Shabbat Candles - Part 1 - Rabbi Reuven Lauffer

so let's have a look the first thing that we do on shabbos for shabbos directly is we like Shabbos candles right where did the idea of lighting Shabbos candles come from and till ready the Gomorrah in its it's a good morning Chavez on top of gear Malamud base it says that first of all is a beautiful idea that something that you people should should should think about it says that somebody who's meticulous with a candle with shabbos candles will have children who are Torah scholars right so baby you know after this class you should phone home and you know tell your mothers you start lighting shoppers can you want me to succeed at this business you want me to come a great tourist goal I'm sure that's what your mother's want right then shush and and watch the meaning of the voyage they even George no real Finnegan the Babbage's a girls over the age of bat mitzvah light one candle things really when you get married you know why you add another one don't you when you get married you're lighting your lighting differently or something you like two different than you did before you were married every so any daughter the family room yes at the baby felt like she wasn't let me say oh really under bat mitzvah as well okay say that no no they don't whatever maybe that's the clinic reasons because there's not you know again if they're of the opinion that they need to like shabbos candles then it really from from bat mitzvah onwards is when the obligation will you know will become real so could be there before but mitts for the lighting shabbos candles in order just to get themselves used to fulfilling the Mitzvah what's cool that's cool that's called a dinner to a locker of gimmick of education that's why we also before you become Bar Mitzvah you're busy doing mitzvahs right so you know a pre bum it's for boy on saccade is going to wave the arbor minam right and there's even in any way by many people there's a custom that before their buffets of a month before the bum it so they start putting on filling by some people that the custom is to start putting on tefillin morning of the Bar Mitzvah for some people it's a month before some people even longer than that but again the idea is there to be accustomed to keeping Mitsos it's important that before a person becomes obligated in something that they're familiar with what they're doing where does the midst of lighting shabbos candles where does it come from it's not a deal riser it's not found in the Torah say we're in the Torah that you need to like shut candles rather it's something called me divrei so frame which is a quasi biblical obligation which means it's not written in the Torah at all but nevertheless it's a an almost biblical obligation right dear very so from it comes from it from the new vm it comes from the who comes from from from kazar wherever it came from according according to one medisch something called the sick to sutra sir so the Jewish people were already lighting shabbos candles in the time of Moshe Rabbeinu after the halacha Shalvis were given to them just before has seen I in a place called Mara so over there they started lighting Shabbos candles and mesa the halacha know she'll forgive him before now locals the shadows are given before her Cena right I look just a short while before they were given by a Shem to moisture in the same way that the other things were given as well just a McGee they won't give an hour have seen I they were given before but this show became Jews yeah it's all preparatory it's preparatory stuff i mean the the they were given a few things over there in that place called mara they were given a few things one of them with shovels the other one was the pura doing that I'll aqua pura doing the red heifer was given to them as well whatever i mentor wasn't even good place mara without a without without an R anyen Nara age but it comes from that it comes from the root is Mar which means bitter over there there was a happy incident with the Nocturne not wanting to learn her and you know all kinds of things like that a little bit like over here you know over here it's sweet right let's have a later it does the work learn one more i'll offer over here for today what what is the reason for lighting Shabbos candles so now lock explains that it's something called Oneg shabbos now you're probably familiar with anionic chavez when when they make a shove a torn and they and they get out you know after the meal they get out nuts and candies and you sing a little bit and that's called an oneg shabbos what is the word enigma no I need means pleasure a delight and owning tarnow give my delights right so I just thought maybe that's why we light Chavez candles you know right delight the candles are delight they're delighted oh it's never you can never go too far for a fun right so we like we like shabbos candles in order that bring to the more light there is in the home the greater is the o-negs are greater it's a pleasure that we're going to have another reason that's given is that by writing shabbos candles where r we're adding kavod we're adding honor to shabbos here you have you seen but but if you go what when you go to something called a suit that mitzvah pseudo smita right what too soon it sir and I think you know somebody's getting married that's as soon as mentoring somebody's making a seal right finishing a track tape that's a pseudo smita at a bris milah that's a pseudo Smith sir if you pay attention you'll see that whenever there's a pseudo smita there are candles that are going to be lit as well right and that that's a dimension not of oil a glance as I mention of covered giving covered too shabbat good keV Rodney's honor go to go to a fancy