Chandler is the funny, sarcastic guy on the TV sitcom "Friends," but did you know that his name means "candle maker"? Jacob Rodriguez Rivera (1717-1789) certainly was not a famous TV star, but he was the most famous chandler in American Jewish history. He used sperm-whale oil to make candles that were firmer than tallow candles and therefore less likely to melt in the summer.

Until about 150 years ago, Jews tended to use oil lamps rather than candles to celebrate Hanukkah, because most candles- like Jacob Rivera's- were made from the fat of non-kosher animals. Also, oil lamps reminded people of the seven-branched menorah in the Beit Hamikdash (the Holy Temple), which symbolized God's presence.

Since the invention of paraffin (a waxy substance made from petroleum) in the 1850s, candles have become central to Jewish ritual practice. We light candles to inaugurate and conclude Shabbat and holidays, to search for hametz before Pesach, to memorialize the dead, and some congregations even use candles to accompany the Torah from the aron kodesh to the bimah on Mondays and Thursdays.

We light one additional candle each night of Hanukkah in accordance with the principle that holiness should only increase. This Hanukkah, you too can become a chandler - just follow the directions here.