1,419. Performing the Mitzvah of Chanukah Candles

Hilchos Megillah v’Chanukah 3:14

The shaliach tzibbur should read “ana Hashem hoshia na,” God, please save (Psalms 118), and the people should repeat “ana Hashem hoshia na” even though it’s not the first line of a chapter. The leader then reads “ana Hashem hatzlicha na,” God, please grant success (ibid.) and they repeat “ana Hashem hatzlicha na.” This continues with “baruch haba,” blessed is the one who comes (ibid.), etc. If the one leading Hallel is a minor, a servant or a woman, the congregation must repeat Hallel after them one word at a time. All of the above describes the practice as followed in earlier generations and it would be appropriate to conform to it. Nowadays (the Rambam says, speaking of his own era), however, there are many different customs regarding the recitation of Hallel and the people’s responses, all of them very different from one another.

Hilchos Megillah v’Chanukah 4:1

The mitzvah of Chanukah is for a single candle to be lit in every Jewish home regardless of the number of people in the household, be they many or just one. One who strives to perform mitzvos in a superior manner should light candles for every member of the household, both the males and the females. One who strives to perform this mitzvah in the optimum way should light candles for every member of his household – one per person, both males and females – on the first night. On each subsequent night, he should add another candle per person.