The focus of Hanukka is on giving thanks for the miracle and publicizing it. Among other commemorations, the Sages instituted that this miracle should be noted in the holiday prayers and in the blessings recited on these days.

In all the Amida prayers of Hanukka, including the Shabbat prayers and the Musaf prayer service of Rosh Hodesh Tevet, as well as in Grace after Meals, which is recited at the end of a meal that includes bread, one adds the Al HaNisim section. This passage consists of a concise description of the miracle of the military victory of the Jews against the Greeks as well as statements of thanksgiving to God.

One who forgot to say Al HaNisim in the prayers or in Grace after Meals does not need to repeat those prayers.

At the end of the morning Amida and the repetition of the Amida by the prayer leader, on each day of Hanukka, including Rosh Hodesh, the complete Hallel is recited, and it is preceded and followed by a blessing.

On each of the days of Hanukka, the Torah is read following the recitation of Hallel in the synagogue. The passages selected for these readings describe the offerings of the tribal princes that were brought for the inauguration of the Tabernacle (Numbers 6:22–8:4). On the eighth day of Hanukka, the reading includes the offerings of the tribal princes that have not yet been read, as well as the subsequent section that sums up all those offerings, and the opening verses of the Torah portion of Behaalotekha, which discusses how the candelabrum was lit in the Tabernacle. The eighth day is sometimes called Zot Hanuka, after the first words of the summary of the offerings: “This was the dedication [Zot hanukat] of the altar” (Numbers 7:84).

On Rosh Hodesh Tevet, which occurs during Hanukka, two Torah scrolls are taken out of the ark. Three men are called up for the regular reading of Rosh Hodesh (Numbers 28:1-15) from the first scroll. A fourth person is called up for the reading from the second scroll, which is the passage that discusses the offerings of the tribal prince for that day.

Likewise, on the Shabbat of Hanukka, two Torah scrolls are taken out. The weekly portion is read from the first scroll, for which seven men are called up. For maftir, the passage describing the offering of the tribal prince of that day is read from the second scroll. This is followed by a special haftara for Shabbat Hanukka.

When Rosh Hodesh Tevet occurs on Shabbat, three Torah scrolls are taken from the ark. Six men are called up for the reading of the weekly Torah portion from the first scroll. The passage of the additional offerings for Shabbat and Rosh Hodesh is then read from the second scroll, for which one man is called up. Finally, for the third scroll, an eighth man is called up and the passage of the offerings of the prince of that day is read. Afterward, the special haftara for Shabbat Hanukka is read.

Further reading: For more on Rosh Hodesh and its laws and customs, see p. 237; A Concise Guide to Mahshava, p. 41.