Kindling and Extinguishing Fire on Yom Tov - Rabbi Eyal Peled shlita

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

00:09 Speaker 2 Shalom u’vracha. Today we’re going to learn about kindling a fire on Yom Tov. We’ll try to cover the situations in which it’s permitted to kindle a fire on Yom Tov and those in which it isn’t. We’ll discuss practical details, and gradually get a sense of what’s permitted and what’s forbidden. First of all, we know that kindling a fire is permitted on Yom Tov. Kindling is considered a melacha needed for food preparation, and any melacha defined that way is permitted on Yom Tov for the sake of eating. The same applies to kindling: I may kindle a fire on Yom Tov to prepare food, if I want to cook, bake, and so on. Of course, transferring a flame follows the principle our Sages gave us: since these melachos were permitted when needed for food, they were also permitted for other needs. This principle applies to kindling and to all food-preparation melachos in general. Since the Torah permitted you to perform the melacha to prepare food, it also permitted it for other needs, provided they are forms of benefit shared by everyone. We’re talking about benefits or needs that apply to anyone, not special needs of particularly sensitive or fastidious people. So kindling a fire is permitted not only to prepare food. It’s also permitted to heat the home. If it’s cold and people want to warm up, I may kindle a fire to warm the people in the house. Similarly, I may kindle a fire to wash my hands and face, but not to wash my whole body. That isn’t considered a benefit shared by everyone; it’s a benefit associated with sensitive people, people accustomed to extra comforts, and so on. Even though nowadays we see that most people bathe every day, halacha considers

02:27 Speaker 2 washing the whole body a special luxury. So it can wait until after Yom Tov. Even if Yom Tov lasts two days—or even three days—halacha still doesn’t see it as a critical need. In any event, I may kindle a fire to wash my face and hands, since that is a benefit shared by everyone. There’s no problem with that. Now, when we say that kindling a fire is permitted, there’s a very important halacha to remember: even though kindling is permitted, creating a new fire is not. You may light a fire from an existing flame, but creating a new fire was not permitted. That is called nolad, and it’s forbidden on Yom Tov. Nolad was not permitted on Yom Tov. It isn’t a melacha needed for food preparation, and it’s forbidden on Yom Tov, particularly since you could have done it before Yom Tov. There’s no problem with lighting a fire as we actually do: we light a candle before Yom Tov and use it to light fires elsewhere, in other ways. So kindling a fire is permitted, but only by lighting one fire from another, not by creating a new fire. That said, creating a new fire is a rabbinic prohibition. It isn’t forbidden by the Torah; nolad is only forbidden by rabbinic law. Therefore, one may ask a non-Jew to light a fire. This is called a shvus d’shvus for the sake of a mitzvah, for a Yom Tov need, or for a pressing need, which is permitted. Even on Shabbos, a shvus d’shvus is permitted for those needs. So if we somehow find ourselves in the dark and can’t eat or function properly, we can call a non-Jew and explicitly ask him to turn on the light. We already touched on the fact

04:41 Speaker 2 that kindling a fire also includes turning on electricity. Turning on electricity is also considered kindling a fire. There are certain distinctions between types of bulbs, but what’s clear is that a bulb with a filament that glows is considered actual fire, and turning on such a bulb is forbidden. Turning on fluorescent lights of various kinds is also forbidden. In any event, creating a new fire or a new light is forbidden. But asking a non-Jew to turn on the light, to turn on the electricity, is permitted on Yom Tov if there’s a need—such as a Yom Tov need or a mitzvah need. Now, since we have to be careful not to kindle a new fire, when we want to light a gas burner, we should make sure to do it from an existing flame. So if we want, for example, to light a match in order to light the burner with it, we can bring the match close to a flame and light it from there. But if I take a match and hold it against a hot hotplate to make it ignite, that’s considered creating a new fire. It isn’t lighting one fire from another. The hotplate isn’t a fire; it’s very hot metal. Likewise, if I want to hold the match against a very hot bulb and light it that way, that would be creating a new fire, and it’s forbidden. But if I want to light a match from a burning cigarette, that is possible. On the other hand, Nitei Gavriel [unclear] says that if the cigarette is already starting to go out, it would be forbidden to light a match from it. Those are called dim embers—dim embers—and one may not light a match from them. But if the cigarette is burning, it’s permitted. The fire isn’t confined to the ember, but it’s still a cigarette, a burning ember

