Siman 684

And we read in the Torah on Chanukah every day in "Naso" in the section of the offerings of the princes. For the reason is found in the Pesikta: because the work of the Mishkan was completed on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, as I wrote in siman 670. And we begin with "And it was on the day that Moses finished," which is the beginning of the matter. And there are places that begin with the priestly blessing, because the miracle was performed through the Hasmonean priests, and it is a beautiful custom (Tur). However, we do not practice accordingly, because it is not of the matter of the offerings.

And how is the reading? On the first day, when they begin with "And it was on the day that Moses finished," and it contains many verses, they divide it for the kohen and the levi. And the third reads from the prince of Judah. And some say that the kohen reads the entire parashah of "And it was on the day that Moses finished," and the levi and the Israelite read from the prince. And the reason: because the essence of the reading is in the princes, and therefore the majority of those called up must read from the prince. And so we conduct ourselves. And on the second day, the kohen reads "On the second day" until "one young bull." And the levi reads from "one bull" until "On the third day." And the Israelite returns and reads "On the second day." And some say that the Israelite reads "On the third day," for it is better to read from tomorrow's than to read what the previous ones read, if only it is possible in this. And such is our custom, and so it is every day. And on the eighth day, the kohen and levi read "On the eighth day," because this is the obligation of the day. And the Israelite reads from "On the ninth day" until the end of the princes, and also the parashah of "This was the dedication of the altar," and also in "Beha'alotcha" until "so he made the menorah." Because all of this is one matter, and it is necessary to complete it all.

And on the Shabbat of Chanukah, we take out two scrolls. In one, we read the weekly parashah, and in the majority of cases, it is parashat "Miketz." And in the second, we read for Maftir the portion of Chanukah according to the day on which it stands. And we read the haftarah of the lamps of Zechariah: "Sing and rejoice." And if the first day of Chanukah falls on Shabbat, such that there are two Shabbats, we read the haftarah on the second Shabbat from the lamps of Solomon in Kings: "And Hiram made." Our teacher, the Rema, wrote that if a wedding falls on this Shabbat—we read the portion of Chanukah. Thus far his words. That is to say: and not "I will greatly rejoice." And this is according to their custom, but for us, we never read a parashah for a groom.

If Rosh Chodesh Tevet falls on Shabbat – they take out three scrolls. In the first, he reads for six men in the weekly parashah. And it is forbidden to read for more than six men, for in the second Sefer Torah it is necessary to read the seventh, who is specifically from the count of the called. And in the second Sefer Torah, the seventh reads from that of Rosh Chodesh, as the frequent takes precedence. And even though in Chanukah there is pirsumei nisa, will the maftir not read from Chanukah, and also through this the haftarah will be from Chanukah? And he begins "And on the Shabbat day," since today is Shabbat. And the maftir reads in the third from that of Chanukah, and reads the haftarah from that of Chanukah: "Sing and rejoice." And if Rosh Chodesh falls on a weekday – they take out two scrolls. And they read in the first for three men from that of Rosh Chodesh, and the fourth reads from that of Chanukah according to the order of the day (and see in siman 685, section 4).

If the reader erred and read the fourth aliya from the portion of Rosh Chodesh, if they had not yet removed the second sefer Torah—one does not need to read further. For we do not pay heed to Chanukah, since it does not have a musaf sacrifice. However, if they had removed the second scroll, perforce because of its blemish—one must necessarily read a fifth aliya from the portion of Chanukah, and say Kaddish after it. And if he said Kaddish after the fourth—he should not say it again (Magen Avraham). And even if he remembered in the middle of reading the fourth—he should not stop, and he finishes the portion of Rosh Chodesh, and the portion of Chanukah is lost (ibid.). Our teacher, the Rema, wrote: That if he erred and began to read from the portion of Chanukah—he must stop and read from the portion of Rosh Chodesh. Thus far his words. For this is like one who prioritized the tefillin of the head over those of the hand (ibid.). And there are those who disagree and hold that the Kohen finishes the portion of Chanukah, and afterwards reads from the portion of Rosh Chodesh (Taz and the R.N. Katz). And if he already read three verses from the portion of Chanukah, even according to our teacher, the Rema, it is obvious that it counts toward the number of those called up. And he afterwards reads the third from the portion of Rosh Chodesh (Eliyah Rabbah). And in practice one should act according to those who disagree, because of the blemish of the sefer Torah. And such is the law on the Shabbat of Chanukah when it falls on Rosh Chodesh. (And that which he said regarding a weekday was to show the greater novelty: that even on a weekday one adds one, and certainly on Shabbat. The Gaon Rabbi Akiva Eiger.)