Shabbat Candles: Halachot & Customs
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The rabbinic mitzvah to mark the onset of Shabbat by lighting candles is an ancient and important halachah, especially beloved by Jewish women, who often embrace it as a time for heartfelt prayers for their families and the Jewish people.
Why Light?
Three reasons are traditionally given for this mitzvah: oneg (the joy or delight of Shabbat), kavod (the honor of Shabbat) and shalom bayit (peace within the home). Both oneg Shabbat and kavod Shabbat are derived from the verse in Yeshayahu 58:13. Having light while eating the Shabbat meal is considered an expression of oneg Shabbat.
Kavod Shabbat is typically fulfilled by taking a hot shower on erev Shabbat, preparing special clothing and refraining from eating a large meal on Friday afternoon. Similarly, having a special light burning in honor of Shabbat is also an expression of kavod Shabbat.
Without light, people are left in darkness and are likely to stumble or bump into things. Light, therefore, plays a vital role in promoting shalom bayit—“peace and harmony within the home.”1
The mitzvah of lighting Shabbat candles applies to the household as a whole, not to each individual,2 and in theory, it can be fulfilled by any member of the household. However, it has traditionally been embraced by the woman of the home, and even if the husband wishes to light, she takes precedence.3 There is a custom that the husband sets up the lights in preparation. In the absence of the wife or mother, it is preferable for the husband or father to light the candles rather than one of the children.4
How Many Lights?
Despite the attention given to other details—such as which fuel and wicks to use—the early sources do not discuss how many lights should be kindled. This may be because lighting Shabbat candles was not merely a ritual; it was a practical matter of providing light wherever it was needed, so the number of lights was likely fluid. Over time, the minimum requirement of one light was codified, and in extenuating circumstances, that is still considered sufficient.5
Shabbat lights were instituted to ensure that there would be light in the home on Friday night.
At some point in the early Middle Ages, a practice emerged—first recorded in the early thirteenth century6—to light two candles. This eventually became the standard custom, and various explanations were offered. The most well-known is that the two lights correspond to zachor (“remember,” Shemot 20:8) and shamor (“observe,” Devarim 5:12)—the two phrases in the Ten Commandments regarding Shabbat observance.7
In the sixteenth century, the Rema (263:1) notes a custom to light three or four candles. Others had practices of lighting seven (for the days of the week) or ten (for the Ten Commandments).8 Kaf HaChaim9 quotes a custom to light six on Yom Kippur, five on yom tov and four on Rosh Chodesh to parallel the number of aliyot.10
One per Child
Today, it is commonly believed that the number of Shabbat candles should correspond to the number of members of the household, and many assume this to be an ancient tradition. Surprisingly, however, this custom is not mentioned in any of the classic sources and appears to be relatively recent. The earliest known reference seems to be in Likutei Mahariach11 by Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Friedman (1852–1922), rabbi of Rachov (in present-day Ukraine). He mentions the standard custom of lighting two candles but notes that one may add more, citing practices of lighting four, seven or even ten candles. He also records that some women have the custom of adding a candle for each child born.
Rabbi Friedman offers no source for this custom but finds support in the Talmudic statement12 that one who is meticulous in beautifying13 the Shabbat lights will merit sons and sons-in-law who are Torah scholars.14 Rabbi Menashe Klein (1924–2011) later suggested a possible explanation for this practice:15 a postpartum woman would often miss lighting candles on the first Shabbat after giving birth, and the additional candle was instituted because of that missed lighting.
It thus appears that the practice of lighting a candle for each member of the household first appeared in writing only around the turn of the twentieth century. While usually lack of evidence is insufficient to assert evidence of lack, in this case, the silence is striking. Given the large number of halachic works that address the mitzvah of Shabbat candles in detail—carefully documenting various customs—the complete lack of any mention or even hint of this practice (of lighting a candle for each family member) may suggest that it simply did not exist earlier.
In addition to these customs, some women choose the number of candles based on the design of a candelabra they particularly like, without attaching specific symbolic meaning. A common practice is that even women who light more than two candles when at home will light just two when they are away, and this is accepted even without their having made an explicit declaration of such intent when they originally began lighting the additional candles.16
In most areas of Jewish custom, it is generally accepted that upon marriage, a woman adopts her husband’s family’s practices. However, when it comes to candle lighting, some sources17 indicate that a woman may continue following her own family’s customs, including the number of candles she lights, rather than adopting her husband’s family’s practice. This exception is attributed to the special connection between this mitzvah and the woman of the home, as well as its association with shalom bayit.
Where to Light
Ideally, Shabbat candles should be lit in the place where the Shabbat meal will be eaten. In any case, one must derive some benefit from the candles (Shulchan Aruch, OC 263:9). For example, someone who is going out for Friday night dinner typically lights at home and benefits from the candles either before leaving or upon returning.
