Chanukah - Corner House

QUESTION: I live in a corner house which has windows on two streets. Am I required to light Chanukah candles by windows on both sides of the house?

ANSWER: Shulchan Aruch (OC 671:8) writes that if a courtyard has two openings, if the openings are on the same side of the street, candles need only be lit by one opening. If the openings are on different sides, candles must be lit by each opening. The additional lighting is to prevent being suspected of not having lit candles. However, only one beracha is said. The Rema adds that today since we light inside, there is no need to light on both sides of the house. Rav Nissim Karelitz (Chut Shani – Chanukah) writes that even where the custom is to light by the window, there is no need to light by multiple windows, even if they face different directions. Since everyone knows that homes have many windows, if one does not see candles in one window, he will assume that candles were lit in a different window. 

Rav Shmuel Wosner zt”l (Mi’Beis Levi 5757) writes that even those people who have the custom today to light outside by their doorway do not need to light by multiple entranceways on different sides of the home. He explains that since many people light inside, if someone does not see candles, he will assume that the owner lit inside. Also, since today not everyone lights at the same time—some light earlier and some light later—there is no room to be suspected of not lighting at all. However, Rav Elyashiv zt”l ruled that those who light by the doorway should light by both doorways when they are on different sides of the home.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.