You place the candles in one direction, and you light them in the opposite direction. The basic rule: fill from right to left, light from left to right.
Placing the candles
When you face the menorah, you put the candles in starting on the far right.
Each new night, you add that night’s candle to the left of the previous ones, so the newest candle is always the left‑most one.
Lighting the candles
First you light the shamash (the “helper” candle that is set apart, often higher or in the center).
Then you use the shamash to light the candles starting with the newest one on the left and move toward the right, so you are lighting from left to right.
