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...
Yom Kippur-Kohanim &Levi’im Washing Their Hands
Yom Kippur: The Prohibitions of Melacha, Eating and Drinking
Yom Kippur-Halachot of Eating and Smelling
Reciting the Beracha Over a Candle on Mosa'e Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur – May Somebody Receive an Aliya or Serve as Hazzan if He Needs to Eat or Drink
When Does Yom Kippur Begin?
If One Must Eat on Yom Kippur
The Yom Kippur Fast – Guidelines For a Woman Who Has Just Given Birth
Kapparot For a Pregnant Woman
Yom Kippur- What if a Person Faints on Yom Kippur?
Yom Kippur- How Much should a Sick Person Drink on Yom Kippur?
How is a Brit Milah Performed on Yom Kippur?
Yom Kippur- When Can Those With Heart and Kidney Conditions, Diabetics and Those Recovering from Surgery Eat?
Yom Kippur: Kiddush for One who Eats if Yom Kippur Falls Out on Shabbat?
The Yom Kippur Eve Prayer Service When it Falls on Friday Night
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found