{"id":256,"date":"2025-12-04T18:59:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T18:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/?p=256"},"modified":"2025-12-09T19:22:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T19:22:42","slug":"halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/","title":{"rendered":"Halachic FAQ\u2019s for Single Men and Women: Chanukah"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Rabbi Moshe Walter<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I have a friend who is single and lives by himself. I would like to invite him to join me and my family for Hadlakas Neiros and singing. Is there a way for him to join us before lighting his own candles?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If he is able to light at the regular lighting time and then join you, that is ideal. He does not need to stay with the candles once they are lit (Shulchan Aruch 673:2 and 675:2). However, if he feels uncomfortable lighting and leaving the candles unattended, or if by lighting at home he will miss your family\u2019s Hadlakah, he may set a reminder or ask someone to remind him to light when he returns home (Rema 672:2; Mishnah Berurah 652:7, 692:14, 489:23; Iggeros Moshe 4:99).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is a divorcee in our community who lives with her two children. We\u2019d like to invite them to join us for our Chanukah Seudah. We mentioned this to her last time she was here, and her children are really excited about the prospect of attending a \u201cregular\u201d Chanukah Seudah. There is one problem \u2014 we\u2019d like to eat right after Hadlakas Neiros, but this would not leave her enough time to light at home. Is there anything she can do?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

She may attend your Chanukah Seudah by setting a reminder or asking someone to remind her to light when she returns home (Rema 672:2; Mishnah Berurah 652:7, 692:14, 489:23; Iggeros Moshe 4:99).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I come home at 10:30 PM every night from work. There is no one<\/span> else who lives with me. Until what time can I light?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

You may light until daybreak with a berachah (Shulchan Aruch 672:2; Mishnah Berurah ad loc. 11; Shaar HaTziyon 17; Iggeros Moshe Orach Chaim 4:105\u20137).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I have a friend who is a single <\/span>parent of five children and lives a thirty-minute walk away. We <\/span>have a very special Seudah on Friday night of Shabbos Chanukah. We\u2019d like to invite them to join us, but he is concerned about leaving the candles lit, and he obviously cannot light when he comes home. Is there any way for him and his children to join us?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

He and his family may light at the home where they are eating the Shabbos meal (Kovetz Halachos\u2013Chanukah, Piskei Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky 12:21).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rabbi Moshe Walter is the rabbi of Woodside Synagogue Ahavas Torah in Silver Spring, Maryland, the executive director of the Vaad HaRabanim of Greater Washington. His latest book, The Making of the Siddur, was just released by Feldheim publishers.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To sign up for the Kol Echad Limited Series E-Magazine, click here: https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kolechademail\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Rabbi Moshe Walter I have a friend who is single and lives by himself. I would like to invite him to join me and my family for Hadlakas Neiros and singing. Is there a way for him to join us before lighting his own candles? If he is able to light at the regular […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134185,"featured_media":105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration-and-jewish-life"],"yoast_head":"\nHalachic FAQ\u2019s for Single Men and Women: Chanukah - Kol Echad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Halachic FAQ\u2019s for Single Men and Women: Chanukah - Kol Echad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Rabbi Moshe Walter I have a friend who is single and lives by himself. I would like to invite him to join me and my family for Hadlakas Neiros and singing. Is there a way for him to join us before lighting his own candles? If he is able to light at the regular […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kol Echad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-04T18:59:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-09T19:22:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/files\/2025\/09\/Moshe-walter_headshot_225-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"225\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"245\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"motzeny\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"motzeny\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/\",\"name\":\"Halachic FAQ\u2019s for Single Men and Women: Chanukah - Kol Echad\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/files\/2025\/09\/Moshe-walter_headshot_225-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-04T18:59:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-09T19:22:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#\/schema\/person\/dbade4b8934070acd7697d4270c0e06e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/files\/2025\/09\/Moshe-walter_headshot_225-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/files\/2025\/09\/Moshe-walter_headshot_225-1.png\",\"width\":225,\"height\":245},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Halachic FAQ\u2019s for Single Men and Women: Chanukah\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/\",\"name\":\"Kol Echad\",\"description\":\"Creating communities where every single person matters.\u00a0\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#\/schema\/person\/dbade4b8934070acd7697d4270c0e06e\",\"name\":\"motzeny\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a69ad90ee37e4b0e4da1c7214fe277bf331be9c04f8a50675b091c82a7d5f8e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a69ad90ee37e4b0e4da1c7214fe277bf331be9c04f8a50675b091c82a7d5f8e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"motzeny\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/author\/motzeny\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Halachic FAQ\u2019s for Single Men and Women: Chanukah - Kol Echad","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Halachic FAQ\u2019s for Single Men and Women: Chanukah - Kol Echad","og_description":"by Rabbi Moshe Walter I have a friend who is single and lives by himself. I would like to invite him to join me and my family for Hadlakas Neiros and singing. Is there a way for him to join us before lighting his own candles? If he is able to light at the regular […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/","og_site_name":"Kol Echad","article_published_time":"2025-12-04T18:59:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-09T19:22:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":225,"height":245,"url":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/files\/2025\/09\/Moshe-walter_headshot_225-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"motzeny","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"motzeny","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/","name":"Halachic FAQ\u2019s for Single Men and Women: Chanukah - Kol Echad","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/files\/2025\/09\/Moshe-walter_headshot_225-1.png","datePublished":"2025-12-04T18:59:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-09T19:22:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#\/schema\/person\/dbade4b8934070acd7697d4270c0e06e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/files\/2025\/09\/Moshe-walter_headshot_225-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/files\/2025\/09\/Moshe-walter_headshot_225-1.png","width":225,"height":245},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/halachic-faqs-for-single-men-and-women-chanukah\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Halachic FAQ\u2019s for Single Men and Women: Chanukah"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/","name":"Kol Echad","description":"Creating communities where every single person matters.\u00a0","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#\/schema\/person\/dbade4b8934070acd7697d4270c0e06e","name":"motzeny","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a69ad90ee37e4b0e4da1c7214fe277bf331be9c04f8a50675b091c82a7d5f8e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a69ad90ee37e4b0e4da1c7214fe277bf331be9c04f8a50675b091c82a7d5f8e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"motzeny"},"url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/author\/motzeny\/"}]}},"acf":[],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134185"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256\/revisions\/290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}