What is the shamash candle?

The helper candle on the chanukiah, set higher or apart from the other eight. It is lit first and used to light the rest, because Jewish tradition holds that the eight lights themselves are for looking at rather than for use — so the shamash is never counted among them.

Why does Hanukkah last eight nights?

The Talmud relates that after the rededication of the Second Temple only one day’s worth of undefiled oil was found, and that it burned for eight days until more could be prepared. The oil is also why fried foods mark the festival.

Where should the chanukiah be placed?

Traditionally in a window or doorway where it can be seen from the street. Publicizing the miracle is part of the observance, which is why it is not kept at the back of the house.

Hanukkah Letter for Kids — Printable

The story

The shamash stands apart from the eight — higher, or off to one side — and it is lit first each night. The eight are holy and may not be used for anything; the shamash is the working candle, the one permitted to do the lighting. It is present at every single kindling of the festival and it is in none of the counts.

Where it actually comes from

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid empire in the second century BCE. The Talmud relates that only one day’s worth of undefiled oil could be found, and that it burned for eight days until more could be prepared — the reason for eight nights, and for the fried foods, latkes and sufganiyot, that mark the festival. A candle is added each night and the chanukiah is placed where it can be seen from outside, to publicize the miracle. The shamash exists because Jewish law holds that the eight lights are for looking at rather than for use, so a separate helper candle does the lighting. Hanukkah is not a major festival in the Jewish calendar; its prominence outside Israel owes a good deal to its proximity to Christmas.

What it does for a child

The shamash is one of the best moral images available to a child, and it is right there on the table every night for eight nights. Being the one who helps and is not counted, and losing nothing by it, is a difficult idea in the abstract and completely obvious when you are watching a candle do it. It is also a festival built on repetition — one more each night — which small children love and which makes the growth visible.

The Little Jar of Oil

A story to read aloud · about 4 minutes

More than two thousand years ago, in the city of Jerusalem, a great Temple stood on a hill. Inside it stood a tall golden lampstand with seven branches, called the menorah. Its lamps were meant to shine every single day.

But then came a long, hard time. Strangers ruled the city, and the people were not allowed to keep their own customs. The Temple was left empty. Its gates were burned, and its golden lamps went dark. Weeds and bushes grew up in its courtyards, as thick as a forest on a mountainside.

At last, after many years, a brave man named Judah the Maccabee and his brothers led the people home. Together they climbed the hill to their Temple. When they saw how broken and lonely it looked, they wept. Then they wiped their eyes and went to work.

Among the helpers was a boy named Yonatan. He pulled up weeds that were taller than he was. He carried away broken stones, one by one. He watched the builders set whole new stones in place for a new altar, and he watched the craftsmen shape new holy vessels to replace the old ones. And he watched as the tall menorah was carried back inside and set in its place.

Now it was time to light the lamps. But the oil for the menorah had to be pure, and while the Temple stood empty, all the oil had been spoiled. The people searched every corner, every shelf, every storeroom.

At last they found it: one small jar of oil, still closed with the seal of the High Priest. No one had touched it. But it was only a little jar. It held just enough oil to keep the menorah burning for a single day.

They lit the lamps anyway.

It was the twenty-fifth day of the month of Kislev. Early in the morning, the menorah shone again. The people sang songs of thanks and played on harps and cymbals, and Yonatan thought he had never seen anything so beautiful as those small, bright flames.

The next morning, Yonatan hurried to the Temple, and the lamps were still burning. The morning after that, they were still burning. And the morning after that. That one small jar of oil kept the menorah shining for eight whole days. It was a miracle.

There was great gladness among all the people. Judah and the whole community decided that every year, starting on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, they would celebrate for eight days, with joy and gladness. It became the festival that people call Hanukkah, which means dedication. They also called it the festival of Lights.

Today, people all over the world light a Hanukkah menorah for eight nights, one more light each night, until all eight are glowing. But look closely, and you will see one more flame, standing a little apart from the rest. That is the shamash, which means the helper.

The eight Hanukkah lights are only for looking at and remembering. So the shamash is lit first, and it does the work. It carries its flame from one light to the next, sharing its fire with each one, and it never grows any smaller for sharing.

So when you see Hanukkah lights shining in a window, look for the little helper standing beside them. Like Yonatan, it is happy to be the one who helps, and its flame is just as bright as all the rest.

Adapted from King James Version, 1 Maccabees 4:36–59 (King James Version Apocrypha) (1611). Public domain. Read the original.