How to Light Shabbat Candles: Timing, Blessing, and the Steps in Order

It is late Friday afternoon, the table is almost set, and you are standing with a match in your hand wondering if you are about to do this right. That uncertainty is common, whether this is your first Shabbat at home or your first time lighting on your own.

Candle lighting is a short, gentle practice. A few minutes and a few deliberate movements turn an ordinary Friday evening into the beginning of Shabbat, the day of rest that runs from Friday sunset to Saturday night. Here is how it is done, and why each part matters.

Why candles at all?

Shabbat is welcomed, not simply started. In Jewish practice the day is honored with light, good food, and rest from work. Candles give that welcome a visible form: their light marks the home as a place of peace and draws a clear line between the rush of the week and the slower hours ahead.

The idea of a blessed seventh day goes back to the opening of the Torah:

And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made.

Genesis 2:3 (JPS 1917)

When to light

Candles are lit on Friday before sunset, because once Shabbat has begun, kindling a flame is traditionally not done. The exact clock time therefore changes every week with the seasons and with your location.

Many communities light 18 minutes before sunset. That figure is widely used, but not universal: some communities allow more time, and Jerusalem has a custom of lighting earlier. If you are starting fresh, 18 minutes before sunset is a sensible, common choice.

Give yourself a margin. Set out the candles and matches in advance, so lighting feels unhurried rather than like a race against the sun. Faith Map shows Shabbat times, including candle-lighting time for your own location, which removes the guesswork in weeks when sunset moves quickly.

How many candles?

Two candles are traditional. One explanation links the pair to the two wordings of the command to keep Shabbat, "remember" and "observe," found in the Torah. In practice, two is the number most people picture, and two is enough.

Some families add one candle for each child in the home, so a household that began with two may, over the years, light three, four, or more. Others light a single candle, especially when traveling or living alone. Customs vary, and your family tradition or a rabbi is the best guide for your home.

The candles should burn at least through the Friday evening meal; plain candles and tea lights in proper holders are both commonly used.

What you need, and a word on safety

Keep it simple: candles, holders that catch wax and sit steadily, and matches or a lighter, placed where the candles can be seen but not brushed by sleeves or papers.

Put the holders on a stable, heat-safe surface, away from curtains and anything that could blow into the flame. Keep candles out of reach of small children and pets, and never leave a burning candle unattended. Beauty matters here, but safety comes first, every week.

The steps in order

The order surprises many first-timers: you light first, and bless afterward.

1. Light the candles

Strike the match and light the candles. Take your time. This is the practical act that everything else gathers around.

2. Cover your eyes

Many people first move their hands in small circles over the flames, as if drawing the light inward, and then cover their eyes. Covering the eyes is part of why the blessing comes after the lighting: the blessing is said before enjoying the light, so the eyes stay covered until it is complete.

This quiet moment, a customary time for silent prayer for family and loved ones, is for many people the emotional heart of the ritual.

3. Say the blessing

With your eyes covered, say the traditional blessing:

Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elo-heinu Melech ha'olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat.

The blessing praises God, who sanctifies through the commandments and commands the lighting of the Shabbat candle. If the words feel unfamiliar, read them slowly. Nobody is grading your pronunciation at your own table, and they become familiar surprisingly quickly with repetition.

4. Uncover your eyes and look at the light

Remove your hands, open your eyes, and take in the candlelight. Many households greet Shabbat out loud now, with "Shabbat Shalom" exchanged around the table. The first sight of the flames, deliberately saved until after the blessing, is meant to be enjoyed.

Who may light?

Traditionally, candle lighting is associated with the woman of the home, and in many families it is a role passed from mother to daughter with real affection. But anyone may light. A man living alone lights for himself. A guest may be given the honor. A partner, or a teenager learning the practice, can take part.

If you are a guest invited to light, accept it as the compliment it is, ask about your host's custom, and follow the steps above.

Guests, travelers, and electric lights

Travelers often light where they will be staying and eating on Friday night, using candles provided by a host or a small travel set, always subject to the rules and safety requirements of the place. If you are in someone else's home, the host's lighting may include the household and its guests, so ask rather than assume.

Real flames are not always possible. In hospitals, dormitories, and hotels where open flame is prohibited, many people use electric lights instead. Practice differs by authority: some treat an electric light as a practical substitute where candles cannot be used, sometimes with the blessing and sometimes without, while others reserve the blessing for a flame. Follow the guidance of a rabbi you trust.

What if you forgot?

If Shabbat has already begun, do not light the candles. Kindling fire after Shabbat begins is exactly what the timing is designed to avoid, so the kind and correct response is to let it go this week, enjoy the evening as it is, and light next Friday a little earlier in your preparations.

If you realize before sunset, simply light then, as usual. You can check your Shabbat times in Faith Map ahead of the afternoon rush, while reading and lessons in the app are free.

However your first attempts go, remember what the candles are for. They are not a test. They are a welcome, repeated week after week, and the practice deepens with repetition far more than with perfection on the first try.