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...
Taking Fertility or Birth Control Pills on Shabbat
May a Doctor Receive Payment for Medical Services Provided on Shabbat?
Violating Shabbat for a Woman and Newborn After Childbirth, and for Fetal Distress During Pregnancy
Violating Shabbat to Care for a Woman After Childbirth
Violating Shabbat For the Sake of a Woman in Labor
Resuscitating an Unconscious Patient on Shabbat
Using Suppositories or an Enema on Shabbat
Taking A Blood Test on Shabbat
Exercising on Shabbat
The Use of a Baby Monitor on Shabbat
Food Cooked by a Gentile on Shabbat for an Ill Patient
Turning Off a Light for an Ill Patient on Shabbat
Desecrating Shabbat to Help a Frightened Child
Violating Shabbat to Treat a Fever
Desecrating Shabbat for a Tetanus Shot or After Ingesting Something Sharp or Toxic
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found