Commentary for Shabbat 43:1
נר של חנוכה שהניחה למעלה מכ' אמה פסולה כסוכה וכמבוי: ואמר רב כהנא דרש רב נתן בר מניומי משמיה דרב תנחום מאי דכתיב (בראשית לז, כד) והבור רק אין בו מים ממשמע שנא' והבור רק איני יודע שאין בו מים אלא מה ת"ל אין בו מים מים אין בו אבל נחשים ועקרבים יש בו:
If a Hanukkah lamp is placed above twenty cubits [from the ground] it is unfit, like <i>sukkah</i> and a cross-beam over [the entrance of] an alley.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A sukkah (q.v. Glos.) built higher than twenty cubits, or a cross-beam which permits carrying in a side street (v. p. 30, n. 5 and 'Er. 2a) placed higher than twenty cubits from the ground, is unfit. Similarly a Hanukkah lamp, because it is too high to be noticed and does not advertise the miracle. ');"><sup>1</sup></span> R. Kahana also said, R. Nathan b. Minyomi expounded in R. Tanhum's name: Why is it written, and the pit was empty, there was no water in it?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. XXXVII, 24. ');"><sup>2</sup></span> From the implication of what is said, 'and the pit was empty', do I not know that there was no water in it; what then is taught by, 'there was no water in it'? There was no water, yet there were snakes and scorpions in it. Rabbah said: The Hanukkah lamp should be placed within the handbreadth nearest the door.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' On the outside, as stated on 21b. But if it is placed further away, there is nothing to show that it was set there by the owner of the house. ');"><sup>3</sup></span>