Laws of Havdalah - Rabbi Pinchas Kadish shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to “Lema’an Yishme’u,” a podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 Today’s class will discuss the laws of Havdalah on Motzaei Shabbos. The Torah says, “Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it,” and the Sages taught: remember it when it begins, and remember it when it ends. Just as we remember Shabbos when it begins through Kiddush, we also need to remember it when it ends—to mark it off and distinguish it from the other days of the week. Regarding Kiddush, the Alter Rebbe explains at the beginning of siman 271 that this remembrance is through speech. In other words, saying Kiddush in davening is enough to fulfill the Torah obligation. The Sages then instituted Kiddush over a cup of wine as well. The same is true of Havdalah. The Gemara in Berachos relates that the Men of the Great Assembly initially instituted Havdalah in davening, through Atah Chonantanu. Later, when the Jewish people became prosperous and had wine and the other things needed for Shabbos, they instituted Havdalah over wine as well. In time, the Jewish people’s economic circumstances declined, and they no longer had enough wine to make Havdalah over a cup. So the practice returned to Havdalah in davening alone. Later, when the Jewish people again became prosperous and had what they needed for Shabbos, Havdalah over wine was restored. But the primary Havdalah is in davening. The primary Havdalah in our davening is Atah Chonantanu. When the stars come out, we add a few more minutes from the weekday to Shabbos. Once the time for Shabbos to end arrives, we daven Maariv. We begin the weekday Maariv, and there is a custom to say Vehu Rachum a little more

02:28 Speaker 2 slowly, to add a little more time from the weekday to Shabbos. Then we daven the regular Maariv, and in Shemoneh Esrei, in the blessing of Atah Chonen, we add Atah Chonantanu. The Alter Rebbe gives two explanations for why we add Atah Chonantanu specifically in Atah Chonen. First, distinguishing between one thing and another requires wisdom. So we distinguish between the holy and the ordinary in Atah Chonen, the blessing about wisdom. The Alter Rebbe gives another explanation as well: one may not ask for one’s needs on Motzaei Shabbos before Havdalah. On Shabbos, we daven a different Shemoneh Esrei from the one we say during the week—seven blessings instead of the eighteen blessings we are accustomed to on weekdays. So we need to mark the end of Shabbos during davening before continuing with the other blessings of the weekday Shemoneh Esrei—Atah Chonen, Selach Lanu, Refa’einu—which we do not say on Shabbos. Interestingly, one of the commentators, the Toras Shabbos, raises a difficulty here. The source of this halacha is the Magen Avraham. But in siman 268, it says that if someone mistakenly began the weekday Shemoneh Esrei on Shabbos and said some of its blessings, he can stop in the middle and continue with the Shabbos davening. If there is no prohibition against saying those blessings on Shabbos, why does the Magen Avraham say that one may not ask for one’s needs before Havdalah? One answer to this question is that this is why the Alter Rebbe first gives the reason that Atah Chonantanu belongs in Atah Chonen because distinguishing requires wisdom. The Alter Rebbe mentions the second reason too, because it appears in the halachic authorities, but it seems that the primary reason for the Alter Rebbe’s ruling,

04:38 Speaker 2 the reason we say Atah Chonantanu there, is its connection to wisdom and to Atah Chonen. When saying Atah Chonantanu, we begin the blessing: “You graciously grant knowledge to man and teach understanding to humankind. Grant us wisdom, understanding and knowledge from You.” Then we add Atah Chonantanu, the passage of Havdalah in davening. A person may forget to say it out of habit while davening Maariv. Sometimes, he can stop and say Atah Chonantanu. These are the rules: If he has not yet finished the blessing of Atah Chonen—that is, if he has not yet said, “Blessed are You, Hashem, Who grants knowledge”—he can stop, say Atah Chonantanu, and then finish the blessing. But once he has said, “Blessed are You, Hashem,” meaning that he is near the end of the blessing and has already said Hashem’s name, he does not need to go back. The reason is that he will later make Havdalah over a cup of wine, so there is no need to go back for Atah Chonantanu. Of course, Shabbos has not yet ended for him. After davening, if he says, “Blessed is He Who distinguishes between the holy and the ordinary,” that counts as Havdalah, and he can then do work and other activities—not eat or drink, of course, but things like gathering up sefarim, turning off the light, unplugging the hotplate and doing other things on Motzaei Shabbos. Some authorities hold that if a person forgets Atah Chonantanu and remembers in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei, he can say it in Shomei’a Tefillah. As we know, someone who wants to add personal requests can say whatever he wishes in his own words in the blessing of Shomei’a Tefillah. So, seemingly, if he forgot Atah Chonantanu, that gives him a place where he can say

