Relighting Shabbos Candles 

By Rabbi Berach Steinfeld

Two young couples went to their parents / in-laws for Shabbos. Only one set of extra candles were prepared in the corner of the dining room. One of the ladies came into the dining room and lit the prepared candles with a bracha and left the room. The candles were extinguished by a gust of wind. The second woman subsequently came in and found two candles waiting for her, so she lit them with a bracha. It was discovered later on that there was only one set of candles for both couples. Which woman was yotzei the mitzvah of hadlakas neiros? Would the woman who was not yotzei be required to light an extra candle every week for the rest of her life?

Reb Aron Leib Shteinman answered that the concept in hilchos Chanuka of “Kovsah ein zakuk lah” (if the fire gets extinguished one is not responsible to relight) is not found in hilchos Shabbos. It would therefore seem that a woman would be required to make sure her candles (or at least one candle) stay lit. The first woman who lit the candles did not do so and was therefore not yotzei. If she lit in a place where there is a strong possibility that a wind will extinguish the candles, she would be required to light an extra candle for the rest of her life as a “knas.” Rabbi Shammai Gross concurred with this psak.

Rabbi Moshe Shaul Klein and Reb Shlomo Zalman Ullman agree that the second woman was yotzei, but not the first woman; however, they say that the first woman would not need to light an extra candle for the rest of her life since she is considered an “anusa” (accidental.)

Reb Chaim Kanievsky, Reb Naftoli Nussbaum, and Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Landau paskened that both women are yotzei. They are of the opinion that the candles of Shabbos have the same din as the candles of Chanukah and one is not required to relight them if they were extinguished. Even if the first woman who lit had found out the candles were extinguished, she would not have to get someone else to relight them. She herself can’t relight them as she was mekabel Shabbos, so she was therefore yotzei. The second woman could go ahead even “Lekatchila” and light these candles and fulfill her obligation.

Rabbi Yaakov Meir Stern says that in any case, whether you hold that the first one was yotzei or just the second one, the one who was not yotzei would not need to light an extra candle for the rest of her life. As long as there is one candle lit by the owner of the house thereby rendering no issue of tripping and causing shalom bayis problems, a guest really should not make a bracha on additional candles to the host’s candles. Our minhag is that the guests do make a bracha because they are “mosif” (adding) light. Therefore, if one is not “mosif” to the host’s light, she can’t be given a knas as she is yotzei with the host’s candles.