Using floating wix for the Menorah

Dear Rabbi, is there a Halachic problem to use floating wicks for my Menorah?

Thank you for your question.

There are two reasons why we light the menorah using olive oil. The first reason is that olive oil produces the best flame. This is brought in the Mishnah Berurah as follows;

שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות שבת סימן רסד סעיף ו

שאר כל השמנים, חוץ מאלו, מדליקים בהם; ומ"מ שמן זית מצוה מן המובחר

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, Laws of Shabbos, siman 264, se'if 6:

The Shulchan Aruch writes that, even though there are other oils that are kosher to use for lighting the Shabbos candles, lighting with olive oil is considered the best and the optimal way of performing the mitzvah.

משנה ברורה על שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות שבת סימן רסד סעיף ו

דהוא נמשך אחר הפתילה טפי מכולהו ואם אין שמן זית מצוי מצוה בשאר שמנים שאורן צלול

The Mishnah Berurah explains in Seif Katan 6 that the reason is; that olive oil is more easily absorbed into the wick than all other oils, and therefore the flame doesn’t flicker or dim, but rather it gives a clear light.

It is especially important to have such a type of flame on Shabbos since if it is a flame that flickers, it might result in a person desecrating Shabbos by trying to move the wick in order to illuminate the room better.

So, the same is true for Chanukkah; one should optimally use olive oil since that is the best way to perform the mitzvah.

The second reason why we use olive oil is that the miracle of Chanukah happened with the finding of the last remaining jug of pure olive oil to light the menorah in the Beis Hamikdash. As we know, even though this amount was only enough for one day, it lasted for eight days, giving Am Yisrael enough time to prepare new oil.

However, if one does not have olive oil, then one may light with whichever oil is available; paraffin is also good in a case where one doesn’t have any oil. Wax candles should be used only in a case where one doesn’t have any of the above.

Even though all the wicks are kosher to use, the most optimal option is to use cotton wool or linen wicks.

It is important to note that one doesn’t have to change the wicks every night of Chanukah; on the contrary, a wick that has already been used lights better a second time. However, some have a custom to do so since in the Beis Hamikdash they would change the wicks of the menorah every day. Also, to show that each day of Chanukkah had its own miracle, with the menorah lighting specifically on that day, we therefore, light the menorah every day with fresh wicks to demonstrate that each day had a specific miracle.

Circling back to your question, floating wicks that are coated with wax, is it considered as lighting the menorah using olive oil since that is what I have in the menorah? Or, since it has a wax coating and at the time of lighting it’s the wax that burns first, maybe it would be considered as having lit using wax and not olive oil?

Hagaon Harav Fried, shlita, writes (Azamroh Lishmecho, page 73) that since the wax that coats the wick burns away in an instant, it is not considered as using wax to light the menorah, but rather as using olive oil. Although there are those who prepare the floating wicks before lighting by igniting them briefly to burn away the wax, one who chooses to do so should light it well before the time for lighting the menorah. For example, one should prepare it before plag hamincha, since after plag, b'dieved, one could already be yotze, so, if one were to light the menorah during that time, it may be considered as having already lit the menorah, and then it would be a problem to light later with a beracha.

Wishing you a Chanukah Sameach.

Mishnah Berurah, Seif Katan 6

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, Laws of Shabbos, Siman 264, Se'if 6

Azamroh Lishmecho, page 73