06:35 Speaker 2 Atah Chonantanu. The Alter Rebbe mentions this disagreement in siman 294, se’if 5: some authorities hold that he may do so. But the Alter Rebbe also mentions another opinion, which says that Havdalah is not like a request or a prayer. Personal requests can be said in Shomei’a Tefillah, but Havdalah belongs with Atah Chonantanu. Certainly, if we hold that the main reason for saying Atah Chonantanu there is its connection to wisdom, it cannot be said in Shomei’a Tefillah. The Alter Rebbe therefore concludes that in this situation, if he has a cup of wine for after davening, he should not say it in Shomei’a Tefillah. Instead, he should continue davening until he finishes Shemoneh Esrei. After davening, he can say, “Blessed is He Who distinguishes between the holy and the ordinary,” which also counts as Havdalah. Someone who does not daven Maariv—for example, women, some of whom customarily do not daven Maariv because they are obligated to daven only once—can also say, “Blessed is He Who distinguishes between the holy and the ordinary,” when Shabbos ends. That counts as Havdalah through speech, and they can do all the activities we mentioned earlier. Atah Chonantanu also applies when someone has not yet davened Maariv but has already made Havdalah over a cup of wine. For example, a farbrengen continued into the night, the participants said Birchas Hamazon, and afterward, before davening, they made Havdalah over a cup of wine. By making Havdalah over wine, a person has fulfilled the Havdalah instituted by the Sages. Even so, when he comes to daven Maariv, the Alter Rebbe rules in se’if 2 that he must still say Atah Chonantanu in davening, despite having made Havdalah over wine. The reason is that

08:32 Speaker 2 The original enactment of Havdalah was in the prayer; it was not over a cup of wine. The Sages added that later, but the primary Havdalah was in the prayer, and that is why we need to say “Atah Chonantanu.” By contrast, when Tisha B’Av begins on Motzaei Shabbos, as happens in a number of years, and someone forgets to say “Atah Chonantanu,” there are opinions—and this is how the Alter Rebbe rules—that even then he should not say it in Shomea Tefillah. That is because he will say Havdalah over a cup of wine on Sunday evening, after the fast, so there is no need to repeat the prayer to say “Atah Chonantanu” again. Of course, as we said, the best solution is to say “Blessed is He Who separates between the holy and the ordinary.” That marks the end of Shabbos for him and serves the purpose of “Atah Chonantanu.” After the prayer, there is a passage we add after Shemoneh Esrei: the chazzan says half Kaddish, and we say two passages, “Vihi Noam” and “Ve’atah Kadosh.” We say “Vihi Noam” because we want blessing in the work of our hands throughout the week. The source for “Vihi Noam” is at the dedication of the Mishkan, when Moshe Rabbeinu blessed the Jewish people, saying, “May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us.” In effect, he blessed the work people do. So too, on Motzaei Shabbos, as we are about to begin a new week, we want blessing in the work of our hands all week long—in all our work and everything we undertake. That is why we say, “May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us.” However, when a Yom Tov falls during the week—on Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday, during the weekdays—the Chabad custom

10:31 Speaker 2 and the custom of Ashkenazim is not to say “Vihi Noam” on Motzaei Shabbos. That is because “Vihi Noam” refers to the six days of work during the week. Since there is a Yom Tov in the middle, a day on which we are forbidden to work, as it says, “You shall do no laborious work,” we do not have six consecutive days of work, and so we do not say “Vihi Noam” in that situation. By contrast, when Chanukah or Purim falls during the week, we do say “Vihi Noam,” because work is permitted on those days. Likewise, when Shabbos ends and Chol Hamoed begins, we do not say “Vihi Noam,” because there is a Yom Tov during the week—the final Yom Tov of Pesach, or Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. When we do not say “Vihi Noam,” we also omit the second passage, “Ve’atah Kadosh.” Instead, the chazzan says the full Kaddish, and we go straight to “Aleinu.” During Sefiras HaOmer, we say the full Kaddish, then count the Omer, and then say “Aleinu.” After the prayer ends, we head home. Before we leave, though, in many places it is customary to make Havdalah in shul, because some people have nowhere to make Havdalah at home or do not have wine. That is why Havdalah was instituted in shul. When Havdalah is made in shul, it is important to remember that if a person needs to make Havdalah at home, as we will discuss later, he should not listen to the Havdalah and fulfill his obligation through its blessing. If he fulfills his obligation, he cannot then make Havdalah at home for his wife. Once he has fulfilled his obligation

