[Avodah] Women Lighting menorahs

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

Here's my understanding of the three levels, based on Rav Shimon Eider's Halachos of Chanukah, page 8:

According to Ashkenazim:
Halacha: For the entire household, one candle is lit each night.
Mehadrin: Each person lights one candle each night.
Mehadrin Min Hamehadrin: Each person lights one candle the first night. Each person lights two candles the second night. Etc.

According to Sefaradim:
Halacha: For the entire household, one candle is lit each night.
Mehadrin: Each person lights one candle each night.
Mehadrin Min Hamehadrin: For the entire household, one candle is lit the first night. For the entire household, two candles are lit the second night. Etc.

Of the above six configurations, three refer to "each person". (Namely, M and MMH for Ashk, and M for Sef.) This thread seems to be about how to apply the concept of "each person" to girls and women.

Rav Eider, on page 10, brings two customs as valid: In some communities, the minhag is that if the wife is not lighting her own, then it is improper for the daughters to light. In other communities, the daughters light too.

My personal practice is that in most cases, I light, but my wife does not, and both my sons and daughter light. This follows Mishne Brura 671:9, that because of "ishto k'gufo" (that husband and wife are two halves of a whole), one of them can light and still be following the "each person" rule. It seems to me, though, that my unmarried daughter is unable to rely on this concept until she gets married, and so she must light for herself in order to follow the "each person" rule.

[I began the previous paragraph by specifying "most cases". The exceptions are when I am unable to get home at a reasonable time for whatever reason. In those cases, my wife lights but I do not.]

Akiva Miller
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