Hidur Mitzvah

(1) How many candles should one light on Chanukah? The mitzvah is that a single candle should be lit in each and every house, regardless of whether there are many members of the household, or merely one person [lives] there.
A person who performs the mitzvah in a beautiful and conscientious manner should light candles for every member of the household, whether male or female.
A person who is even more conscientious in his performance of the mitzvah than this and observes the mitzvah in the most desirable manner should light candles for every member of his household, a candle for each individual, whether male or female, on the first night. On each subsequent night, he should add a candle [for each of the members of the household].

(2) What does the above imply? When there are ten members of a household, on the first night one lights ten candles, on the second night - twenty, on the third night - thirty, until on the eighth night, one lights eighty candles.

(3) It is common custom in all of our cities in Spain that a single candle is lit for all the members of the household on the first night. We proceed to add a new candle on each and every night, until on the eighth night eight candles are lit. [This practice is followed] regardless of whether there are many members of the household or only one man [is lighting candles].

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: Since the mishna is teaching all of them, i.e., enumerated all the requirements of circumcision, when the mishna added: One performs all the requirements of circumcision even on Shabbat, what did it come to include? The Gemara answers: It comes to include that which the Sages taught in a baraita: One who circumcises on Shabbat, as long as he is engaged in the circumcision, he may return and remove shreds of skin that were not cut properly. This is the ruling both for shreds of skin and flesh that invalidate the circumcision if they are not cut, i.e., the child is not considered circumcised if they remain, and for shreds that do not invalidate the circumcision if they are not cut. But if the circumcisor has withdrawn from engaging in the mitzva of circumcision, he may return for shreds that invalidate the circumcision if they were not cut, as the mitzva has not yet been properly performed, but he may not return for shreds that do not invalidate the circumcision if they are not cut. Consequently, when the mishna refers to all the requirements of circumcision, it means that as long as one is still involved in the act of circumcision, one may go back and remove even pieces of skin that do not invalidate the circumcision.

The mitzvah of the Hanukkah candle is an extremely dear one. And one must be careful with it, to publicize the miracle and to increase the praise of God and the thanks to him for the miracles he has done for us. Even if one does not have anything to eat except from charity, he borrows, or he sells his clothes and gets oil and candles and lights.

did Rabba really say this? But doesn’t Rabba say that if one had before him two communal sin offerings on Shabbat, one choice animal and one gaunt, and he slaughtered the choice one and then slaughtered the gaunt one, he is liable for the gaunt animal, as it should not have been slaughtered. But if he first slaughtered the gaunt one and subsequently slaughtered the choice animal, he is exempt for slaughtering the choice animal. And moreover, members of the court say to him after he slaughtered the gaunt animal: Bring the choice animal and slaughter it ab initio. If so, in a case where the first animal was found to be gaunt, he certainly should not be liable for slaughtering the second.