12:30 Speaker 2 he cannot go back and make it for his wife, because that matter is subject to doubt, as we will discuss later in the laws of Havdalah for women. Therefore, if someone sees that Havdalah is being made in shul, he should not listen to it. After all, he said “Atah Chonantanu.” He has fulfilled the obligation of Havdalah and may do work; he may watch a video of the Rebbe. He does not need to hear Havdalah over a cup of wine for that. Only someone who wants to fulfill his obligation and does not need to make Havdalah at home may listen to the Havdalah in shul and fulfill his obligation. The same applies to the blessings over the flame and the spices. He does not need to say those blessings there; he does everything at home. The laws of Havdalah over wine. We have finished praying and arrived home, and now we make Havdalah over a cup of wine, as the Sages instituted and as we said in the previous class. The order of Havdalah over wine is remembered by the acronym Yavneh—the Hebrew letters yud, beis, nun, and hei. They stand for wine, spices, flame, and Havdalah. That is the order of the blessings. If someone does not have a flame or spices available, however, he may skip the blessing over the flame or the blessing over the spices and simply say Havdalah without them. He can then say those blessings later on Motzaei Shabbos, but only during that night. By contrast, if someone did not make Havdalah on Motzaei Shabbos—whether because he was an onen, before the burial of a close relative, or because he had no wine—then if he makes Havdalah the next day, on Sunday, he does so without the blessings over spices and flame. He says only the Havdalah text: “Behold, G-d is my salvation,”

14:32 Speaker 2 then “Savri maranan,” “Blessed are You, Hashem, Creator of the fruit of the vine,” and then the blessing, “Who separates between the holy and the ordinary.” On Motzaei Yom Tov, when we mark the end of a festival that falls during the week, we do not say the blessings over the flame and spices, because they apply only on Motzaei Shabbos. We say the Havdalah text, “Behold, G-d is my salvation,” the blessing “Creator of the fruit of the vine,” and the blessing “Who separates”: “Blessed are You, Hashem, Who separates between the holy and the ordinary,” and so on. This also applies to a mourner making Havdalah during the seven days of shivah. There are many opinions and differences on this matter. It is generally agreed that the most appropriate course, ideally, is for someone else to make Havdalah for the mourner, if someone is available. But even when the mourner makes Havdalah himself during shivah, he may, of course, drink the wine. He may also say the verses beginning “Behold, G-d is my salvation.” We say those verses for blessing and good things. As the Alter Rebbe writes in section 296, they are all a good sign, and there is no obligation to say them. In other words, if a person begins with the blessing “Creator of the fruit of the vine” and continues with the other blessings and the blessing of Havdalah, omitting those verses, it is not a problem; that is perfectly fine. But of course, the custom is to say the entire Havdalah text, including the verses beginning “Behold, G-d is my salvation.” We make Havdalah standing. Different communities have customs of sitting while saying Havdalah, but our custom is to say it standing. As the Rebbe explains in the Pesach Haggadah, in the entry beginning “Kadeish,” our custom is also

16:29 Speaker 2 At Kiddush and at Havdalah, we say this standing. If someone made the blessing over spices before Havdalah—a friend brought him some wormwood, lemon verbena, cloves, or another fragrant plant and said, “Come, make a blessing,” and he did so—then during Havdalah, when he makes Havdalah over a cup of wine for his family, he may make the blessing Borei Minei Besamim again to fulfill their obligation. He may smell the spices again, and he may also let the others smell them. That is perfectly fine. By contrast, if he made the blessing Borei Me’orei Ha’eish over a candle before Havdalah, he cannot make that blessing again. At the end of section 299, the Alter Rebbe brings two opinions on the matter. In practice, it is best for each person to make the blessing for themselves. A woman listening to Havdalah from her husband may also make the blessing Borei Me’orei Ha’eish herself. Some women also have the practice of looking at their fingernails by the light of the candle. Drinking the Havdalah wine: After we have said the verses and made the blessings Borei Pri Hagafen, over the spices, and Borei Me’orei Ha’eish, there is the blessing of Hamavdil—the main blessing of Havdalah. To fulfill the obligation, it is important to remember that it is this final blessing of Havdalah that matters. So if someone arrives in the middle of Havdalah and has not heard all the verses beginning Hinei E-l Yeshuasi, although they are part of Havdalah, they are not required. Missing them does not prevent him from hearing the rest of Havdalah, hearing the remaining blessings, and fulfilling his obligation. Therefore, even if he did not hear Borei Pri Hagafen, and even if he did not hear

