Buying Oil Before Lighting
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Question
Hello, I am a young man and I light candles at my parents' home. My mother wants to prepare the menorah with the oil, claiming that this is her part in the Chanukah candles, and she reminds us, her sons, that we try to prepare the Shabbat candles for her, so when I come from the yeshiva, everything is ready, and I only bless and light the prepared candles with the shamash. The question is, shouldn't the oil be mine, and do I need to perform any act of acquisition with the oil?
Answer
A yeshiva student lighting the candles does not need to perform an act of acquisition for the oil to be his.
Source
In the Rishonim (Ramban, Ritva, Ran, Rabbeinu David, Meiri Pesachim 7), it is explained that the oil should be his. However, according to the law as explained in the Mishnah Berurah (Siman 673, Se'if Katan 2), it is not necessary for the oil to belong to the one lighting. It should be noted that only for an agent who lights is it required that the lighting be from the oil of the sender, but one who lights himself does not need the oil to be his through an act of acquisition; Azmera Leshimcha (Issue 118).