Menorah Lighting - Candle & Oil

Q. May I light neiros Chanukah using olive oil and wax candles at the same time?

A. It is questionable whether oil and candles may be used in the same Menorah at the same time (Be’er Heitev OC 673:1, Shaarei Teshuva ibid. 1, Mishna Berura ibid. 2). Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l was of the opinion that oil and candles should not be used in the same Menorah, as the beautification of the mitzvah is diminished by the different types of light shining from the same Menorah. However, different oils may be used in the same Menorah because there is no recognizable difference in their light (Moadei Yeshurun, p. 9. See also MB Shaar HaTziyun OC 673:1).

The minhag of Ashkenazim is that each family member lights his own Menorah (Rama OC 671:2). Where multiple Menoros are being lit, one Menorah may contain oil and the others candles (MB 673:2). Where necessary, one may use oil one day and candles the next (Sefer Hilchos Chanukah, p.12).

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.