18:27 Speaker 2 the blessing over the spices, or Borei Me’orei Ha’eish, once he hears the blessing of Hamavdil, he fulfills his obligation. Having heard that blessing and fulfilled his obligation in Havdalah, he may go about his work. He may eat, drink, and do whatever he needs to do. Of course, from the outset we listen to all of Havdalah, starting with Hinei E-l Yeshuasi [unclear]. We gather everyone in the household at the beginning of Havdalah so they can stand, have the proper intention, listen, make the blessings over the spices and the candle, and hear the blessing of Hamavdil. After that, everyone can go about their business. Drinking the Havdalah wine: The person making Havdalah must drink the wine himself. And not only must he drink it himself: unlike the Kiddush wine, which we customarily share in small amounts with those at the table as part of a cup of blessing, there is no need to do so at Havdalah. The Alter Rebbe writes that there is no need to give the listeners a taste from the Havdalah cup; rather, the person making Havdalah generally drinks it all himself. He should leave a little wine to pour onto the plate and then use it to extinguish the candle, to show how dear the mitzvah of the candle lit for Motzaei Shabbos is to us. But our custom is not to give others a taste. Of course, this relates to one of the reasons women do not customarily drink from the cup of wine. A number of reasons have been given; we will mention just a few. One reason is that she extinguished the light of the world through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, bringing death into the world, and we use the Havdalah wine to extinguish the candle. Therefore, since she extinguished the light of the world, she does not drink from the wine

20:29 Speaker 2 used to extinguish the candle. It is a kind of analogy, and that is why women do not drink it. As for the things people say—that if women drink it, they will grow a mustache, or similar claims—of course, that is not something brought in halachah. There is no mention of it; it is simply said to discourage them from drinking it. This applies not only to women but also to girls, including girls of bas mitzvah age and even those under twelve. They too do not drink the wine. What about my son? May he drink the wine? Everyone surely remembers that on Motzaei Shabbos Chazon, during the Nine Days, when we make Havdalah, the Rema writes in the laws of Tishah B’Av that we do not drink the wine ourselves but give it to a young boy to drink. Of course, this means a child who has reached the age of chinuch, nine or older, who can drink the wine from our Havdalah. There, the reason is that the person making Havdalah cannot drink the wine himself, so we give it to a child instead. If there is no child, the person making Havdalah may drink it himself. Some even hold that the person making Havdalah drinks it himself even when a young boy is present. Each person should follow his custom or the guidance of his rabbis. At an ordinary Havdalah throughout the year, the person making Havdalah drinks the wine himself and does not give anyone else any to drink. If a young boy wants some wine, you can pour him a little from the bottle to drink, and that is perfectly fine. As for the type of wine used for Havdalah, the rule is that we make Havdalah over wine. Ideally, we do not use beer or tea. Wine comes first; if a person has no wine, cannot drink wine, finds wine harmful to his health, or has trouble drinking grape juice because it is too sweet, he may use chamar medinah.

22:23 Speaker 2 Today, chamar medinah includes light beer—not dark beer. He may make Havdalah over it, or, for example, over tea or coffee. Of course, they must not be boiling hot, so that he can drink a revi’is of the tea or coffee within the time it takes to eat a pras—about four minutes. They should be anywhere from lukewarm to hot, but not boiling, and Havdalah may be made over them. Of course, instead of Borei Pri Hagafen, we make the blessing “Blessed are You, Hashem, through Whose word all things came into being.” One may also use another alcoholic drink, such as vodka, whiskey, rum, and the like. As for juice or soft drinks such as cola, soda, or water, we do not make Havdalah over them, even after the fact. If someone mistakenly made Havdalah over one of them, he has not fulfilled his obligation and must make Havdalah again as required, over wine or chamar medinah. As for our practice of spilling wine at Havdalah: The Shulchan Aruch says that when pouring the cup of wine, we fill it to the brim so that a little spills onto the ground. Nowadays, our custom is not to spill it directly onto the floor. It is enough to have a small plate on the table: we fill the cup, the wine spills over its rim onto the plate, and that is sufficient. We spill the wine as a sign of blessing at the beginning of the week, and that is what we do. The custom