07:01 Speaker 2 from which it’s permitted to light a match. We said that turning on electricity is also forbidden, so turning on heating elements of various kinds, such as an oven or a hotplate, creates a new fire, which is forbidden. Sometimes we want to increase the flame. If I want to increase a flame, there’s no problem. If it’s a gas burner and the flame is too small, and I need a larger flame now, there’s no problem with turning it up. That’s perfectly fine. I haven’t created a new fire; I’ve only enlarged the existing one. But if I want, for example, to raise the temperature of an oven, I have to be very careful. In that case, I’m not increasing the heat of a particular heating element. Rather, by raising the temperature, I’m switching on additional heating elements, and that’s a problem. It creates a new fire, which is forbidden, as we said. So you have to pay attention to what kind of heating element is involved. This can also apply to lighting. There are bulbs with, um, something called a dimmer, where you can increase the brightness. There’s no problem with that; you can make the light brighter. But if raising the temperature switches on a new heating element, that’s considered creating a new fire, and it’s forbidden. You have to pay attention to that. If, after the fact, I did kindle a new fire on Yom Tov, it’s permitted to benefit from it. That’s how the Tur rules; yes, that’s what’s written explicitly in the Shulchan Aruch. So if I did kindle a new fire on Yom Tov, I may benefit from it and use it. Also, when we said that I can’t light

09:11 Speaker 2 A new fire on Yom Tov—there is still what is called grama, indirect action. There is something called indirect kindling. In other words, I am not lighting the fire directly; I do something that will eventually light it. It is worth knowing that indirect kindling is generally permitted on Yom Tov. I may cause a fire to light indirectly. Since, again, the prohibition against creating a new fire is rabbinic, indirect kindling is generally permitted on Yom Tov. The halachic authorities ask that we not make a regular practice of it or plan all sorts of arrangements around it, but when necessary, one may kindle a fire indirectly on Yom Tov. There is no problem with that. What examples of indirect kindling do we encounter? For instance, a Shabbos timer. If I want the oven, the hotplate, the light, or the air conditioner to turn on earlier, I can go to the Shabbos timer, adjust its switches, and cause the light to come on earlier. That is called indirect kindling. I have not turned anything on right now, but I have taken an action that will eventually turn the light on earlier. If there is a need, that is permitted on Yom Tov, of course. The same applies to various appliances with thermostats. We know that on Shabbos we are warned not to open the oven when the thermostat is not running, lest the air entering cause the thermostat to activate the system and turn on the heating elements, and so on. The same applies to refrigerators and various appliances of that sort, possibly including different kinds of water coolers. On Shabbos, that really is a problem, and it has to be done in a way that is

11:15 Speaker 2 permitted. But on Yom Tov we do not have that problem. I can open those doors even when the thermostat is not running and the heating elements are not on, even though opening them will cause the elements to turn on. That is indirect kindling, and it is permitted. Again, bear in mind that with today’s technology, opening an appliance door often activates some system. So you need to know the appliances and what you are dealing with. But in general, indirect kindling is permitted. Along the same lines, suppose I need to use the oven for baking or cooking, or I need to turn on the hotplate. I can take the power cord of the hotplate or oven and connect it to a Shabbos timer, setting the timer so that it does not turn on as soon as I plug it in, but a few minutes later—or in fifteen minutes, since the timer works in fifteen-minute increments. I set it to turn on shortly, plug it into the outlet, and it will start working in fifteen minutes. That is also possible. The only thing to bear in mind is that these items are muktzeh. The rules of muktzeh on Yom Tov are generally the same as on Shabbos, and in some respects even stricter, as we will see later. So if I want to do that, I will need to do it in an unusual way to avoid violating the prohibition of muktzeh—for example, with the back of my hand, or some other way of managing to put the plug into the outlet. But it is possible to do it. Similarly, suppose I want to draw hot water from a boiler

