Shabbat Candles

Ritual Objects

Shabbat candles — nerot shabbat, in Hebrew — are used in the sanctification and celebration of Shabbat. The two candles symbolize the commandments to observe and remember the Sabbath, and they provide light in the home at night to enhance the atmosphere of Shabbat.

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The Custom of Shabbat Candles

HALAKHAH

Shabbat candles lend beauty to the home. The 16th-century Shulchan Arukh, authored by Rabbi Joseph Karo, emphasizes the importance of lighting at least two Shabbat candles.

1. Who Should Kindle [Shabbos Lights]; [Reciting the Shabbos Prayers Early as a Result of] an Error [in Judgment on] a Cloudy Day, 17 Seifim: One should take care to make a beautiful candle/lamp and there are those who place two wicks in this lamp, with the intent that one light recall [the command] “Remember”and the other, [the command] “Observe". RAMA: One may add and light three or four candles, and such is our custom. The woman who one time forgets to light should light three candles for the rest of her days (Mahar"il) because one may add to an intentional task rather than…

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 263:1

Bringing Light into the World

MIDRASH

Women are specifically charged with lighting the Sabbath candles. The Midrash Tanchuma offers a homiletic explanation linking the custom of women lighting Sabbath candles to the narrative of Eve and Adam.

Why is a woman charged with the duty of lighting the Sabbath lights? It was she (Eve) who extinguished the light of Adam by causing his death, as it is written: The spirit of man is the light of the Lord (Prov. 20:27). Therefore she is obliged to observe the commandment to light the Sabbath lights.

Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 1:5

Multiple Women, Multiple Blessings?

HALAKHAH

The practice of lighting Shabbat candles can vary among various traditions, raising questions about the proper halakhic approach. Rabbi J. David Bleich explores the differing opinions and customs, particularly the rulings of the Shulḥan Arukh and Rema, regarding whether multiple women in the same household should each pronounce the blessing when lighting Shabbat candles.

The locus of this question is to be found in a controversy betwen Shulḥan Arukh and Rema, Oraḥ Hayyim 263:8. The question there concerns a situation in which two or more householders or families share a single dining room as is commonly the case when, for example, married children visit parents for Shabbat. Shulḥan Arukh cites two opinions, one of which maintains that only one of the women should pronounce the blessing prior to lighting the Sabbath candles. According to this opinion, the second woman is precluded from pronouncing the blessing…

Contemporary Halakhic Problems, Vol II, Part I, Chapter I Sabbath and Festivals 17

Enhancing the Candlelight

HALAKHAH

Enhancing the mitzvah by turning off electric lights ensures that the benefit derived from the candlelight is evident. Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s contemporary work discusses the practice of turning off electric lights when reciting the blessing to highlight the significance of the candlelight.

Those who beautify the mitzva turn off the electric light when reciting the berakha over the candle, so that the benefit they derive from the candlelight is evident, and so that even those who are standing far away will be able to see the lines of their palms by its light (see SSK 61:33).

Peninei Halakhah, Shabbat 8:6:6

The Ritual of Ushering in Shabbat

LITURGY

The unique practice of covering one's face with hands ensures that the blessing is recited before deriving benefit from the light. The Siddur Sefard details the procedure for ushering in Shabbat, emphasizing the importance of reciting the blessing before performing the mitzvah.

The berachah for all mitzvos must be recited before doing the mitzvah. This rule, however, does not apply to the lighting of the Shabbos candles. By lighting the candles, the woman thereby ushers in the Shabbos. Since the recitation of the berachah is considered to be the beginning of the act of candle lighting, she has thereby ushered in the Shabbos and may no longer light the candles. Therefore, she should first light the candles, and in order that the berachah precede the actual mitzvah, she should cover her face with her hands in order not to see the candles…

Siddur Sefard, Shabbat Candle Lighting 1

The Reward for Kindling Lights

TALMUD

The sages attribute being meticulous in kindling Shabbat lights to the reward of having children who are Torah scholars. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Shabbat discusses the rewards for observing various mitzvot, including the kindling of lights.

