You place the candles in one direction and light them in the other:

  • When you set up the menorah each night, you add the new candle on the right side , then keep adding new ones to the left on subsequent nights.
  • When you light the menorah, you start with the newest candle (the left‑most one) and then move to the right , using the shamash (helper candle).

A simple way to remember it: fill the menorah from right to left, but light it from left to right.