Should Single Girls Light Shabbat Candles?

Should unmarried girls light shabbas Candles?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

In some families young girls light Shabbat candles and in others they don’t. One should follow one’s family custom in this matter.

It is interesting to note, however, that the custom for unmarried girls to light Shabbat candles actually finds its origin in the Torah itself. We are told that Sara Imeinu’s Shabbat candles would miraculously burn from one Shabbat until the next, being re-lit each week on Friday afternoon in honor of the upcoming Shabbat. We are told that the same miracle occurred with Rivka Imeinu. The verse leading to the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivka says, "And he took Rivka into the tent of his mother Sara…and she became his wife." It is explained that Rivka lit Shabbat candles “in the tent” even before “she became his wife,” hence, a possible source for the custom for unmarried girls to light Shabbat candles.

It seems that in pre-war Europe many single girls lit Shabbat candles. It is suggested that the custom ceased because it was difficult and costly to get candles during and, even between, the two World Wars. With this, the custom was lost, and unfortunately, not “reignited” in the New World. Since, nowadays, candles are readily available and inexpensive, mothers and fathers might want to consider having their unmarried daughters light their own Shabbat candles if that was their family custom.

In families where even unmarried girls light Shabbat candles, most start lighting at the age of three. In other families, girls light even before they are three, and there are those who begin at the age of twelve.

Bottom Line: Follow your family's custom.

See Aruch Hashulach, OC 263:7