May a woman fry latkes after Menorah lighting?
Shulchan Aruch quotes the custom of women not to do melacha while the Chanuka candles are lit, and one should not be lenient in this.
Women are singled out because the miracle came about through a woman – Yehudis.
On a spiritual note, the Rebbe writes that this minhag symbolizes that when women internalize the message of the Chanuka candles, they can rise above mundane matters.
The poskim offer two explanations for this custom:
The first reason is out of concern that she may come to use the candles to illuminate her work. Accordingly, this should only apply during the first half hour of the candles burning after nightfall (i.e., 50 minutes from being lit according to the Chabad custom), since after that time one may extinguish the candles altogether.
While some argue that it should remain prohibited afterward since one still shouldn’t use them if they burn longer, others counter that we would not make a decree to safeguard this hidur.
A second reason given for this minhag is that the days of Chanuka were established as a yom tov with Hallel and thanksgiving to Hashem. To mark it as a yom tov, women abstain from melacha as long as Chanuka candles are burning anywhere in their vicinity, assumed to be until midnight.
According to this approach, a woman should abstain from melacha even after her candles have burned out or she isn’t at home where her candles are burning.
In practice, the custom follows the first approach that allows melacha following the first 30 (or 50) minutes. After that time, melacha is done, but not in front of the candles.
As to the type of melacha prohibited, some poskim follow the guidelines of yom tov, when cooking is permitted.
Others only prohibit melacha that is forbidden on chol hamoed, like sewing and washing clothing.
Frying latkes would thus be permitted according to all opinions even while the candles burn strong.
1. טוש"ע סי' תר"ע.
2. מג"א שם סק"א.
3. תשמ"ו – מכתב כללי לחנוכה .512לקוטי שיחות חכ"ה ע'
4. משנ"ב שם סק"ד.
5. ראה פסק"ת שם הע' 8.
6. ראה מג"א שם סק"ב.
7. כך רואים מהלך האחרונים .12פסק"ת שם הע'
8. שו"ת קנין תורה ח"ז סי' נ"ב.
9. מועד לכל חי סי' כ"ז אות ס"ה. אבל ראה שו"ת ררבות אפרים ח"א סי' תל"ו בשם הגרי"י פישר ע"ה שמנהג ירושלים לאסור אפילו בישול בחצי שעה הראשונה.
RABBI CHAIM HILLEL RASKIN ROV OF ANASH - PETACH TIKVA
