How Shabbat candle lighting works: a complete guide
Lighting Shabbat candles is one of the most beloved mitzvos in the Jewish home. It takes a minute, but it has a few details worth knowing: who lights, how many candles, what comes first, and how late you can still do it.
Who lights
The mitzvah rests on everyone in the household, but the accepted custom is that the woman of the house lights on behalf of the family. Where there is no woman in the home, for example a man who lives alone, he lights for himself. Girls who are old enough to be taught mitzvos light too, and many families begin including daughters at a young age.
When a married couple is together, the wife usually lights and her husband fulfills his obligation through her. Some families have both spouses light their own candles. What matters is that everyone knows who is lighting and that the lighting happens before the proper time. If you are unsure what is customary, ask your rabbi.
How many candles
The minimum is two, corresponding to "zachor" and "shamor," the two wordings in which the Torah commands Shabbat in the Ten Commandments. That is the most common custom and it is perfectly fine. Many women add one candle for each child, so a family with three children lights five. Some light seven, for the days of the week, or ten.
Adding candles is not required, and if you have taken on a custom it is best to keep it. Wax or oil candles that last through the meal are preferred. Most authorities do not consider electric lights to be candle lighting, and we come back to this in the guide on lighting while traveling and in hotels.
The order: light, cover, bless
This is the part that surprises people. For most mitzvos we bless first and then act. Here, according to the Ashkenazi custom, we light first and bless afterward. The reason is that the blessing over the candles is also the moment when the one lighting accepts Shabbat upon herself, and from that moment she may no longer kindle a flame. So she lights while it is still a weekday, covers her eyes with her hands so she does not enjoy the light before the blessing, says the blessing, and only then lowers her hands and sees the light.
The blessing is: "Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu lehadlik ner shel Shabbat kodesh." You can see the text with transliteration and translation in 15 languages on our blessings page.
Some Sephardic women follow a different custom: they say the blessing before lighting, as with most mitzvos, and make a condition that Shabbat does not begin for them until they finish. If your family follows a different order than described here, your own custom is the right one for you.
Where to light
Light in the place where you will eat the Shabbat meal, so the light is put to use. In practice this is the table or close to it. Set the candles on a stable tray, away from curtains and curious children, because a burning candle may not be moved on Shabbat, so the spot must be chosen in advance.
If you are staying in a hotel or with other people, see the guide on lighting while traveling.
How late is too late
By halacha, Shabbat begins at sunset. The Jewish custom is to start early in order to add some of the weekday to the holy day, so the published candle lighting time is earlier, usually 18 minutes before sunset. Lighting before the published time is a complete mitzvah.
If you did not manage to light by the published time but the sun has not yet set, you may still light, and you should hurry rather than linger. If sunset has already passed, the answer depends on the circumstances, so ask a rabbi right away rather than deciding on your own. What is clear is that someone who has already accepted Shabbat may not kindle a flame herself, and then someone else in the home who has not accepted Shabbat can light on her behalf.
This is why lighting a little early helps: it gives you a margin against delays, traffic and a slow clock. Many families light about ten minutes before the published time.
Practical tips
- Prepare candles and matches ahead of time so you are not searching in the last minutes.
- Use a stable candlestick with a tray beneath it.
- Check the live times for the place where you actually are.
- Children love to help. Let them count candles and set up, and leave the lighting itself to the adults.
- A phone reminder helps, and the reminder on this site sends a notification before the time.
One last note
This guide describes the common practice and does not replace your rabbi. Customs differ between communities, and for any question about actual practice you should ask. The main sources for these laws are Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, chapter 263, and the Mishnah Berurah on it.
More guides
- Why candle lighting is 18 minutes before sunset, and how this site calculates
- The meaning and history of Shabbat candles: shalom bayis and customs
- Candle lighting when traveling, in hotels and across time zones