Monday, December 04, 2006

Replacing wicks and rekindling when extinguished

When lighting the Menora with oil, is it required to replace the wicks each day?
The ruling is that there is no Halachic requirement to change the wicks on a daily basis, and the wicks are reusable. Some authorities say that there is an additional exaltation in using fresh wicks daily, as so was the custom in the Beis Hamikdash.

If the candles were extinguished before the end of the required time, is it necessary to rekindle the candles?
In the situation where all of these following conditions were met:

A. there was enough oil to remain burning throughout the required time.
B. The placement was such that the wind could not extinguish the lights.
C. Upon lighting, the wick caught the flame properly.

Then there is no need to relight the candles as the essence of the Mitzvah is the “lighting”, rather than the “burning”.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Isn't there someone that says that it is better to use the old ones again?

Anonymous said...

Mishnah Berurha 773:31 says that old wicks light better then new ones, so it is better to use them. But this probably does not apply nowadays, when new wicks light as well as old ones.