24:22 Speaker 2 Our custom is that not only at Havdalah, but also at Kiddush, or whenever we make a blessing over a cup of wine—whether at bentching or at sheva brachos under the chuppah—when we pour the wine, we fill the cup to the brim so that some spills over. Of course, if we are using wine from the Shemitah year, wine from an otzar beis din that has the sanctity of Shemitah, we do not let it spill, because that would waste the wine, and things with the sanctity of Shemitah may not be wasted. So we fill the cup to the top in a way that it will not spill. If some does spill as a result of holding the cup, we need to collect all the spilled wine and drink it, or at least make sure it is not wasted: pour it into a Shemitah bin until it turns sour or spoils, and only then put it in the regular trash. We hold the cup in the right hand. Our custom is to take the cup in the right hand, pass it to the left, and place it back on the right hand, with the fingers curved, as explained in the classes on the laws of Kiddush. That is how we recite Havdalah. When we reach the blessing over the spices, the Alter Rebbe says to pass the cup from the right hand to the left, hold the spices in the right hand, and make the blessing. Then, for the blessing over the flame, he holds the cup in his right hand, makes the blessing over his left hand, passes the cup to his left hand, and looks at his right hand. That is what appears in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch. In practice, as we saw many times when the Rebbe made Havdalah in 770 in front of everyone, the Rebbe would set down the cup for the blessing over the spices, hold the spices with both hands, and smell them. Likewise,

26:27 Speaker 2 for the flame, he would make the blessing and look at both hands together, unlike what is written in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch. That is also the practice among Chabad chassidim, among Anash: we set down the cup of wine after the blessing of Hagafen, and for the blessings over the spices and the light of the fire, we do not hold the cup. We make those blessings with our hands free, then take the cup again in the right hand, pass it to the left, return it to the right hand, and continue with the blessing of Hamavdil. During the Havdalah blessings, the listeners gathered around the person making Havdalah should look at the cup and the flame. It is important for people to know that they should look at the cup and the flame while concentrating on fulfilling their obligation. When the blessing is made over the cup, everyone looks at it because, as stated regarding a cup of blessing, they should set their eyes upon it. The Alter Rebbe says this in siman 183, and here as well, in siman 66, paragraph 2. The person making Havdalah must do so too: when he recites Borei Pri Hagafen and Hamavdil, he should look at the cup and set his eyes upon it. After Havdalah, as we said, he sits and drinks. According to halachah, he must drink most of a revi’is, but the custom is to drink a full revi’is, so that he can make a concluding blessing afterward. In the previous classes we discussed making Havdalah over wine, and we also discussed Atah Chonantanu in davening. Now we come to two other central parts of Havdalah: the blessing over the spices and the blessing over the flame. One reason we make a blessing over spices on Motzaei Shabbos is that throughout Shabbos we have an additional soul, which enters on Erev Shabbos and remains with us all Shabbos. When Shabbos ends, that soul departs, and because it is departing,

28:51 Speaker 2 the soul grieves at its departure—that is how the halachah puts it. In other words, it is sad to leave on Motzaei Shabbos. So, to make its departure pleasant, we smell fragrant spices. That is how we accompany the additional soul’s departure on Motzaei Shabbos, through the blessing over the spices. If someone has no spices at the time—spices, as we will see, over which one can make the blessing Borei Minei Vesamim—he can, as we said in earlier classes, skip that blessing and continue to the blessing over the light of the fire, if he has a flame. There is no need to go looking for spices before continuing. The blessing over the spices can, however, be made throughout Motzaei Shabbos. If spices become available later that evening, after he has made Havdalah, folded his tallis, and put away the hotplate and urn—perhaps someone brings him cloves or something else over which he can make a blessing—it is fitting and worthwhile to make the blessing Borei Minei Vesamim then. What blessing do we make over the spices on Motzaei Shabbos? When we make blessings over fragrances during the week, throughout the year, and even on Shabbos itself, there are several kinds. Over some we say Borei Atzei Vesamim, such as myrtle. Not myrtle set aside for the Four Species, because it has been designated for that mitzvah, but ordinary myrtle during the year. Say a neighbor has myrtles and we smell them. Some communities even have the custom of making a blessing over myrtles at Kiddush on Friday night. If someone brings us myrtles and we want to make their blessing, it is Borei Atzei Vesamim. By contrast, for fragrant herbs we say Borei Isvei Vesamim—for example, lemon verbena and shiba[?], plants with stems that are not trees.