13:10 Speaker 2 to wash dishes, to wash my face, hands, and feet—which is permitted on Yom Tov—or for cooking and other needs that are permitted on Yom Tov. When I open the hot-water tap, I cause cold water to enter the boiler. Once the cold water enters, a sensor signals the heating elements to turn on and heat the new water. That is also fine, because, again, it is indirect kindling. True, by opening the hot-water tap I caused the heating elements to operate and heat the water, but I only caused it; I did not turn them on directly. So it is permitted on Yom Tov. The same principle can be applied to various similar cases. Another point: We said that since kindling was permitted for a need, it was also permitted for other purposes. So, as in the example we already gave, kindling is permitted not only for baking and cooking, but also for heating, washing, and lighting. I may light a fire for illumination; I may light a candle for illumination. There is no problem with that. Nevertheless, halacha says that one may not light a purposeless candle. What is a purposeless candle? A candle for which one has no need. You might ask: Why would someone light a candle if he has absolutely no need for it? There are examples. He wants to show off his wealth, to show everyone how many candles he lights—who knows what ideas are going through his head. He wants to light a candle. That is called a purposeless candle, and it is forbidden on Yom Tov. This led the halachic authorities to discuss lighting a memorial candle on Yom Tov, a yahrtzeit candle on Yom Tov:

15:06 Speaker 2 Does it, too, fall into the category of a purposeless candle, or is it considered a candle lit for a need? After all, what do I need it for? Am I using it, benefiting from its light, warming myself by it, cooking with it? I am not doing anything with it. I am only lighting it in memory of someone, for the elevation of their soul. So the conclusion is as follows. Some maintain that it is entirely forbidden. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch and the Pri Megadim forbid it altogether. On the other hand, some maintain that it is considered a need. That group takes the opposite view: You light it to honor your parents. Honoring one’s parents is a mitzvah; this serves a mitzvah, and it is permitted to light a candle for a mitzvah. So some permit it. The Biur Halacha offers a ruling on the matter that is widely accepted and is a good one to follow. He says that, ideally, if you need to light a yahrtzeit candle on Yom Tov, the best place to light it is in the shul. Candles may always be lit in a shul. They honor the shul, and there is the verse, “Honor Hashem with lights.” A candle lit in a shul always serves a purpose, even in the middle of the day. So if you want to light a yahrtzeit candle, light it in the shul; that is preferable. If not, you can light it where you eat. Lighting a candle there also helps somewhat. It is always nicer and more pleasant to eat by candlelight, however many candles there may be. So light it where you eat. If that is not possible either, and you would feel distressed at not having lit a candle for the elevation of your parents’ souls, then you may light

16:57 Speaker 2 it anywhere. In pressing circumstances, you may light a yahrtzeit candle anywhere. That is when we are talking about a yahrtzeit candle for one’s parents. But an ordinary memorial candle lit for other relatives is different. As we said earlier, there is not the same mitzvah involved. With parents, there is a mitzvah to honor them both in their lifetime and after their passing, but with other relatives there is not the same mitzvah, so the rule is stricter. In that case, if you still want to light it, light it where you eat, not just anywhere. Another consequence of the rule against a purposeless candle concerns lighting a match. It is very important to pay attention to this. Suppose I want to light the flame on a gas stove. I cannot keep bringing the memorial candle over to light it; that is not very practical, either. So I want to light a match. That is fine. If I have no other way and want to use a match to light it, that serves a need; there is nothing else to do. But often you can light it directly from an existing candle. If you then light a match or a wooden splint in order to light something else from it, that match serves no need; it is a purposeless flame, kindling without a need. The Chok Yaakov points this out and calls attention to it, and that is simply how one should act. In other words, one needs to pay attention. Some also argue that this is considered preparation: kindling is permitted for food preparation, but when I take this match, the act of lighting the match itself is not for food preparation. I am not using it to...

