Rephael Cattan

We are continuing in siman 21, where we learned that one needs to light the majority of the available wick. This is known as lighting rov hayotzei, the majority of the wick which protrudes above the oil. This halacha applies to Chanukah as well. When one lights the neiros on Chanukah, they should not move […]

We are beginning siman 19. The Chayei Adam writes that one does not need to scorch the wick before lighting, but nevertheless, the minhag is to pre-light the wicks by lighting and extinguishing the wick so that the wick has sufficiently drawn the oil. Thus, when it is lit for the mitzvah, it will light

We are beginning siman 14. The Chayei Adam writes that the hadlaka should be done in the makom achila, where one will be eating. When one has a choice between the makom achila and elsewhere, the makom achila takes precedence. Within the makom achila, the neiros should be on the table so that they light

  We are continuing in siman 13. The Chayei Adam writes that the purpose of the neiros is to enhance the meal, so preferably they should last throughout the meal. Furthermore, if one makes early Shabbos, the neiros should last until nighttime, because the point is to light up the home when it is dark,

  We are continuing in siman 11. The Chayei Adam will now discuss hadlakas neiros on Yom Tov. Whereas on Shabbos, kabbalas Shabbos may preclude a person from lighting neiros, on Yom Tov, even though one cannot create a new fire, one may transfer a flame from a preexisting fire. If so, on Yom Tov,

  We are continuing in siman 11. We learned that the kabbalas Shabbos which takes place through hadlakas neiros does not affect the rest of the family members. However, the Chayei Adam clarifies that the candles and leichter (candelabra) become muktza even for those who have not yet accepted Shabbos.  The source for this halacha

We are continuing in siman 11. We left off with a question about amira l’yisroel, and whether a parent who has already accepted Shabbos through hadlakas neiros can ask a child to perform a melacha in the home. Although amira l’yisroel is muttar, the Pri Megadim raises the following question. There is an issur of

We are continuing in siman 11. The Chayei Adam seems to disregard a point made by the Shulchan Aruch. If a woman is making the bracha after lighting (as is our minhag), does the kabbalas Shabbos take place when she finishes lighting, or when she makes the bracha? The practical difference between these two options

  We are continuing in siman 11, discussing the bracha on the neiros. We learned that out of concern that by making the bracha on the neiros a woman accepts Shabbos, she does not make the bracha until after lighting the neiros.    We need to discuss whether a woman can make a tnai that

 We are beginning siman 11, where the Chayei Adam will discuss making the bracha. In general, we know that Chazal instituted that before one performs a mitzvah, they make a bracha. They instituted that the bracha should be made over le’asiyasan, that before the mitzvah is performed one should thank Hashem for the opportunity to

 We have finished siman 10, discussing different scenarios of where one lights. Today, we will discuss additional points related to the siman.  We learned that a person has a chiyuv hadlakah both in the makom achila (place they are eating) and the makom sheina (place they are sleeping). If one has the option of lighting

We are beginning siman 10. We have learned the background to the siman over the past few shiruim, and today we will begin it inside.    The Chayei Adam writes that one has a chiyuv to light in all rooms which they will be using over Shabbos. If there is a room which they do

  We are continuing with a background to siman 10. We learned that the chiyuv of hadlakas neiros is both a chovas habayis and chovas haguf, and that once one family member makes a bracha in the home, it covers other lights put on in the home as well, even by other family members. We

We are beginning siman 10, and we will begin with some background.   When Chazal instituted the mitzvah of hadlakas neiros, they gave it an interesting hybrid status. On the one hand, it is considered a chovas bayis, that the home have neiros lit in it, and on the other hand, it is a chovas

  We are continuing in siman 9. The Chayei Adam writes that a woman should be dressed for Shabbos when she lights Shabbos neiros. He will later qualify that it is more important to light on time than to wait until being fully dressed for Shabbos, as lighting too late is a question of an

 We are continuing in siman 9, discussing the halachos of hadlakas neiros. We learned that a woman who is blind is able to light and even make a bracha, provided she is able to gain something from the neiros. However, if there are already other neiros there, she should not make a bracha.  To explain,

  We are beginning siman 9. The Chayei Adam writes that although we have learned that the mitzvah of hadlakas neiros applies both to men and women, the woman has precedence over the mitzvah. In other words, if a husband and wife have a disagreement over who should light the neiros, even though it could

We are beginning siman 8, which begins the Chayei Adam’s discussion of hadlakas neiros. We learned that the halacha is one must beg for money if they cannot afford neiros. The Chayei Adam continues, and writes that it is more important to spend money on neiros over wine for kiddush, because they can make kiddush