30:54 Speaker 2 Over those we say Borei Isvei Vesamim. There are also things that are neither trees nor herbs, whose blessing is Borei Minei Vesamim—for example, the cloves we know from the spice shop. On Motzaei Shabbos, since these three different blessings apply during the week, seemingly, when we take spices for Havdalah—whether myrtle, fragrant herbs such as the lemon verbena and shiba we mentioned, or cloves—the proper practice according to halachah, as the Alter Rebbe states in siman 216, paragraph 3, would be to make the appropriate blessing for each one. But the Rema notes, and the Alter Rebbe also mentions in his halachic ruling, that the widespread custom on Motzaei Shabbos is to say Borei Minei Vesamim over every kind of fragrance, because not everyone knows which blessing applies. People customarily say a blessing that fulfills the obligation after the fact for all kinds of fragrances; this practice comes from the Rema. Since many Jews, particularly in earlier generations, did not know how to distinguish between fragrant herbs and fragrant trees, the practice was established to say Borei Minei Vesamim. Someone who says that blessing over any kind of fragrance fulfills his obligation after the fact on any day of the year. So on Motzaei Shabbos too, rather than confuse people about whether to say Isvei or Atzei, they established that one should say Borei Minei Vesamim, which fulfills the obligation after the fact. The Alter Rebbe does, however, offer a useful suggestion: if someone is using something whose own blessing is not Borei Minei Vesamim, such as myrtle, it is worthwhile to add a piece of musk to the fragrant spices. Musk is a kind of blood from an animal that existed in the past, and he makes the blessing over it. Since it has a pleasant fragrance, he makes over it

33:01 Speaker 2 Borei minei vesamim together with myrtle or other things whose blessing is not borei minei vesamim, and that way he fulfills his obligation properly. Nowadays we have cloves, which are very common throughout the Jewish people, and we recite borei minei vesamim over them in the first instance, and that is perfectly fine. In many places, though, people bring herbs to make the blessing over, or, for example, they bring myrtle. According to the Alter Rebbe, even when someone is holding myrtle or lemon verbena, whose blessing would not ordinarily be borei minei vesamim, on Motzaei Shabbos he recites borei minei vesamim in the first instance, because that is the universal custom. When we hold the spices, they are usually inside a container—a nice container, sometimes a beautiful silver one—and when we open it, we can smell them. Nevertheless, the halachic authorities write that a person should open the container and even take out some of the spices before making the blessing. Now, even if someone makes the blessing while the spices are still inside the container, halachically this is considered a scent with a source. In other words, the spices themselves are giving off the scent. What I smell is not a scent absorbed by the container, but the scent of the spices themselves, the cloves inside it. In practice, it is preferable to take some out into your palm, or to open the container and handle them a little, recite borei minei vesamim, and smell them. If they are in a perforated bag, with holes in it, there is no need to open it. Because it has holes, I am smelling the spices themselves, and that is perfectly fine. There are many kinds of spices, as discussed in the laws of blessings over things from which one derives benefit. We will not go into every practice now. In practice, the rule is

35:03 Speaker 2 that they should be natural substances. That is, synthetic perfume—perfume made with alcohol, the perfumes we know, women’s perfumes or various deodorants, or all kinds of pleasantly scented gels—we do not recite the blessing over spices on them, because they are not natural fragrances. We recite the blessing over natural things, natural plants such as lemon verbena, wormwood, rosemary, myrtle, and cloves. When someone recites the blessing over spices for another person—for example, as we mentioned earlier, I have already heard Havdalah and fulfilled my obligation, and I want to recite the blessing over spices for someone else; or I am making Havdalah for my family and reciting the blessing over spices after I have already fulfilled my obligation—I can recite it for the other person, but I also need to smell the spices myself, because this is a blessing over something from which one derives benefit. I benefit from it; scent is something the soul enjoys. That is why I can recite the blessing for the other person. On the other hand, someone who cannot smell, such as an anosmic person [unclear], someone with no sense of smell, or someone with a cold so severe that he cannot smell anything at all—if he truly cannot smell anything, then certainly one cannot recite the blessing for him. But as soon as he can detect even a little scent, however faint, he can recite borei minei vesamim, or I can recite it for him and smell the spices, and he can smell them too, and that way he fulfills his obligation. Recently, there have been many cases of people testing positive for the virus, one of whose symptoms is the loss of taste and smell. In that situation, when he has no sense of smell at all, when it is completely gone and he

