CORR 60-63

CANDLE LIGHTING AT KOL NIDRE

QUESTION:

The congregation has an established custom of conducting a candle lighting ritual at the late Friday evening service. It is now planned to have such a candle lighting ritual at the Kol Nidre service (or is it, perhaps, already an established custom?). An official of the congregation objects to this Yom Kippur Eve ritual. It is not clear whether his objection applies just to this year, when Yom Kippur fell on the Sabbath or whether he objects to the candle ritual for any Yom Kippur. Should such a ritual at Kol Nidre be established or, if already established, should it be continued? (Asked by Rabbi Albert A. Michels, Sun City, Arizona.)

ANSWER:

THE OBJECTIONS of the officer of the congregation should be taken seriously, especially if his opposition to the candle ritual is shared by many members of the congregation. Even if there could be very little objection to such a ritual in a Reform congregation, nevertheless if a considerable portion of this congregation objects to such a ritual, even without justification, then it is wiser not to institute such a ritual if it does not already exist as a congregational custom.

This concern for the feelings of the congregation, regardless of whether they are justified or not, is based upon the well-known caution in the Talmud (Pesachim 50b) namely, that if people believe that something is forbidden, then even though actually it is permitted, you may not declare it permitted in their presence. In other words, we must be careful not to shock the religious sensibilities of people, even though they may not be justified. If, therefore, there is no such established custom at present in the congregation, and such a custom is now contemplated, then one must judge, carefully, the sentiment of the congregation in this matter.

However, the feelings of the congregation, pro or con, are not the basic consideration. They are only the grounds for caution. The question can best be decided objectively, i.e., according to law and tradition. Should such a custom exist (or continue to exist)? As to the actual law, the Halacha in the matter, there is no question that the custom of lighting candles at a late Friday evening service after dark is violative of the traditional laws of Sabbath rest. However, this lighting of candles in the synagogue has, by now, become a well established custom in Reform synagogues and our people have come to accept it. Our rabbinate, also, favors the ritual on the ground that its spiritual benefits outweigh the fact that it is violative of the laws of Sabbath work. The question now is: Should this established custom carry over to Yom Kippur also?

We mentioned above the possible sensitivities of people who accept the kindling of candles late Friday night but nevertheless object to it on Yom Kippur. Beyond the necessity of considering their sensitivity to the matter, we must now ask ourselves objectively: Do the laws of Sabbath rest apply more strictly to the Day of Atonement, since that is called “The Sabbath of Sabbaths”? As a matter of law, the laws of Sabbath rest apply also to the Day of Atonement (of course, even if it occurs on weekdays). See Minchas Chinuch, commandments 316, 317. But one may well say that the laws of Sabbath work apply, not more strictly, but less strictly to the Day of Atonement, since in the days of the old Jewish state, violation of the Sabbath was punished as a capital crime by the courts (Sekilla); whereas violation of the Yom Kippur laws of rest were not punished by the courts, but left to the punishment from heaven (Karres).

More specifically, the Sabbath lights belong properly in the home, on the table, not in the synagogue. The Mishnah (M. Sabbath 2:7) says that when a man comes home from the synagogue, he must ask the household, “Have ye kindled the lights?” There is, therefore, no strong legal reason for having these home lights kindled in the synagogue, as has become our modern Reform custom. On the other hand, the lighting of candles in the home on Yom Kippur is only a custom which varies in different cities (see Orah Hayyim 610:1). But lights in the synagogue on Yom Kippur are virtually mandatory; not only the memorial light (Neshama light) but lights in general are to be multiplied in the synagogue on the Day of Atonement (Orah Hayyim 610:4). Of course those lights were meant to be lit before dark. However, it can be stated that on the basis of tradition the kindling of lights on the Sabbath belongs primarily in the home, and the kindling of lights on Kol Nidre belongs primarily in the synagogue. Therefore, as far as tradition is concerned, we can say that if the custom had developed in Reform congregations to have a candle lighting ceremony only on Kol Nidre, that would be much more in consonance with tradition than our present custom of lighting candles on Friday night in the synagogue.

To sum up: If the ritual of candle lighting on Kol Nidre has not yet been established as a congregational custom and it is a question of initiating it now, then careful consideration should be given to the sentiment of the congregation on this matter. If there is no strong feeling against it in the congregation, and especially if it is already a custom of the congregation, then it is evident that lighting candles at Kol Nidre can find much more justification in the tradition than lighting them in the synagogue on Friday night, which is already an established custom with us.