I am sephardi of Iraqui origin. Our family will be interstate on the first night of Hanukah attending a family wedding. My wife & I will be staying in a motel & the children will be staying at friend’s places. There will not be any one in our home in Sydney. What is the status of us lighting candles & saying shegayanu? At the time for lighting, we will be at the reception. Can we light when we return from the wedding at the motel room? I believe there is a problem lighting in a motel room according to the Sephardic custom. We will only be there for one night.
Answer:
If nobody is lighting for you at your home, and the owner of the hotel is not currently staying in the hotel, you should light in your motel room, at the window, so that the lights will be visible from outside. If the motel does not permit you to light in the room, you can light in the lobby of the hotel, if this is possible.
Sources: Chovas Hadar, chap. 2, note 39; Ashrei Ha-Ish, p. 263, citing from Rav Elyashiv.
It is going to be late at night & there will be no one in the streets. Why can’t I light it at the doorway or on the table? I am not trying to find a way out only interested in the halacha.
If you have family members, for whom you will be able to “publicize the miracle,” you can light on the table. This is one common custom outside of Israel.
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