restaurant they have normally they have candles on the table if you go to you know go go to a fancy dinner party they'll be candles on the table and the idea of adding adding honor and ambiance to the to the you know what's going on over there that's where it's all coming from in it what it works for us as well right which means that we the Shabbos candles are there in order to give honor to Shabbat to make it special ya veras que no specific candles which may be any capital I mean in theory they can be any candles we're learning it's a chef you either know I'm havdalah they have a ten candle the kenwood cart so over there and I've dollar and the Gomorrah the Gomorrah learns out in half dollar that you need to have more than one wick because the brothel you make is borrowed my array our age which is plural so the Gomorrah learns out that you need to have a minimum of two weeks and that's why you'll find is incredibly ornate candles some of them are very very beautiful it's fat is one of the centers where they make these things and they can have you know they can have to they can have eight they can have ten they can have 12 you know it's too what whatever whatever you want that but that's what that's something else that's a different reason the candles that we light on on Chavez can they be anything yet it can be anything the only thing is that its preferred to use perhaps olive oil we'll talk about it in insertion but really you can you can use any kind of candles so long as the candles haven't been made for some kind of Idol worshiping reason and doesn't sound as far out as it sounds because I remember once there was a thing in London where the candles that were being sold in one of the kosher shops guys going back you know 40 years or something but they were actually they'd be made in a monastery presumably I mean again a monasteries making oughta make money right believe the presumably they were being made I would imagine with certain idol worshipping you know intentions whatever intent and and so they got take they got take it off the shelves right but you know can you use you can use really you know they don't have to be white the candles if you don't want if you want to you want to lie to you know I don't know gold candles or all black candles scented candles you could do that as well and have candy shabbos or less quite a while because you want to have them yeah the light the light should be there throughout throughout the meal the light should be there should it be there like cuz you couldn't surely use a candle that burns for like too long you know some of these big candles like does it have to it doesn't the truth is it doesn't have to burn out there's no obligation that it burn out which means that you could you could extinguish it you could you could I don't know why I mean maybe it's the only thing you've got at home you know maybe you found that you've run out of candles the only thing you've got these two what are called yard site candles which are great big fat candles that last a minimum of 25 hours maybe that's all you've got I don't know right so can you like those yeah you can like those there's a beautiful little story woman it's a beautiful little story they tell I don't know whether it's true or not but it really it's very it's very poignant that of a young girl who came from a very very assimilated family and she went off she started going off to ncsy which is like another sort of local outreach for youth in America it's an enormous organization and they started teacher about shoving and lighting shabbos candles she came home he she told her mummy that maybe it would be good idea to like shabbos candles and the mother like you know poopoo ruins are what are you talking about I don't have time I don't come back from work its nightly don't be silly right and anyway that the following Friday night her mother comes home from work it's already dark outside and she sees two yachts aight candles two of these candles that you light in the inning on the commit to commemorate the passing of somebody flickering away over there and she calls her daughter says what is it what's going on she says well these were the candles that I found she says by lit one for you or one for daddy and this woman was you know so shaken by what she heard that she accepted upon herself from then on to write like regular shabbos candles rather than to have her kid do that again it's a story true I don't know if it's not it ought to me because it's a it's one of those very stories but yeah I guess you could use candles like that if needs be there's no other alternative yeah is there a minimal duration they really they really first of all they need to light so that they're a light and that you get benefit from the light after it gets dark we'll talk about lighting candles here in you Lucia line you have to light candles for longer because we like candles earlier than other places but it needs to be you know stay alight for you to get back from shul and get some benefit from the light of the candles preferably it should sterlite for the whole of a suitor for the whole of the meal right again today with the advent of electric lights so the you know it's a little it's a little less urgent than it was in the past but in the past the Shabbos candles that was a source of their light and that's why so much emphasis is placed on onek shabbos because you know that the more light you had the more enjoyment you had the more pleasure you had and it was your only source of light why there are certain opinions that you know can't shove as candle should be little different rooms as well not just where you're going to eat but if it's a shame we'll talk about I guess we'll start tomorrow tomorrow you