18:46 Speaker 2 With it, I light something else that prepares the food, so that is called a preparation for food. So the Eretz Tzvi [?] apparently wants to say that this is very problematic, and makes an issue of it. In any case, we need to be careful not to light a match for just anything. If you can, without any special difficulty, light directly from an existing flame—from the yahrzeit candle you lit—then light directly from it, and that would be best. Greetings to all our viewers and listeners. Today we’ll discuss the laws of extinguishing a fire on Yom Tov. When is it permitted to extinguish a fire, and when is it forbidden? We’ll try to get into some of the details and see how we conduct ourselves regarding extinguishing on Yom Tov. So, first of all, extinguishing on Yom Tov, even in the most favorable circumstances, is still considered a preparation for food. It isn’t considered a food-preparation melachah like kindling, because food-preparation melachos are those performed on the food itself. They involve the food itself, like cooking, harvesting, or squeezing—actions performed on the food to prepare it for eating. Extinguishing isn’t done to the food itself. It doesn’t prepare any food. Rather, sometimes we need to extinguish a fire so that we’ll be able to eat, and that’s called a preparation for food. The rule for preparations for food is that if I could have done them before Yom Tov, I can’t do them on Yom Tov. Only if I couldn’t have done them before Yom Tov may I do them on Yom Tov—and even then, with certain restrictions, such as doing it discreetly. But, uh, the example given in halachah of extinguishing that may be done on Yom Tov is when I want to rake the coals out of an oven. It isn’t such a relevant example nowadays, but we

21:02 Speaker 2 can at least understand the situation from it. When I want to rake out the oven because I can’t bake in it without raking out the coals, I have no choice. I have to rake out the coals to be able to bake in the oven. Raking out the coals effectively extinguishes them, and that extinguishing is necessary, because I can’t eat without raking them out. So I’m told: Fine, that’s considered a preparation for food. If you could have done it before Yom Tov, you can’t do it on Yom Tov. But if you couldn’t have done it before Yom Tov—and that is the case in this example, because raking out the oven before Yom Tov wouldn’t have helped; you baked in it, the coals formed afterward, and only now is there a need to rake them out—then you may rake them out on Yom Tov, even though you’re extinguishing them. If we want to find a present-day example of extinguishing that’s necessary for me to be able to eat, we can give this example. We spoke about cooking over a gas flame. We said that you can turn up the gas flame. That’s kindling, and kindling is permitted for food preparation. So if I need to turn up the flame, I can make it bigger. But suppose I have a pot, I put it on the fire, and then I see that the flame is too high. If I leave it like that, the entire dish will be ruined: it will burn and won’t be edible. So what do I want to do?

22:49 Speaker 2 To get a properly cooked dish, I want to lower the flame so the food won’t burn. That’s an example of extinguishing for the sake of food. This extinguishing is needed for food, because if I don’t lower the flame, I won’t be able to eat. In practice, that’s the situation I’m in: if I don’t lower it, I won’t be able to eat; if I do, I will. The classic example given in halachah is from a time when there were no stovetops. They spoke about a log: they would light a piece of wood and put a pot over it. Sometimes a person sees that the flame is too big and will burn everything in the pot, so he wants to extinguish part of the log. That is considered extinguishing as a preparation for food, and it is permitted in principle, because I couldn’t have done it before Yom Tov. This situation didn’t exist before Yom Tov. Only now has this large fire become a problem, and I want to weaken it or put it out entirely. So, seemingly, we should permit it. Nevertheless, the Alter Rebbe says—and it’s very important that we know the Alter Rebbe’s approach here, because there are other halachic authorities who are not as stringent and don’t view it this way—that when I want to extinguish a fire so I can eat, that’s only if I have no other way to save the food from burning. Only if I have no other option. For example, if I can light a new, smaller flame, I must light a smaller flame and move the pot from the large flame to the smaller one. Even if I can’t do that—suppose I can’t

