QUESTION: For how long must the Shabbos candles burn?

ANSWER: Ideally, Shabbos candles should remain lit until after the Shabbos meal (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 75:2). At a minimum, one candle should remain lit until dark so that one can benefit from its light (Mishnah Berurah 263:41).

If one lights candles at home and leaves before dark to eat elsewhere, at least one candle should remain lit until one returns home. The candle should be placed in a dark area so that its light provides a benefit beyond the electric lighting. If the candles cannot remain lit long enough for anyone to benefit from them, the mitzvah has not been fulfilled.

If longer-burning candles are unavailable, one suggestion is to turn off the electric incandescent lights and turn them back on in honor of Shabbos. However, it is questionable whether one may recite a bracha in this case. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l (Shmiras Shabbos K’Hilchasa, ch. 43, n. 20) ruled that incandescent electric lights may not be used in place of Shabbos candles unless they are battery-powered. Some poskim prohibit using electric lights altogether.

The Magen Avrohom (263:16) writes that when Shabbos candles are lit on the table, if one begins the meal and enjoys their light, it is sufficient to fulfill the mitzvah even if the candles go out before dark.

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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.