Chanukah 5787: What to Know for the Eight Days חנוכה תשפ"ז: וואס צו וויסן פאר די אכט טעג

Winter is coming, the nights grow long, and soon a Chanukah light will shine in every Jewish window. This year Chanukah is a little special: it begins on Erev Shabbos and ends on Shabbos.

The dates

Chanukah always begins on 25 Kislev. This year, 5787:

• Friday, December 4, 2026 (Erev Shabbos): first candle. Light before sunset, before the Shabbos candles.
• Motzei Shabbos, December 5: second candle, after nightfall.
• Sunday to Thursday (December 6–10): third to seventh candles.
• Friday, December 11 (Erev Shabbos): eighth candle, again before sunset.
• Shabbos, December 12: the eighth day, "Zos Chanukah." Chanukah ends after Shabbos.

Chanukah runs from 25 Kislev to 2 Teves. (Sunset and nightfall times differ in every city; check your local luach.)

The minhagim

• Lighting: one more candle each night, from one to eight.
• "Maoz Tzur": sung after lighting.
• Hallel and Al HaNissim: Hallel at Shacharis every day of Chanukah, and Al HaNissim in Shemoneh Esrei and bentching.
• Latkes: foods fried in oil, recalling the miracle of the oil.
• Dreidel and Chanukah gelt: the boys play dreidel, and Chanukah gelt is given out.

Chanukah at the Rebbes

In Chassidic courts the Rebbe's lighting is a great event. Chassidim stand for hours, niggunim are sung, and every movement is watched. On YouTube, for example, you can see the Bobover Rebbe lighting the first Chanukah candle.

Zos Chanukah, the final seal

The eighth day is called "Zos Chanukah," from the verse read in the Torah: "Zos chanukas hamizbe'ach." According to Kabbalah and Chassidus it is the final "seal" of the Yamim Noraim, a time for teshuvah out of love, and many Chassidim wish each other "gmar chasima tova." Chassidic seforim teach that the day is auspicious for prayers being answered. This year Zos Chanukah falls on Shabbos, a double holiness.

A freilichen Chanukah!