Additional Prayers

On all eight days of Chanukah, full Hallel is recited after Shacharit morning prayers. Additionally, the Al haNissim blessing is inserted into the Amidah prayers and the Grace after Meals. If one forgot to say Al ha-Nissim in the Amidah: If he remembered before having said the Divine Name in the blessing that concludes Modim, he should go back and say Al haNissim. If he remembered only afterwards, he finishes the Amidah and need not go back or repeat it.

In the synagogue, the portion of the nesi'im (Bamidbar 7), which recounts the offerings brought by the nasi [prince] of each of the twelve tribes when the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, was dedicated, is read from the Torah. Each day the account of one nasi is read and is not repeated the next day. On the last day of Chanukah, the Torah reading begins with the offering brought by the eighth nasi and continues through the conclusion of the entire portion [the offerings brought by the ninth through the twelfth nasi] until the end of the first passage in the portion of Beha'alotecha, which states: "Thus did He make the Menorah" (Bamidbar 8:4).

When Rosh Chodesh Tevet falls on Shabbat, three passages are added to the Grace after Meals: Al haNissim for Chanukah, Retzeh for Shabbat, and Ya'aleh v'Yavo for Rosh Chodesh, which makes it the longest possible Birkat haMazon.

In the synagogue, three Torah scrolls are removed from the Ark. Six people are called up for the reading of the regular weekly portion from the first scroll. A seventh person is called for the reading of the special Rosh Chodesh portion from the second scroll, and the maftir is called for the reading of the passage of the nasi from the third scroll. The haftarah is taken from Zecharyah and is related to the theme of Chanukah.