ת"ר מצות חנוכה נר איש וביתו והמהדרין נר לכל אחד ואחד והמהדרין מן המהדרין ב"ש אומרים יום ראשון מדליק שמנה מכאן ואילך פוחת והולך וב"ה אומרים יום ראשון מדליק אחת מכאן ואילך מוסיף והולך
'Until there is no wayfarer in the street.' Until when [is that]? — Rabbah b. Bar Hanah said in R. Johanan's name: Until the Palmyreans have departed.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'until the feet of the Tarmodians have ceased'. Tarmod or Tadmor is Palmyra, an oasis of the Syrian desert. They sold lighting materials and went about in the streets later than the general populace as their wares might be needed.
');"><sup>9</sup></span> Our Rabbis taught: The precept of Hanukkah [demands] one light for a man and his household;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., one light is lit every evening of the eight days (v.infra) for the entire household.
');"><sup>10</sup></span>
Rashi on Shabbat
A light for a person and his household: One light on each night. And it is sufficient for a man and all the members of his household with one light.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Tosafot on Shabbat
And the mehadrin of the mehadrin (those who seek to beautify, among those who seek to beautify): It seems to RI that Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel refer only to "a man and his household" (i.e. the head of the household alone lighting on behalf of his entire family). Because in this way, there is more beautification; since there is something recognizable when he keeps adding or removing [lights], corresponding to the days that are entering (the days of Channukah still to come) or exiting (the days of Channukah that have already passed). However, if he makes a light for each one (i.e. each member of his household gets his own light), even if he adds from now onwards, there is nothing recognizable, because [people] would think that this is the number of people in the household (i.e. instead of attributing the increase or decrease in lights to the intention of the owner to correspond to the day of Chanukah, people would attribute it to the intention to correspond to the number of people in the household).
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Rashi on Shabbat
And the mehadrin (those who seek to beautify) the commandments do one light for every night for each of the members of the household.