24:51 Speaker 2 find or light a smaller flame—the Alter Rebbe says that if you can go to your neighbors and give them the pot to use their fire—or, in the Alter Rebbe’s example, get a log from them, light it, and put the pot over it—then you must do that too. As soon as you have a way to manage without extinguishing this fire, you’re obligated to use it. That’s unlike raking out the coals, which we discussed earlier. With the coals, I have no other way to manage; I have to rake them out. But here you can manage. What do you need? A smaller flame. So light a smaller flame, find a smaller flame at a neighbor’s, and so on. That’s why lowering a gas flame isn’t an option. I’m saying this even though some permit it. If I’m not mistaken, they rely on the approach of the Rosh, who permits it in such situations and calls it a preparation for food. But the Alter Rebbe tells us that it’s a preparation for food only when you can’t manage another way. Once you can manage another way, it isn’t even considered a permitted preparation for food. Therefore, you can’t lower the gas flame. You see that the dish is going to burn? There’s nothing to be done: light a smaller flame, or ask your neighbors nicely to help you and let you put the pot on their burner. That’s regarding extinguishing or lowering a flame and the like. On the other hand, there’s a device called a Chagaz [?], which turns off the flame by itself. I’m not familiar with this device, but it’s one that can be used. Here, though, we need to set its timer before lighting the flame. That’s what the halachic authorities require: in order

26:56 Speaker 2 to use the Chagaz timer, I need to set it before I light the flame, and then it’s fine. What about grilling? When I grill meat or liver—I want to roast livers on Yom Tov, which is permitted—that also causes some extinguishing at a certain point, because the fat drips down. Halachah even discusses roasting meat directly on the coals. You put it on the coals—I don’t know quite how that works—but you put it on the coals, and it causes them to be extinguished, and that is permitted. We don’t view this act as extinguishing; we view it as part of the process of roasting the meat. The Alter Rebbe says explicitly that it isn’t a complete extinguishing, because the coals are extinguished for the sake of burning again. You don’t put them out entirely; they die down a little and then immediately flare up again. So, because it isn’t ordinary extinguishing, it’s permitted. Consequently, grilling meat—even directly on the coals, or on a barbecue grill, on a grate, and so on—is fine, even though it incidentally causes some extinguishing. Now, there’s another solution when you see that the flame is too high. I saw this solution brought in Nitei Gavriel: you can simply put a piece of sheet metal over the flame to reduce its heat. You can put a blech [?] or something like that over the flame. You can do this even on Shabbos. There’s no problem with it as long as the metal doesn’t heat up until it glows red. So this too

28:49 Speaker 2 Some kind of advice, some kind of solution: simply put a metal pan or some other barrier over the flame, and then you can keep cooking the cholent without it burning. What about extinguishing a match? That’s another issue. When I light a match to light the gas flame, I have to be careful not to put out the match. Some people just toss it onto the—onto the counter or something like that, but that isn’t so good either. By the way, even when lighting Shabbos candles, tossing the match like that isn’t such a good idea, because it still causes it to go out. The best thing is simply to prop it up on a plate or something, so that the flame goes out on its own when it reaches the plate. That’s the best way not to cause it to be extinguished. Another kind of extinguishing problem comes up, for example, when I want to shake the ash off a cigarette. With cigarettes in general, there’s a discussion about whether smoking counts as a benefit enjoyed by everyone or not. In practice, at any rate, smoking is permitted. But when I want to shake the ash off a cigarette, I have to be careful not to shake it, because shaking it could extinguish sparks that come off the cigarette, and that’s a problem of extinguishing. So I should try not to shake the ash off the cigarette, except when ash builds up, and then only very gently. By the way, if I shake cigarette ash onto an ordinary plate on Yom Tov, I also make that plate unusable. The ash is muktzeh, and as soon as I put

