Today is Sunday, Tevet 1, 5786 · December 21, 2025
Chanukah Day 7 • Rosh Chodesh Tevet
Today's Laws & Customs
• Rosh Chodesh Observances
Today is the 2nd of the two Rosh Chodesh ("Head of the Month") days for the month of Tevet (when a month has 30 days, both the last day of the month and the first day of the following month serve as the following month's Rosh Chodesh).
The Yaaleh V'yavo prayer is added to the Amidah and to Grace After Meals, and the additional Musaf prayer is said. Because it is also Chanukah today, the "full" Hallel (Psalms 113-118) is recited (and not the "partial Hallel" said on the Rosh Chodesh days of other months).
Many have the custom to mark Rosh Chodesh with a festive meal and reduced work
activity. The latter custom is prevalent amongst women, who have a special
affinity with Rosh Chodesh -- the month being the feminine aspect of the
Jewish Calendar.
Links: The 29th Day; The Lunar Files
• Kindle Eight Chanukah Lights tonight
In commemoration of the miracle of Chanukah we kindle the Chanukah lights—oil lamps or candles—each evening of the eight-day festival, increasing the number of lights each evening.
Tonight we kindle eight lights. (In the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall; this evening, then, commences the 8th day of Chanukah).
The lights—which ideally should be kindled soon after sunset—must burn for at least half an hour after nightfall. Learn more about the proper lighting time.
Links:
Text and Audio of the Menorah Blessings
How to Light the Menorah
Additional Chanukah observances and customs are listed below:
• Hallel & Al HaNissim
Special prayers of thanksgiving -- Hallel (in its full version) and V'Al HaNissim
-- are added to the daily prayers and Grace After Meals on all eight days of Chanukah.
Tachnun (confession of sins) and similar prayers are omitted for the duration of trhe festival.
• Latkes, Sufganiot & Dairy Foods
On Chanukah we eat foods fried in oil—such as latkes (potato pancakes) and
sufganiot (doughnuts) -- in commemoration of the miracle of the oil.
It is also customary to eat dairy foods in commemoration of
Judith's heroic deed.
• Dreidel
It is customary to play dreidel—a game played with a spinning top inscribed with the Hebrew
letters Nun, Gimmel, Hei and Shin, which spell the phrase
Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "a great miracle happened there." (It is said that when the
Greeks forbade the study of Torah, Jewish children continued the study with their teachers in caves and cellars; when the agents of the king were seen approaching, the children would hide their scrolls
and start to play with spinning tops...)
Links: How to Play Dreidel
• Chanukah Gelt
It is an age-old custom to distribute gifts of Chanukah gelt ("Chanukah money") to children on Chanukah.
(It was the custom of the rebbes of Chabad-Lubavitch to give Chanukah gelt to their children and other family members on the fourth or fifth night of Chanukah; more recently, however, the Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged the giving of Chanukah gelt every day of the festival—except for Shabbat, when handling money is forbidden.)
Links:
Why the Chanukah Gelt?
Today in Jewish History
• Esther made Queen (362 BCE)
"And Esther was taken to King Achashverosh, to his palace,
in the tenth month, which is the month of Tevet, in the seventh year of his reign. And the
king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won his
favor and kindness more than all the virgins; he placed the royal crown on her
head and made her queen in Vashti's stead" (Book of Esther 2:16-17).
This set the stage for the miracle of Purim
six years later, on the 13th and 14th of Adar of the year 3405 from creation (356 BCE).
Link: What Is the Book of Esther?
• 7th Day of Chanukah Miracle (139 BCE)
On the 25th of Kislev in the year 3622 from creation, the Maccabees liberated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, after defeating the vastly more numerous and powerful
armies of the Syrian-Greek king Antiochus IV, who had tried to forcefully uproot the beliefs and practices of
Judaism from the people of Israel. The victorious Jews repaired, cleansed and rededicated the Temple to the service of G-d. But all the Temple's oil had been defiled by the pagan invaders; when the Jews sought to light the Temple's menorah (candelabra), they found only one small cruse of ritually pure olive
oil. Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new, pure oil could be obtained.
In commemoration, the Sages instituted the 8-day festival of Chanukah, on which lights are kindled
nightly to recall and publicize the miracle.
Link: The Story of Chanukah
Daily Quote
You shall be My own treasure from among all peoples . . . And you shall be a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation to Me.
— Exodus 19:5–6
Daily Torah Study
Chumash: Vayigash, 1st Portion Bereshit (Genesis) 44:18-44:30 with Rashi
•
English / Hebrew Linear Translation
•
Video Class
•
Daily Wisdom (short insight)
Tehillim: Chapters 1 - 9
•
Hebrew text
•
English text
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 5
•
English Text (Lessons in Tanya)
•
Hebrew Text
• Audio Class:
Listen |
Download
•
Video Class
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvot:
• 1 Chapter A Day: Edut Edut - Chapter 12
• 3 Chapters A Day: Malveh veLoveh Malveh veLoveh - Chapter 4, Malveh veLoveh Malveh veLoveh - Chapter 5, Malveh veLoveh Malveh veLoveh - Chapter 6
Hayom Yom:
•
English Text |
Video Class
Audio: 
