Yom Kippur Candles

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Dear Rabbi Simon
Yom Kippur is nearing, and I have some questions about lighting a long-lasting candle for this day (is this a Minhag? Halacha? Humrah?). Is there a requirement for Ner Yom Kippur? Is it fulfilled by the Shabbos candles? If the light of the candle persists until nightfall the next day, can it be used for Havdalah as well? If so, can it be extinguished at the end of the Havdalah?
Many thanks,
Candice

Dear Candice
Strictly speaking, there is no mitzvah of candles on the eve of Yom Kippur, unlike Friday evening and Erev Yom Tov. The reason for this is that there is no festive meal at night for which we require illumination. Nevertheless, the custom is to light, and also to recite the blessing, as there is still some “Shalom Bayit” value in the candles, plus the illumination serves as a reminder to avoid what we might call “marital interaction”–which is associated with the dark.
When Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat, as it does this year, there is in any case a mitzvah to light, and the blessing should include a reference to both Shabbat and Yom ha-Kippurim (as you will find printed in your siddur or machzor).
There is a separate minhag that every married man lights a candle, to burn throughout the day, as an omen of life, health and animation (as a flame is animated). In earlier times these were often lit in (or brought to) the synagogue. Nowadays many people light these at home. No blessing is recited. (IMO there is also no need to panic if it blows out or is extinguished prematurely. Not everyone agrees.)
There is a further well-known minhag to light a Yahrtzeit candle in memory of one’s parents (or possibly other family members), again, to burn for 25 hours. A single candle suffices for multiple relatives.
Havdalah: The (reason behind the) requirement for havdalah after Yom Kippur is not identical to that on Motzai Shabbat. Without going into the details of the matter, the blessing on the aish (flame) after Yom Kippur must be recited on a ner she-shavat, ie a lamp (or candle) which was burning throughout the day, until the night, or a candle kindled from such a flame. The ideal is to designate a candle specifically for this purpose (and possibly to join it to another flame at the time of the blessing so that there is more than one wick). Alternatively (and this is the common practice), light your havdalah candle from any flame which has burned from before Yom Tov, and recite the blessing on that candle us usual. (The candle can then be extinguished as usual as well, leaving the other 24-hour candles to burn out of their own accord.) This is the recommended procedure even this year when Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat.
I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes for a year illuminated by the light of Torah
Rabbi Rashi Simon

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Ask the Rabbi: Quinoa on Pesach
Dear Rabbi Simon,
Where do you stand on quinoa (and the kitniyot ban) for Pesach?
Many thanks,
Tzippy
***
Dear Tzippy,
In line with other American authorities, I am in favour of quinoa. Although I reject completely the voices (mostly from Israel) seeking to abolish the ban on kitniyot entirely, IMO we do not need to include in the prohibition pseudo-grains that were unknown in the Old World until modern times. Best to buy with a Pesach hechsher though, to be free of any possible wheat contamination.
Rabbi Rashi Simon
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