Q&A From the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Power Trip

Rav Aryeh Finkel

December 2, 2021

Q I’ll be staying in a hotel one night of Chanukah on a business trip. The hotel prohibits fire on the premises without special permission, but the process of obtaining permission is time consuming. I am on a tight schedule, and taking that time would cause me a significant financial loss. Must I do that, or may I use an electric menorah instead?

A Let us first address the loss question and then the matter of the electric menorah.

Although ner Chanukah is a mitzvah deRabanan, it is more stringent with respect to the loss that must be incurred in its performance than many mitzvos de’Oreisa, because of the imperative of pirsumei nisa (publicizing the miracle): The Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 671:1) rules that a pauper must sell his garment to fund the mitzvah of ner Chanukah.

Based on this, R’ Akiva Eiger (ibid.) and the Aruch Hashulchan (ibid. 2) write that this mitzvah is excluded from the general principle that one need not spend more than a fifth of his possessions to fulfill a mitzvah. Accordingly, one must assume a great financial loss if that’s necessary to fulfill this mitzvah.

The Pri Megadim, however, doesn’t require a person to spend more than a fifth for ner Chanukah, but he nonetheless maintains that some financial loss would be required (ibid.).

Whether electric light is fire has been the subject of great halachic debate. R’ Chaim Ozer Grodzensky said yes and allowed borei me’orei ha’eish to be recited over it. Still, most poskim hesitate to allow an electric menorah for various reasons, including that it doesn’t resemble a traditional menorah because it lacks a wick and fuel and that its ignition is not considered a direct action. But R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach writes that in the absence of an alternative, one may use an electric light on Chanukah and make a bracha. You may follow this ruling.

Note, however, that all this only applies to incandescent bulbs, because their red-hot tungsten coil is considered fire; fluorescents and LEDs are not fire. Also, the device should be powered by a battery rather than plugged into the wall, because the former is somewhat similar to the traditional oil or candle lamp whose fuel is in a container and is depleted as time passes.