37:03 Speaker 2 cannot smell anything whatsoever, then of course he cannot recite borei minei vesamim, because he has no sense of smell. He is like the anosmic person [unclear] or the person with a cold whom we mentioned earlier. After we have used the spices for several Shabbosos and handled them, and their scent has become very faint and they have dried out—or when we want to clean up and dispose of them before Pesach—may we throw them in the garbage, or do they have sanctity? The halachah is that these spices have no sanctity that would require us to treat them like other sacred items. Nevertheless, since we used them for a mitzvah, it is proper not to throw them directly into the garbage with the rest of the household waste. Instead, put them into a small plastic bag, a sandwich bag, or whatever you have at home. Then you can throw them in the garbage, and that is perfectly fine, because they have no sanctity in themselves, though we used them for a mitzvah. In the previous lessons we discussed the blessing over spices and the blessing over the wine for Havdalah, and today we will discuss the blessing over the flame. The reason we recite the blessing over the flame on Motzaei Shabbos is that, as it is taught, when darkness descended upon the world, Adam took two stones and struck them together, and fire was produced. Since fire was created then, it is customary to recite borei me’orei ha’esh on Motzaei Shabbos during Havdalah. Of course, this applies to Motzaei Shabbos. When Yom Tov ends during the week, we do not recite the blessing over the flame; we recite it only on Motzaei Shabbos. And if Yom Tov falls on Shabbos, so that Motzaei Shabbos is also the end of Yom Tov, we recite the blessing over the flame because it is Motzaei Shabbos, not because

39:04 Speaker 2 it is Yom Tov. As we mentioned in previous lessons, if a person does not have a flame on Motzaei Shabbos, he can skip that blessing during Havdalah and continue. But if, later that Motzaei Shabbos, he has access to a flame—two matches or a candle over which he can make the blessing—then he may recite it. It is proper for him to recite borei me’orei ha’esh over the flame itself. If he makes Havdalah on Sunday night, or if he forgot to recite the blessing over the flame on Motzaei Shabbos, he should not go back and recite it during the week, because this blessing was instituted only for Motzaei Shabbos. There is another occasion when we recite the blessing over the flame even when it is not Shabbos: Motzaei Yom Kippur. Even when Yom Kippur falls on a weekday—on a Thursday, Wednesday, or Monday—and we make Havdalah after Yom Kippur, we do not recite the blessing over spices, but we do recite the blessing over the flame. The reason is that, after a full day when we were forbidden to use fire, on Motzaei Yom Kippur we are permitted to cook and to use fire. That is why we recite the blessing over the flame on Motzaei Yom Kippur. There is, however, a difference between the flame used on Motzaei Yom Kippur and the flame used on other Motzaei Shabbosos. On an ordinary Motzaei Shabbos, I light a new candle: I light a match or use a lighter, and light the Havdalah candle. On Motzaei Yom Kippur, I need a flame that has remained burning since before Yom Kippur, throughout the twenty-four or twenty-five hours of Yom Kippur, until Motzaei Yom Kippur, and I recite the blessing over that. Of course, there are details and different ways of doing this, which will be explained in the lesson on the laws of Yom Kippur. Does the blessing over the flame

41:05 Speaker 2 Is this a blessing over something we enjoy, or a blessing over a mitzvah? The halachic authorities differ on this. Is it something I benefit from, or is it actually a mitzvah? There is a blessing over the mitzvah of kindling fire, and therefore the blessing over the candle is not a blessing over enjoyment but a blessing over a mitzvah. The practical difference is whether I can recite it for someone else. If we say it is a blessing over enjoyment, then just as I can recite a blessing for my friend when I myself benefit, I can recite this blessing for my friend. On the other hand, if it is a blessing over a mitzvah, then I cannot recite it for someone else, because each person must recite the blessing for himself. The Alter Rebbe mentions this at the end of section 269, paragraph 3. In practice, if someone has already recited the blessing over the candle, then during Havdalah, if another person is present and listening, that person should recite the blessing himself, not have someone else recite it for him. The reason is that once I have recited the blessing over the candle myself, I cannot recite it again. After all, the blessing over the candle is recited only once on Motzaei Shabbos. We do not recite it two, three, or five times, because once is enough. What kind of candle can be used for the blessing? Today, stores and supermarkets generally sell a special Havdalah candle with two wicks, three wicks, and sometimes five or ten wicks. That creates a torch, which is preferable from the outset, because we recite the blessing over the lights of fire. “Lights” is plural, referring to multiple lights. So when I have several wicks, I recite the blessing over them, and that is the common practice today. On the other hand, even someone who does not have a Havdalah candle and has

