Hadlakas Neiros in an Electrically Lit Home?

In this week’s Olam Hahalachah, Rabbi Mendel Prescott Rosh Yeshiva of Machon Smicha addresses How We Make a Bracha on Shabbos Candles in a Fully Lit Room.

Question: The way we make the bracha on hadlakas neiros shabbos has always bothered me. The purpose of the mitzva, as described by Chazal, is for the sake of Shalom Bayis – shelo yikashlu b’eitzim v’avanim. However, this is certainly not a concern today when our houses are fully illuminated by electric lighting. So how can a bracha be made in this way?

Answer: A similar issue is addressed by early poskim, which may shed light on your question. The Mechaber and the Rama[1] disagree on whether multiple women can make a bracha when lighting Shabbos candles in the same room. The Mechaber rules that only the first one to light makes a bracha as she introduces light into the room. Any additional women lighting afterward cannot recite a bracha because the room is already illuminated by the first woman’s candles. The fact that their neiros provide tosefes orah does not warrant a bracha. However, the Rama disagrees and rules that all women make a bracha because their neiros provide tosefes orah contributing to simcha and shalom bayis.

Your questions about hadlakas neiros in an electrically-lit room is particularly relevant according to the Mechaber who doesn’t approve for a bracha on tosefes orah. According to the Rama, a bracha can be made since the neiros do add some light.[2]

However, some poskim argue that the Rama’s mention of tosefes orah means a noticeable increase in light, which is only relevant when adding candles to candlelight. But in an electrically-lit space, the added candles have almost no effect—thus your difficulty applies to both shittos.

To address this issue, some poskim[3] explain that Shabbos candles extend beyond their functional purpose of providing light as they also confer a sense of kavod and dignity to the seudah, as candlelight remains a feature in formal dinners even today. Originally, the kavod provided by the neiros was simply that the meal would not be conducted in darkness. Today, the kavod is the ambiance that the glowing neiros provide. (Imagine a seudah without neiros; something significant would be missing.) According to this sevarah, even the Mechaber would allow a bracha when lighting in previously illuminated room—whether by electricity or candlelight—since the neiros are lit specifically for Shabbos to enhance kavod Shabbos.

It is only in the case where neiros had already been lit in the room l’chvod shabbos that the Mechaber holds a bracha may not be recited, since the mitzvah was fulfilled by the first neiros.[4]
Rav Nissim Karelitz[5] takes a similar approach but applies it only to the Rama’s shittah. He says that tosefes orah is true even when in a well-lit room with electric lighting. But he notes that the neiros should be placed on, or very close to, the table where their ambiance is felt at the seudah; otherwise their impact is minimal against the electrical lighting.

Rav Moshe,[6] in a discussion on neiros shabbos nowadays, explains that neiros serve a practical purpose: a contingency in case of a blackout. Although blackouts are rare—and not enough to justify an established takanah—once the takanah was instituted, it remains practiced even for secondary benefits, like this one. A bracha can therefore be made even in a brightly lit room as the neiros still contribute to kavod Shabbos.

Given the rarity of blackouts, Rav Moshe himself acknowledges the weaknesses in this approach. In Dibros Moshe[7] he revisits the topic and takes a more fundamental approach citing a machlokes Rishonim regarding the nature of the takanah of hadlakas neiros. The Rambam classifies it under oneg Shabbos and therefore maintains that if previously lit candles already illuminate the room, there is no chiyuv to light since oneg is already provided. However, Rabbeinu Tam views the takanah more mitzvah-like – meaning the maasah hadlakah is the main element of the mitzva regardless of whether there is a need for the light. The minhag to do hadlakas neiros in an electrically lit room aligns perfectly with shittas Rabbenu Tam.

Nevertheless, to avoid concerns of bracha l’vatalah, some poskim[8] propose a solution: incorporate the electric lighting into the mitzva of hadlakas neiros, by turning them off then back on with the intention of kavod shabbos. When the bracha is said, one should have in mind the electric lights as well. It is reported that Rav Moshe implemented this practice in his home.[9]
There is some discussion about the order, whether to turn on the electric lights first or light the neiros first. The question depends on which hadlakah is more important.[10] There is valid reasoning for both sides; the electric lights serve as the primary source of illumination, while the candles are genuine fire flames. Rav Elyashiv therefore rules that either order is permissible.[11]

Ultimately, this practice is a chumra, since halachically one may rely on the Rama who allows a beracha on tosefes orah. When one examines the source of the Rama’s ruling – the Maharil[12] – it becomes evident that even in an electrically illuminated room a neir is considered tosefes orah. The Maharil proves the idea of tosefes orah from the practice of lighting candles in shul on Yom Tov even in broad daylight. The additional light, negligible as it may be, is apparently considered tzorech hayom allowing the melacha to be performed on Yom Tov. If a candle in broad daylight is considered tosefes orah, then certainly the same applies in an electrically lit room.

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[1] סימן רסג (סעיף ח)
[2] ראה שו”ת מנחת אשר חלק ג (סימן יז)
[3] ראה שו”ת דברי יציב או”ח (סימן קכ), שמירת שבת כהלכתה פרק מג (סעיף לד, הערה קעא), תשובות והנהגות (חלק ו סימן סח), ושו”ת מנחת אשר (שם).
[4] עיין בספר שבות יצחק – נר שבת (פרק ד אות ב) מה שמבאר בשם הגרי”ש אלישיב.
[5] חוט שני פרק פג (אות ט)
[6] אגרות משה או”ח חלק ה (סימן כ)
[7] מס’ שבת סימן כו (הערה מג)
[8] שו”ת באר משה (חלק ה סימן קיב), חזון עובדיה (שבת, חלק א עמ’ רטו)
[9] ראה בספר Radiance of Shabbos עמ’ 20, להג”ר שמחה בונם כהן. וסיפר שם שכך סבר הגר”י קמנצקי.
[10] בספר שבות יצחק (שם) פרק ד (אות ג) האריך בנידון זה.
[11] שבות יצחק (שם, עמ’ מט)
[12] שו”ת מהרי”ל (סימן נג), הובא בב”י סי’ רסג.