The time for lighting Shabbat candles is before sunset, never during bein hashmashot (twilight, when lighting is already forbidden). The most common custom, matching the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat, is to light 18 minutes before local sunset.
The exact minutes vary by city and community: follow your community calendar and ask your Rav.
You light the candles before the entry of Shabbat, while it is still day — not during בין השמשות (twilight), when lighting is already forbidden. The Torah even asks us to anticipate a little: this is the mitzvah of תוספת שבת. The most widespread custom is to light 18 minutes before sunset; times change by place and community. For your exact time — follow your community calendar and ask your Rav.
"Quick, it's time to light!" Every Friday the same question returns: at exactly which minute should you light the candles? Too early — is it valid? Too late — is it already Shabbat? The Shulchan Aruch devotes a whole siman to this timing — Siman 261 — which codifies the precise moment of the entry of Shabbat.
Why is there a "deadline" for lighting?
Because the entry of Shabbat is not a clean instant: it is a transition zone. The first seif of the siman describes this zone, twilight, and what one may and may not do in it:
סְפֵק חֲשֵׁכָה וְהִיא בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת — אֵין מְעַשְּׂרִים אֶת הַוַּדַּאי, וְאֵין מַטְבִּילִין אֶת הַכֵּלִים, וְאֵין מַדְלִיקִין אֶת הַנֵּרוֹת, וְאֵין מְעָרְבִין עֵרוּבֵי תְּחוּמִין.
"The doubt of nightfall, that is בין השמשות: one no longer separates the certain tithe, one no longer immerses vessels, one no longer lights the candles, and one no longer makes the eruv of boundaries."
The Mechaber (Rabbi Yosef Karo) thus classes lighting among the acts one no longer does once twilight has begun. Hence the stakes: you must light before this threshold.
The 3 key notions of the moment of lighting
1. Bein hashmashot — twilight, a doubt
Literally "between the two suns": twilight. It is a time of doubt (ספק חשיכה) — perhaps still day, perhaps already night. The siman estimates its duration at three-quarters of a mil. Since it may already be Shabbat, one no longer lights then.
2. Tosefet Shabbat — anticipating the entry
Seif 2 teaches that one must add mundane time to sacred time: entering Shabbat a little before sunset. One may take much time or little — "וּבִלְבַד שֶׁיּוֹסִיף אֵיזֶה זְמַן שֶׁיִּהְיֶה וַדַּאי יוֹם" — provided one adds a moment that is clearly still day.
3. The acceptance of Shabbat — Barchu and Mizmor
Seif 4 clarifies that after answering בָּרְכוּ (at the evening service), even if it is still day, one has already accepted Shabbat upon oneself. The siman adds that, for us, reciting "מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת" in kabbalat Shabbat is equivalent to this acceptance.
Seif 2 also mentions, in the gloss of the Rema, that one may anticipate the acceptance of Shabbat from פלג המנחה (plag haminchah) — "מִפְּלַג הַמִּנְחָה וְאֵילָךְ — הָרְשׁוּת בְּיָדוֹ."
How did people know the time before calendars?
Seif 3 gives natural markers for someone who does not know the precise duration: lighting "while the sun is at the treetops"; on a cloudy day, when "the roosters settle on the perch"; and in a field without roosters, when "the ravens settle." The cross-cutting lesson: never wait for the last minute.
And in practice: 18 minutes, 22, 40?
| Marker | What the source says / frames |
|---|---|
| Seif 1 | During בין השמשות: one no longer lights (it may already be Shabbat) |
| Seif 2 | Mitzvah of תוספת שבת: add a clearly daytime moment before the entry |
| 18 minutes | Widespread custom in most communities (before sunset) |
| Local variants | By place and custom the anticipation differs; in Jerusalem the custom is wider (40 min) |
| פלג המנחה (Rema) | Anticipation limit: one may accept Shabbat from this moment |
This article presents what the source says for the purpose of study. The lighting time depends on your place, your community and your minhag. For the exact time where you live, follow your community calendar and ask your Rav.
Frequently asked questions
What time should you light Shabbat candles?
Before the entry of Shabbat, while it is still day, and not during twilight when lighting is already forbidden (Siman 261). The widespread custom is 18 minutes before sunset. For your local time, follow your community calendar and your Rav.
What is בין השמשות?
Twilight, "between the two suns": a period of doubt (perhaps already Shabbat). The siman forbids lighting then and estimates its duration at three-quarters of a mil.
What is תוספת שבת?
The mitzvah of adding mundane time to sacred time by anticipating the entry of Shabbat. One must add at least a clearly daytime moment; the Rema permits accepting Shabbat from פלג המנחה.
Study Siman 261 in depth
Four levels, from beginner to talmid chacham — Hebrew text, translation, pilpul and the shitah of the Admur HaZaken.