May one insert the wick into the float on Yom Tov?

The issue is one of making a k’li - makeh b’patish. Do we say that the combination of the wick in the float is a new k’li and ossur or not?

The Magen Avraham writes [1] that one may not insert a thread into a needle to sew a chicken prior to roasting, lest one cuts the thread to size.

Why did he say that it is ossur on account of a g’zeira and not that one is making a k’li when making the shidduch (matchmaking) between the needle and the thread? The answer is that we do not view the needle and thread as a single entity rather as two separate items that when combined become one, but are still separate items and will forever remain so.

Do you have an example of the above?

Inserting feathers into a quilt for the first time is ossur [2] because together they form a single k’li. Likewise, one may not loop shoelaces into a shoe that were not threaded with those laces before Shabbos. [3]

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach wrote [4] that it is customary to insert the wick into the float on Yom Tov even though each item is ineffective without the other.

But how is this explained?

The explanation is that it is similar to the needle and thread. [5] The wick is not transformed by inserting it into the float, as the float merely prevents it from sinking into the oil. It is not that the float and wick combine to be a single entity.

May one remove the burned wick from the oil to replace with a new one?

The issue here is mainly muktze and perhaps repairing the oil holder.

One approach is that since one may handle muktze for ochel nefesh (food and its subsidiaries) one may handle the old wick and remove it to light a fresh one, as light is a subsidiary of ochel nefesh. [6]

Another approach is that since some opinions hold that one may light used wicks on Yom Tov they are not muktze. [7]

What about extracting melted wax from a candlestick?

Here the issue is muktze and makeh b’patish. Used wax is muktze, as it has no use; removing wax from a candlestick might be repairing a k’li, as it is useless when clogged with wax.

As for muktze, the same heter applies as per wicks, which may be handled for the sake of ochel nefesh. [8] With regards to repairing, the Chayei Adam writes [9] that it is permitted to remove, because we do not view a candlestick filled with wax as being broken. [10]

One may use a knife to remove the wax and once removed it may not be handled on account of muktze. Preferably boiling water should not be poured onto the wax on account of melting. [11]

May one melt the bottom of a candle to stick it into the candlestick?

The Magen Avraham [12] writes that it is ossur to heat the bottom of a candle lest one smooths the candle, which is ossur on Yom Tov as well.

One may not chisel the bottom of the candle to fit the candlestick on account of mechatech – cutting to size. [13] There is room however to permit inserting the candle with force into the candlestick, but preferably avoided, because one is after all shaping it to size. [14]

Is one permitted to 'flick' the black soot from an oil wick while burning?

The issur involved is ‘extinguishing’ because the black soot is partly lit and its removal extinguishes the little flame within. Even though light is a subsidiary of ochel nefesh, extinguishing is not permitted for light and is ossur to flick or remove. [15]

 

Q          Where should one light Yom Tov candles - in the house or the sukkah?

The main reason for Shabbos or Yom Tov candles is to benefit from light during the meal. It is of great importance to make sure that there is ample light in one’s home but it is of secondary importance to light during the meal. Accordingly one should light in one's sukkah where one eats the meal.

In Eretz Yisrael many people light Chanukkah candles outside in a weatherproof box, which is perfect for use in the sukkah. [16] If not possible to light in the sukkah one should light Yom Tov and Shabbos candles in one’s house adjacent to the sukkah (when attached to the house), otherwise just light in the house.

If one is afraid to leave the candles in the sukkah after the meal, they may be brought inside, because candles are not muktze on Yom Tov.