Rav Huna said: One who is accustomed to kindle lights on Shabbat and Hanukkah will be rewarded and have children who are Torah scholars, who will disseminate the light of Torah. One who is meticulous in performing the mitzva of mezuza merits a beautiful house on which to affix his mezuza. One who is meticulous in performing the mitzva of ritual fringes merits a beautiful garment. One who is meticulous in performing the mitzva of kiddush of the day merits and fills jugs of wine…

Shabbat 23b:4

The Symbolism of Shabbat Lights

GUIDES

The Babylonian Talmud discusses the dual role of Shabbat lights, blending legal and narrative traditions to highlight their significance. In his introduction to the relevant chapter of the Talmud, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz offers a comprehensive overview of these discussions.

Although the halakha has determined that the essence of the Shabbat lights lies in their practical function, the Sages, in a series of aggadic statements, enhanced the stature of the mitzva and its symbolic essence, transforming it into a manifestation of the very sanctity of Shabbat.

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, Summary of Perek II 3

Electric Lights for Welcoming Shabbat

HALAKHAH

Can electric lights fulfill the mitzvah of welcoming Shabbat? Rabbi Chaim Jachter explores the halakhic (Jewish legal) perspectives on using electric lights for this purpose, provided they are switched on specifically in honor of Shabbat and the appropriate blessing is recited.

There are authorities who hold that the mitzvah [of Shabbat candles] can be satisfactorily performed by turning on electric light bulbs. A person who does this should recite the appropriate berachah (blessing) in the usual way, provided he indeed switches on the lights in honor of Shabbat.

Gray Matter II, Electricity, Why Don't We Use Electric Chanukah Menorahs? 4

The Spiritual Significance of Sabbath Lights

KABBALAH

The act of kindling the Sabbath lights is a profound spiritual practice that brings blessings and peace to the home. The Zohar, a central text of Jewish mysticism, emphasizes the honor and merit for women in this practice, promising blessings such as holy children, increased peace, and longevity for their husbands.

A woman should kindle the Sabbath light with zest and gladness, because it is a great honour for her, and, further, she qualifies herself thereby to become the mother of holy offspring who will grow to be shining lights of learning and piety and will spread peace in the world, and she also procures long life for her husband. Hence she should be very careful to observe this ceremony.

Zohar, Bereshit 78:199

The Joy of Many Blessings

HALAKHAH

Even if many women perform this mitzvah in one house, each should say the blessing on her own to increase joy. The Kitzur Shulchan Arukh, a 19th-century condensed code of Jewish law, emphasizes the importance of individual blessings and the joy brought by increased light.

It is a custom that even if many women light candles in one house, each one says the berachah on her (own) candles, because the more light, the more joy. However, care should be taken that two (women) should not light in one candelabra, but in times of pressing need we may be lenient even in this regard.

Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 75:10

The Dual Commandments of Shabbat

COMMENTARY

The dual commandments of 'Remember' and 'Observe' Shabbat are symbolized by the lighting of two candles. The Maharsha, a 16th-century Polish rabbi, explains the significance of these dual commandments and their simultaneous utterance.

One is corresponding to, "Remember [the Shabbat]," and one is corresponding to, "Observe [the Shabbat]," etc.: As even though, "Remember" and "Observe" were said in one statement (simultaneously) - as we say in the chapter [entitled] Shevuot Shtayim (Shevuot 20b) - they are nevertheless two words: "Remember" is a positive [commandment] and "Observe" is a negative [commandment], as is explained in the words of the Ramban. And we have already written at length about this in the chapter [entitled] Shevuot Shtayim, see there…

Chidushei Agadot on Shabbat 33b:11

Candle Blessing on Sabbath Eve, Postcard.

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Laws of Shabbat Lights

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