[Avodah] How to light the Menorah

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Micha Berger wrote:

> ... we need another light in the room in order to
> avoid doing something solely by their light.
>
>Historically, those were the same neir.

Were they really the same ner? Maybe not! I think there were two different neros, which were used in different ways, though they had the same purpose.

The last half of Mechaber 673:1 reads: "The minhag is to light an additional ner, so that if one would use its light, it would be the light of the additional one, which is the one that was lit last, and it is placed at a small distance from the other neros mitzvah."

When I first read this, I thought that it might be a source for NOT using the shamash to light the other neros. After all, doesn't the Mechaber clearly say that the additional ner is lit LAST?

But then I read the Rama: "And in our countries we don't have the minhag to add. Just place the shamash - with which he lit the neros - next to them, and this is preferable. One should make it longer than the other neros, so that if he comes to use it, he'll use the light of *that* ner.

It seems very clear to me that the Rama is disagreeing with the Mechaber, and is saying that his way is better. The Mechaber's way seems to be "an additional ner" placed "a small distance" from the others, while the Rama's way is a "shamash" which is right next to the others, though a little taller.

So: According to Mechaber, *after* lighting the neros with whatever, I light another one called the "ner nosaf", and place it on the same level as the others, but a little further away. And according to the Rama, *before* lighting the other neros, I light a longer one called the "shamash", which I use to light them with, and then I put it down right next to them.

Do I have this right? Is that what they're differing about?

Akiva Miller

____________________________________________________________
Criminal Lawyer
Criminal Lawyers - Click here.
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2131/c?cp=IFPnk0-YKY0rJWzzByRmtQAAJz3zeK-F0bLcqGb51B0rOTOKAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAiFgAAAAA=