DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 792 KB)
Chanukah- If One Forgot to Light

The Aruch Hashulhan (halachic work by Rabbi Yehiel MichelEpstein,1829-1908, OC 670:8) discusses the case of someone who did not light one night of Chanukah. He rules that he has lost the misva for that day. There is no significance to lighting the next day, because the obligation is only at night. Even if he would artificially create a darkened room, there is no misva.

However, he can and should continue to light on subsequent nights with a beracha. Even if he missed all seven nights, on the last night he would light eight candles with a beracha. This ruling is a rejection of the opinion brought in the Beit Yosef that compares the halacha of Chanukah with Sefirat HaOmer. If one forgot to count a day of the Omer, he does not continue to count with a beracha.
The Aruch Hashulhan explains that the nature of the obligation of lighting on Chanukah is fundamentally different from the obligation of counting the Omer. The emphasis of the Omer is on counting consecutive days. Therefore, if one forgot a day, the entire series is lost. Whereas, on Chanukah, each night stands by itself. In fact, the primary obligation is only to light one candle for each night.

SUMMARY: If a person missed a night of lighting on Chanukah, he does not light the next day, but he does continue to light on subsequent nights with a beracha.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Giving a Monetary Gift on Condition That the Recipient Later Pays a Higher Amount
The Obligation of Repayment When One Does Not Know Who He Stole From
Proper Pronunciation of Words In “Az Yashir” Is Imperative
Is It Permissible For A Son To Treat His Father In The Case Where Blood Might Be Drawn
Is It Permissible To Smell/Inhale Dairy Products Within 6 Hours After Eating Meat
Yichud: Is It Permissible For A Man To Enter A Safe Deposit Room with a Female Bank Clerk
Reciting Ashrei and Giving Tzedaka During the Minha
The Status of a Kohen who Marries a Divorcee; Laws of "Tum'a" Relevant to a Kohen
Pronouncing Hashem's Name When Reading Verses Cited in the Talmud
May A Grandfather, Son, or Grandson Immediately Precede One Another For An Aliya At The Torah
Making "Hatarat Nedarim" When One Wishes to Discontinue a Voluntary Religious Practice, and Appointing Others To Make Hatara for You
Which Beracha to Recite When Eating Rice with Vegetables
Recommended Measures for Earning Atonement During the Weeks of "Shovevim"
The Danger of Certain Speech
Calling Somebody by a Derogatory Nickname
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found