Guides to Shabbat candle lighting, Yom Tov and Havdalah
Clear explanations of the questions people keep asking us: how to light, when to light, and why the times look the way they do. Each guide stands on its own and ends with a link to the live times.
- How Shabbat candle lighting works: a complete guide
Who lights, how many candles, the order of lighting, blessing and covering the eyes, and how late is too late. A plain explanation of Shabbat candle lighting at home. - Why candle lighting is 18 minutes before sunset, and how this site calculates
Why we light 18 minutes before sunset, local customs in Jerusalem, Haifa, Petah Tikva and some US communities, and exactly how this site calculates the times. - When Shabbat ends: nightfall, 8.5 degrees and Rabbeinu Tam
When Shabbat ends and why the time varies by place and season: tzeit hakochavim, 8.5 degrees below the horizon, the Rabbeinu Tam opinion of 72 minutes, and what happens in the far north. - Havdalah step by step: wine, spices, flame and Hamavdil
How to make Havdalah on Motzei Shabbat: a cup of wine, spices, a flame and the blessings, the difference between Ashkenazi and Sephardic customs, and Havdalah after Yom Tov and Yom Kippur. - Yom Tov candle lighting: an existing flame, Shehecheyanu and Yom Kippur
How to light candles on Yom Tov: lighting from an existing flame on the second night, lighting after nightfall, the Shabbat and Yom Tov blessing combinations, Shehecheyanu and the Yom Kippur candles. - Candle lighting when traveling, in hotels and across time zones
How to light Shabbat candles while traveling: go by where you are, flights, hotels and electric lights, and the international date line in brief. - Candle lighting times by location: why exact beats a city list
Why candle lighting varies by minutes within one area, how this site uses your phone location, what happens to your privacy, and how to add the site to your home screen. - The meaning and history of Shabbat candles: shalom bayis and customs
Why we light Shabbat candles: shalom bayis, the sources in the Talmud and Mishnah, a mitzvah of women and men alike, and the custom of an extra candle for each child. - About Ner, Shabbat candle lighting times
Who built candletimes.com and why: Itzik Cohen (Aba Itzik), a cancer survivor, who wanted to give back to the Jewish people for the support he received.
These guides are written carefully and for learning. When in doubt, or when your community follows a different custom, please ask your rabbi.