvah to be fulfilled through the shaas hasakanah method indefinitely.
Rav Meir Soloveitchik[8] explains that this may be what the Sefer HaIttur meant by “once the minhag began, it remained”: when Chazal introduced an alternative mode, it became a permanent method to fulfill the mitzva.
These sevaros explain our minhag of lighting the menorah inside mirroring the times of shaas hasakanah, even though there is no sakanah today.
But one issue remains since many Jews have the minhag to light near a window that is visible from outside – as mentioned by the Mishna Brurah.[9] Why is that? The shaas hasakanah method described in the Gemara was meant to be totally private. What is this middle position — not fully outside, but not hidden away either?
In justifying the old minhag of lighting indoors, the Aruch HaShulchan[10] offers a practical reason unrelated to shaas hasakanah: the wintry climate. When Jews migrated to Europe, they faced cold, wet, and windy December nights, making outdoor lighting impractical. Also, in such weather, few pedestrians are outside, eliminating much of the mitzvah’s pirsumei nisa.[11]
Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky[12] explains that shaas hasakanah in this context doesn’t necessarily refer to life-threatening danger; rather, it means that the menorah is at risk. Vandals might extinguish the neiros, steal, or damage the menorah. This idea is based on the peirush of several Rishonim, such as Rabbeinu Yerucham,[13] Kolbo,[14] and others who mention this concern.
Now, this kind of “sakanah” is entirely relevant today, where every year we hear stories of vandalism involving public menorahs. The menorah is therefore placed indoors to avoid these problems. This explains why some still place the Menorah at the window, since it mitigates the risk of vandalism while allowing the light to shine outside.
To summarize, public menorah lightings are not bound by the technical halachos regarding the placement of the menorah because they are not a fulfillment of the chovas yachid. Their sole purpose is pirsumei nisa similar to the minhag of lighting the menorah in shul. And since today there is no real concern of sakanah, we perform the minhag openly to maximize the pirsum. In contrast, the menorah lit at home fulfills the chiyuv of hadlakah and is subject to the detailed guidelines set forth by chazal and the rishonim, so the tradition of indoor lighting is upheld as outlined by them.
[1] מס’ שבת (כא, ב)
[2] סימן תרעא (סעיף ז)
[3] הל’ חנוכה (דף קיד ע”ב)
[4] סימן תרעא (סעיף ח)
[5] הובא בספר שבות יצחק (הל’ חנוכה עמ’ מ)
[6] מס’ ראש השנה (לב, ב) ד”ה בשעת
[7] ראיתי בקובץ משולחן מלכים (כסליו תשס”ו עמוד עג).
[8] הובא שם
[9] סימן תרעא (ס”ק לח)
[10] סימן תרעא (סעיף כד). ויש לציין שקרוב לזה איתא בריטב”א מס’ שבת (כא, ב) ד”ה ובשעת הסכנה.
[11] ראה בספר מקראי קודש (הל’ חנוכה סימן כג) שכתב נפקא מינה בין ב’ טעמים של הערוה”ש. לטעם הא’, אם רוצה לטרוח ולהדליק בחוץ, הרשות בידו. אבל לטעם השני, נכון יותר להדליק לפנים.
[12] ספר קובץ הלכות (הלכות חנוכה פרק ז אות ג)
[13] נתיב ט (חלק א)
[14] סימן מד (בתחילה)
Always wondered why.
Thank you.