Segula: Placing the Hanukkiah Three Days Before the Holiday

Segula: Placing the Hanukkiah Three Days Before the Holiday

Gaon Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri relates in the name of his father, Mekubal David Batzri (shlita), that it is stated in the Sefer “Zecher David” by Rabbi David Zakut mi-Modina that the Menorah should be set in its place three days before Hanukkah and left there for another three days after the holiday ends. This implies that even if a harsh decree has already been issued against a person for the coming year, these three days possess the power to annul those decrees. Mekubal Rabbi David Zakut mi-Modina teaches that it is written in Bereishit (42:17): וַיֶּאֱסֹף אֹתָם אֶל-מִשְׁמָר שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים “Vaye’esof otam el-mishmar sheloshet yamim” — “And he placed them in custody for three days.” This pasuk from Parashat Miketz, which always coincides with Hanukkah, teaches that Hashem does not leave a tzadik in distress for more than three days. This is a segula tested over many years for removing harsh decrees, deliverance from troubles, and success in all endeavors, with G-d’s help!   Source of the segula: Sefer “Zecher David” by Rabbi David Zakut mi-Modina P.S. Photo of a Hanukkiah from a private collection at the Jewish Museum in Budapest. (Based on Anat Ben Ari’s lesson “On the Eve of Hanukkah Miracles” for Silatehilim.com)