What Really is The Light of Chanukah?

One of the big misconceptions about the lights on the chanukiya, Chanukah Menorah is that they are to compensate for the shortness of winter days.

True, the Chanuka holiday occurs when daylight is shortest, and here in the Holy-Land it may rain, though very rarely snow. But we are forbidden to use the light for anything practical. It is not supposed to be the light for the room, or the street, or for reading, cooking or anything else one needs light.

The light of the chanukiya, Chanukah Menorah is to publicize the miracles that Gd performs for us, even more often than we may notice. Yes, specifically, on Chanukah, we celebrate the fact that time and time again, Gd is on our side. When the odds and the experts say that we're about to be defeated, such as when the powerful Ancient Greeks invaded our Holy land and forbade us to observe Judaism, we defeated them and returned Jewish worship to the Holy Temple.

Over the millennia, this has happened time and time, again.  Also, please remember that the Modern Greeks aren't ruling and occupying the Holy Land any more. None of our ancient enemies exist today. They may have won many battles, but we, with the help of Gd, the One True Gd, have won the war.

עם ישראל חי

Am Yisrael Chai

The People of Israel Live

That is what the lights of the chanukiya, Chanukah Menorah shine and broadcast to the world.

Where do You Light Your Chanukiya, Chanuka Menorah?

The light of our Chanukiya, Chanuka Menorah, is supposed to be a sign to the world that we, the small Jewish People, cannot be defeated by big, strong armies. It's not supposed to be a light that physically illuminates. The Light of the Chanukiya, Chanuka Menorah is not to be used for any practical purpose, like reading or navigating and certainly not to light up a room.

We've always set up our chanukiyot on window sills facing the main street. Since our custom has always been that everyone old enough to have some understanding of the mitzvah should light their very own chanukiya, there have been years when both our meter plus window sills were full of chanukiyot.

Nowadays, there are rarely more than just the two of us rattling around this empty nest. Our big family Chanuka celebrations are generally at the kids.

Many of our neighbors light their chanukiyot outside, by their doors or right on the sidewalk. The mitzvah of פרסום הנס pirsum haness, publicizing the miracle, is taken very seriously.

What are your family and community chanukiya-lighting customs?