[Avodah] Al petach beito mibachutz

[Marty Bluke]

If you live in an apartment building you have a big question as to where to
light Chanuka candles.

There are 4 options:
1. Outside the front door of the building
2. Outside your apartment door
3. In a window facing the street
4. On your table inside

I will now explain the pros and cons of each one.

1. Outside the front door of the building - The gemara in Shabbos states
that the mitzva is to light right outside your door. However, if your door
opens up to a chatzer (courtyard) and not the street, we pasken that you
should light outside the door of the courtyard which opens to the street
(this is a machlokes Rashi and Tosafos). Based on the above, many poskim say
that the hall and stairwell of an apartment building is considered to be a
chatzer and therefore you should light outside the front door of the
building. However, the Chazon Ish disagress. The Chazon Ish claims for
various reasons (not for now) that the hallway and stairwell of an apartment
building are not considered to be a chatzer and therefore *you are not yotze
*if you light in front of the building as it has no connection to you.
2. Outside your door - This is problematic because it doesn't face the
street and no one can see it
3. In your window - this is good if you are on a low floor, however, if you
are on a higher floor above 20 Amos (approxiamtely 30 feet) then it doesn't
help to put it in your window. Some poskim claim that if there are other
apartments at your height around (across the street) then since those people
can see it at your level, that is called a window looking out to the Reshus
Harabim
4. On your table - This is the default option if you have no other choice.

The bottom line is it is hard to know what to do. I know people who light 2
menoras. 1 outside the building door to be yotze the opinion that the hall
and stairwell is a chatzer, however, to be yotze the Chazon Ish as well they
light in their window as well.
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