31:01 Speaker 2 it on the plate, I effectively put the plate out of use. I won’t be able to move it, because it becomes a base for muktzeh. That’s called rendering a utensil unusable. This applies to an ordinary plate that isn’t meant for cigarette ash, but there’s no problem with an ashtray designated for that purpose. There’s another matter, involving heating systems. When it comes to a Junkers heater, opening the taps for the heating system—the hot-water taps connected to the heater—is permitted on Yom Tov if it’s for food preparation or for a bodily benefit enjoyed by everyone. You may open those taps even though that causes a flame to ignite. Although I cause something to burn, causing ignition in this way is permitted. But turning it off is a problem. When I turn it off—when I close the tap, I’m effectively extinguishing it. Even though I’m not directly extinguishing it, I’m causing it to go out, and that’s still forbidden. So let’s talk about indirect extinguishing.

32:16 Speaker 2 We said that extinguishing is forbidden. We said that the circumstances in which we would be allowed to extinguish a flame are very rare. As we discussed, even if the flame is too high and my food will burn, I would still have to be, so to speak, somewhere in the Sahara Desert, with no one I can ask for a flame and no other options. Only then would I be allowed to extinguish it, and so on. So a situation where extinguishing is permitted is really uncommon. But there is such a thing as indirect extinguishing. Some poskim maintain that it’s permitted, based on certain opinions, but the Alter Rebbe does not agree. The Alter Rebbe holds that indirectly causing a flame to go out is forbidden, just as on Shabbos. On Shabbos, halachah says that indirect extinguishing is permitted only in a case of substantial loss. You also have to know precisely what counts as indirect extinguishing; not everything falls under that definition. In any case, the Alter Rebbe holds that it is forbidden on Yom Tov too, unless there is a situation of substantial financial loss. Otherwise it’s forbidden, unless the extinguishing is caused by lighting a flame. That is the Alter Rebbe’s position. If I cause a flame to go out by lighting another flame—for example, I have a burning candle and want it to go out as quickly as possible—I absolutely cannot cut off its end. That would be indirect extinguishing, and it’s forbidden. But I can light its other end, even though lighting it will make the candle burn out sooner. That is the Alter Rebbe’s position on the kind of indirect extinguishing that is permitted,

34:15 Speaker 2 but all other forms of indirect extinguishing are treated the same as on Shabbos: they’re forbidden unless there is a situation of loss. So what does that tell us? Some people permit themselves to put out the gas flame. Let’s start with the less common examples. Some simply close the valve on the gas cylinder outside. Now, what happens when you close the valve on the gas cylinder? It doesn’t put out the flame immediately. There’s still gas in the pipes, and after the flame uses up that gas, it goes out. That’s indirect extinguishing. Some maintain that it’s permitted, but according to our practice it’s forbidden. Similarly, some suggest putting a spoon or something over the little opening in the burner that supplies the gas. The flame doesn’t go out immediately, but it stops receiving gas and eventually goes out. According to our practice, that too is forbidden. All these methods are forbidden. Then there’s the more common suggestion: put a pot of water on the flame, intending to use the water for coffee or something similar, because you may not just heat water or cook for no purpose. So I decide that I’ll use the water for washing or for making a cup of tea or coffee, and then I let it boil over and put out the flame. By doing that, I’m indirectly causing the flame to go out. But as we’ve already learned, according to the Alter Rebbe, indirect extinguishing is forbidden. So that suggestion doesn’t help us; it isn’t a good solution,

36:18 Speaker 2 and we can’t use it.