Recently, Israeli soldiers have asked what to do if they will not be on base for Shabbat evening. Rabbi Udi Schwartz, the IDF’s chief halachic authority, ruled that unlike Chanukah lights, Shabbat candles are not intrinsically tied to a house. Therefore, a soldier who regularly lights Shabbat candles and will be stationed in a guard booth from before Shabbat for many hours—and who will be eating there—should light in the guard booth.
Electric Lights
Shabbat lights were instituted to ensure that there would be light in the home on Friday night. Today, with electric lights being ubiquitous, the question arises: Can they be used in place of traditional Shabbat candles? And does their presence affect the mitzvah?
The general consensus is that electric lights may be used for the mitzvah, even with a berachah, since they fulfill the core purpose—providing light. This can be particularly important in places where fire cannot be lit, such as hotels or hospitals. Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik once instructed his hospitalized wife that she could recite a berachah over electric lights (Rav Hershel Schachter, Nefesh HaRav, 1994, pp. 155–156).
In any case, one must derive some benefit from the candles.
The Zomet Institute of Halacha and Technology even sells Lee-Ner Electric Shabbat Candles, and the IDF works with Zomet to supply these specially designed electric lights to soldiers who are unable to light a flame, such as those confined to a tank from before Shabbat through Friday night.
The question of whether it is appropriate nowadays to recite a berachah over candles whose minimal light is effectively drowned out by the ambient electric lighting is a separate issue. Because of this concern, it is recommended that electric lights turned on Friday afternoon be switched on with the intention of honoring Shabbat (Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah 43:32).
Some authorities suggest turning off the electric lights shortly before candle lighting, then switching them back on with the specific intent of having them on for the sake of the mitzvah. The woman would then light the candles and recite the berachah, having in mind both the electric lights and the candles.18 Alternatively, one may turn off the electric lights, have the woman light the candles with a berachah—again intending to include the electric lights—after which another household member, who has not yet accepted Shabbat, can turn the electric lights back on (Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah 43:34).
In light of this, it seems that all women today are, in practice, “lighting” a significant number of Shabbat lights—the electric ones—with the candles representing just a small part of the mitzvah.
The unique and enduring bond between the Jewish people and the mitzvah of Shabbat candle lighting is highlighted by none other than the New York Times. On Saturday, January 1, 2000, the Times published an imaginary front page depicting what they envisioned the Friday, January 1, 2100 edition would look like. And there, at the bottom of the front page, was a reminder for Jewish women to light Shabbat candles. Despite all the dramatic changes they predicted for the world, the writers clearly assumed that in the year 2100, the Jewish people would still be lighting Shabbat candles.
Notes
1. Rashi, Shabbat 23b, s.v. shalom bayit; and Rashi, Shabbat 25b, s.v. hadlakat ner b’Shabbat.
2. Rambam, Shabbat 5:1; Aruch Hashulchan, OC 263: 5,7.
3. Magen Avraham, OC 263:6.
4. Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth, Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah 43, n. 46.
5. Mishnah Berurah 263:9, 22, 45.
6. Ra’aviah, p. 265–6.
7. Shulchan Aruch, OC 263:1.
8. Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 75:2; Mishnah Berurah 263:6.
9. OC 263:9.
10. Regarding Shabbat, Kaf HaChaim does note a custom to light seven candles and attributes it to a variety of reasons in addition to the number of aliyot.
11. vol. 2, p.13b [1903 and 1964 ed.].
12. Shabbat 23b.
13. Tur, OC 263.
14. Mishnah Berurah 263:2.
15. Mishneh Halachot 7:35; see Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah 43, n. 51 which has a problem with this reason.
16. She’arim Metzuyanim b’Halachah 75:13.
17. Teshuvot Ya’avetz 107; Shevet Halevi 7:10:2.
18. Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah 43, nn. 166, 171.
Rabbi Dr. Ari Z. Zivotofsky is a professor of neuroscience at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Portions of this article are adapted from his essay, “The Number of Candles in the Context of Mitzvas Ner Shabbos,” published in Hakirah, vol. 30 (Summer 2021).
Yaeli Vogel is a self-taught, New York–based artist and gallerist celebrated for her vibrant, contemporary Judaica that blends spirituality, storytelling and modern expression. Born in Israel and raised in Brooklyn, Yaeli began painting as a personal outlet and has since transformed her passion into a thriving artistic career. Her work is rich in layers, movement and color. It explores themes of faith, identity and human connection, often drawing from Jewish tradition and personal experience.
More in this section:
The Artistry of Shabbat Lights by David Olivestone
Shabbat Candles: Halachot and Customs by Rabbi Dr. Ari Z. Zivotofsky
The Sacred Pause: Finding Shabbat in a World That Never Stops by Charlene Trino
The Shabbat Table That Found Me: Filling the Silence with Women’s Voices by Shirley Parker
Shabbat in a Changed Israel: How Israelis Have Embraced Shabbat Since October 7 by Carol Ungar