42:50 Speaker 2 only a small candle, a single candle, can recite Borei Me’orei Ha’eish over it. The wording refers not only to multiple wicks, but also to the different colors of the fire itself. There is blue flame and yellow flame, and it is perfectly fine to recite Borei Me’orei Ha’eish over that too. A person can even take matches—take two matches and hold them together so they count as a kind of torch—and recite Borei Me’orei Ha’eish over them. When we come to recite the blessing over the light of the fire, we bring our hands close, say, “Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who creates the lights of fire,” and look at our fingernails and the backs of our fingers, with our fingers turned toward the palm. Looking at them is considered benefiting from the light. The reason we look at our fingernails is that halachah established this as a sign of blessing. Just as fingernails keep growing, we want blessing to grow and increase—whether in earning a good livelihood, having children, or anything else we want in abundance, above all, an abundance of blessing. Of course, when we recite the blessing over the fire, we cannot be far away from it. We need to be close enough to benefit from the fire itself and see the candlelight reflected on our fingernails and the backs of our hands. So if the Havdalah candle is several meters away from me, or even farther, it does not help to recite Borei Me’orei Ha’eish from a distance, because I am not benefiting from the light itself. I need to come closer. Therefore, if there is a large crowd, as there is at a Shabbos chassan or another Shabbos when many people gather together—there may be a hundred and seventy people

44:47 Speaker 2 or even more—and people cannot get close to the candle, they should recite the blessing after Havdalah. They can take the candle and recite the blessing on their own, as required, rather than doing so from a distance. There are also different customs concerning the candle. Some have the custom to turn off the electric lights so that the light comes from the flame and they can benefit from the fire itself. Nevertheless, our custom is not to turn off the electric lights, because when I bring my hands close, I benefit from the torch itself. When a woman recites the blessing over the candle, some have written that she does not need to look at her fingernails; Rabbi Avraham Chaim Naeh writes this in Ketzos Hashulchan. But many Chabad rabbis do not make that distinction. The Alter Rebbe does not distinguish between them on this matter, so a woman too may look at her hands and recite the blessing. As for how large the flame needs to be: when I have a torch, a large flame, it certainly suffices according to all opinions, and that is the preferred way. But even if I have a small candle, a tea light, it also suffices, because it still has a flame I can benefit from. On the other hand, if I have no candle and no matches, only a lighter, and when I light it the flame is very tiny, I cannot benefit from such a flame and cannot recite Borei Me’orei Ha’eish over it. Halachah also discusses flames that may not be used—for example, candles used for idol worship, or candles at non-Jewish gatherings held for idol worship. Boruch Hashem, here in Eretz Yisroel today we have

46:36 Speaker 2 our own pure, kosher flames. In places where there is a flame from an idolatrous gathering or the like, halachah says it cannot be used. But today we have a flame that is kosher to the highest standard, which is excellent. If we want to light a candle from the candle used at that idolatrous gathering, halachah says that is permitted. The candle we benefit from must be one lit to provide light, not just any candle that happens to be burning. For example, if we have a memorial candle, a yahrzeit candle, it was lit for the soul of someone who passed away. I cannot recite Borei Me’orei Ha’eish over it, because it was not lit to provide light. It was lit for another purpose, so I need to light a separate candle to provide light and recite the blessing over that. Therefore, if someone has no candle but has a gas burner, or a spiral heater, or any other heat source, he obviously cannot recite the blessing over it, because it was not lit to provide light. Ovens, radiators, and all these things are meant for heating, not lighting, even if they give off light and glow red. The same applies to a gas flame. It does give off light, but it is not intended for lighting; it is intended for cooking or other purposes, so one cannot recite Borei Me’orei Ha’eish over it. Someone who wears glasses does not need to remove them. He may look at the flame through his glasses, even though they come between his eyes and the flame. On the other hand, may it never happen to us or to you, a person who is blind and cannot see cannot recite Borei Me’orei Ha’eish, because he needs to see the fire. He needs to

48:29 Speaker 2 see and benefit from the fire itself. Halachah does say that when lighting Shabbos candles, even a woman who, may it never happen, is blind and cannot see still recites the blessing when she lights them. She benefits because others can see by their light and guide her where to walk. On Motzaei Shabbos, the law is different, because the blessing over the candle is for the light—rather, sorry, it is about benefiting from the light. I need to benefit from the light, and here that person does not benefit from it, so he cannot recite the blessing. Of course, if I have already recited the blessing, I can recite it for the young children in my household. After we have recited the blessing over the wine and the Havdalah blessing, and the blessings over the spices and the candle, we pour a little wine from the cup—after drinking a revi’is—into the plate or saucer. We use it to extinguish the candle, showing that the candle was lit solely for the mitzvah of Havdalah and not for other purposes. Many people have the custom to smell the candle’s smoke as a symbolic reminder. Some write that it is connected with shalom bayis, but the Rebbe points out that our custom is not to smell the smoke of the candle.