Hilchos Yom Tov
- On Yom Tov, it is forbidden to request a gentile to do
anything that a Jew is forbidden to do, even on the second day of Yom Tov in
the Diaspora. If a gentile violates the prohibitions of work on Yom Tov the
sake of a Jew, he is forbidden to benefit from it. - The poskim discuss the issue of whether it is permitted
for a Jew who comes from the Diaspora and observes two days of Yom Tov to
request Jew who lives in Israel, and keeps only one day, to do things for
him that he is forbidden to do.But it is permitted for the Jew who lives in
Israel to do things of his own accord – without being asked – for the Jew
who lives abroad. - If a Jew wants to cook or light a candle on Yom Tov but
has no lighted candle from which to transfer fire, he may ask a gentile to
light a match.The reason this is permitted is that most of the poskim hold
that kindling fire on Yom Tov is prohibited by the Rabbis (unlike the Taz
who holds that it is forbidden by the Torah), so the prohibition of
requesting work from a gentile would be a shvus d’shvus. For the sake
of the mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov it is permitted. - It is forbidden to kindle a fire on Yom Tov, but if it
happened inadvertently by, for example, igniting a match by mistake, it is
permitted to use the fire. According to this, if a person by mistake turns
on the electric lights, it is permitted to enjoy the light they give.
(According to the Chazon Ish who forbids turning on lights because it is an
act of construction and violates the prohibition of building, it would be
forbidden to benefit from the light.) - Matches: There are poskim who permit matches to be
handled on Yom Tov like any utensil that has a permitted use because, even
though it is forbidden to kindle a fire with them, it is permitted to ignite
them from a fire that is already burning. There is a posek who is more
severe, arguing that matches are usually used to kindle a fire, so they
would be considered like utensils that are ordinarily used to do something
forbidden on Yom Tov. Such vessels may only be handled when the place they
occupy is needed, or for their own sake. A burned match that is completely
burned up and useless is muktzeh, but if some of the wood remains suitable
for burning, it is not. - It is forbidden to cut and shape a candle in order to fit
it into a candlestick. - It is forbidden to heat and melt a candle so that it will
stick to the candlestick. The prohibition is a Rabbinical edict to prevent a
person from spreading (the melted wax) and because the melted wax is
consideredlike something new that has come into existence on the holiday.
Such things are muktzeh. - If a person wants to light a candle, he should preferably
light it directly from the fire to avoid lighting fire more than is
necessary.If it is awkward to light the candle directly, he may use a
splinter etc. and light the candle from it. It is forbidden to put out fire
on Yom Tov, so the splinter should be set down carefully and allowed to burn
up.It is quite common that the only fire available is the gas burners. Since
it is difficult to light the candles from them because of their short wicks,
it is permitted to light one candle from the burner and use it to light the
others. - If the candlestick has become clogged with wax, it is
permitted to dig it out with a knife etc. so that a new candle can be put
into it. It is permitted to remove the old wick it is permitted to handle
muktzeh objects for the sake of food (and light). - The wax which is scraped from the candlestick is muktzeh.
Therefore it should be scraped directly into the garbage and not onto the
table, for it is forbidden to handle the wax unless it becomes an object of
disgust, in which case it is permitted to remove and discard it. - Now that all doctors agree that smoking is dangerous,
there is no basis for permitting it on Yom Tov.
