Beautiful Menorah
1. It is proper to try to get as nice a menorah as possible (מ"ב סי' תרע"ג סקכ"ח ). This is not an application of hiddur mitzvah, which would require spending one-third more on it (שו"ע סי' תרנ"ו ס"א ); rather it is to honor the mitzvah. Thus, one may spend more than one-third extra, e.g., by buying a silver menorah, which is 1,000 times the price of olive oil and wicks (הגר"ח קנייבסקי, נר חנוכה פ"ו הע' ב'). Alternatively, one may spend more than one-third extra on a silver menorah since the rule of one-third for hiddur mitzvah does not apply to Chanukah candles as we see from the mitzvah to fulfill mehadrin min hamehadrin, which costs more than an extra third of the basic mitzvah (חי' מרן הגרי"ז הלוי חנוכה פ"ד הל"א ד"ה והנה ).
2. Nevertheless, the halacha that one must collect money for the mitzvah of Chanukah candles does not apply to cover the cost of a silver menorah (ע"פ שו"ע סי' תרע"א ס"א ומ"ב סק"ג ). Nowadays, this halacha does apply to cover the costs of olive oil and fulfilling mehadrin min hamehadrin since everyone does this and one who cannot is considered to be lacking (הגר"נ קרליץ, חוט שני חנוכה עמ' ש"ג ).
3. Preference of menorah types. Some give the following order for the preference of the material of the menorah [most preferred to least preferred]: gold; silver; copper; iron; glass; wood; earthenware (חסד לאברהם, שדי חמד מערכת חנוכה אות ז', כף החיים ס"ק ס').
4. According to this, it is better to buy a metal menorah than a glass menorah with Swarovski crystals or a menorah decorated with gold plating [e.g. Matanel company] which can each be found today.
Does It Need to Be a Kli?
5. Some poskim hold that the holder for the candles must be considered a kli, as will be explained (חסד לאברהם נהר נ"ח מעיין ב' בשם קונטרס הל' חנוכה לר"י סגי נהור בנו של הראב"ד, שו"ת אבני נזר סי' ת"ק ). Most poskim imply it does not need to be considered a kli (שו"ת שבט הלוי ח"ח סי' קנ"ז, שו"ת אז נדברו חי"ג סי' מ"ט ).
6. Eggshells. Some say one should not light Chanukah candles in eggshells or onion skins since they are not keilim (חסד לאברהם הוזכר בשע"ת סי' תרע"ג סקי"ג ); as mentioned above, most poskim are not concerned with this.
7. Wax candles without a holder. Some say one is not yotzei his chiyuv to light Chanukah candles with wax candles attached to a table or wall without a holder (שו"ת אבני נזר שם לפי החסד לאברהם ), but most poskim hold one is yotzei (כנ"ל ובמ"ב סי' תרע"א סקי"ח ).
8. Holder that cannot stand on its own. Some say one should not use a holder that cannot stand without being propped up since that is not considered a kli (חסד לאברהם ); others are not concerned with this.
9. Candle in a potato. Some say one should not put his Chanukah candles into a hole in a potato since a potato is a food, not a kli (שו"ת אבני נזר הנ"ל ) [those who made great sacrifices to light candles in potatoes in the concentration camps are considered to have lit in menorahs of gold]; most poskim hold this is permissible.
10. Bottle cap menorahs. It is common for children to make menorahs consisting of candles stuck into upside-down bottle caps as a project in preschool. Although bottle caps are generally thrown out after they are used, bottle caps are keilim and they are kosher for Chanukah candles according to all poskim (חוט שני חנוכה פי"ט סק"י ).
Glass Cups in a Silver Menorah
11. Considered glass or silver? Very often, people light in glass cups in a silver menorah. The poskim discuss whether this is considered lighting in a glass menorah, which does not have the advantage of the silver menorah hiddur, or lighting in a silver menorah since the glass cups are held by a silver menorah. They conclude that the poskim who say the candle holder must be a kli would hold that it is viewed as lighting in glass, while the majority who say a kli is not necessary would hold that it is viewed as lighting in a silver menorah (שו"ת שבט הלוי ח"ח סי' קנ"ז ).
12. Glass cups that cannot stand on their own. Many glass cups designed to be placed in a menorah have a round protrusion at their base and cannot stand on a flat surface on their own. Some say one is not yotzei with these according to the poskim who hold the candle holder must be able to stand on its own (above, 8) [if this is true, it would come out that a preschool child's bottle cap menorah (above, 10) is more kosher than his father's silver menorah with glass cups that cannot stand on their own].
13. Others say since the cups are made to be used with the menorah, not alone, they are secondary to the menorah. [This idea has a precedent in hilchos tumah: although wooden vessels that cannot hold contents [פשוטי כל עץ ] cannot become tamei, when they are secondary to a metal vessel, they can become tamei like metal (כלים פי"ג מ"ו ).] Consequently, lighting in them is viewed as lighting in the silver menorah and the cups do not need to be able to stand on their own (מו"ר בשו"ת שבט הקהתי ח"ג סי' ר"א, והסכים עמו הגר"ח קנייבסקי, גם אני אודך חנוכה אות כ"א ).
Do the Menorah Glasses Need to Be Toiveled?
14. Glasses designated to hold a wick and flame do not need tevilah prior to their use in a menorah. When using glasses that do require tevilah, even if they have not been toiveled one still fulfills the opinion that the oil should be fit for consumption since although there is a halacha that utensils for food require tevilah, food put into them before they are toiveled does not become assur. Thus, the oil in them is still fit for consumption.
15. Shot glass. If one bought shot glasses that he will use for drinking lechayims but he wants to first use them for Chanukah candles, some hold he should toivel them before doing so. This is not, as a certain talmid chacham wanted to say, because oil in a non-toiveled glass is not fit for consumption [like oil that a mouse fell in, which is repulsive (שו"ת פרי אליהו ח"ג סי' כ"ה )]; rather it is because some say that a utensil that will be used with food must be toiveled even before first using it for non-food purposes (דרכ"ת סי' ק"כ סקל"ט ). However, one may use it temporarily for a menorah without tevilah (ספר הכשרות פ"ד הע' מ"ב ).
