Fired Up

Prepared for print by Faigy Peritzman

As a seminary girl, I plan to spend every evening of Chanukah visiting a different family. May I be yotzei with each one of them for Chanukah lights?

You can only fulfill your Chanukah lights obligation if you light, or participate in the lighting, at the home in which you will sleep that night. A seminary girl cannot fulfill her obligation by merely eating dinner and lighting (or participating in the lighting) in that home.

My teenage daughters want to light their own Chanukah lights, but my husband says this isn’t permitted. Yet, I know many girls do this. Who is correct?

From a halachic perspective, it is clearly permitted for single (Ashkenazi) girls, of any age, to light their own individual Chanukah lights at the home of their parents. In practice there are different customs — some families allow their daughters of all ages to light, while others only permit girls who are below the age of bas mitzvah. Follow your family custom.

On Friday night, we realized that one of the kids left the toaster oven on. While this didn’t seem to be an immediate danger, I was concerned that the toaster oven will overheat overnight and cause a fire. Am I allowed to call a non-Jew to turn it off?

Yes, you may. If there is even a remote possibility of the toaster oven overheating and causing a fire, even though it does not appear imminent, it is permitted to directly ask a non-Jew to turn off the oven.

I recently gave birth and was in the hospital over Shabbos. The staff did not allow me to light Shabbos candles, instead offering me an electric candelabra. Am I yotzei hadlakas neiros with that?

Yes, you are yotzei hadlakas neiros with lighting an electric candelabra, or any other electric light (including a fluorescent or an LED bulb) that you light specifically for Shabbos. There are, however, conflicting views among contemporary poskim whether or not the brachah is recited over electric candle lighting, so unless you have a specific custom otherwise, it is recommended not to recite the brachah over electric candles.