Chapter 1 · Or LeArba'ah Asar

The Candle and No Other Light

Lesson 6 of 68 26 min

The baraita limits the search to a candle.

Lesson goals

01Read the list of excluded lights.
02Find the permitted light.
03Read one of the reasons in the Gemara and attach it to its speaker.

Source and decoding

Pesachim 7b

אין בודקין לא לאור החמה, ולא לאור הלבנה, ולא לאור האבוקה, אלא לאור הנר

One does not search by sunlight, nor by moonlight, nor by a torch, but only by candlelight.

The baraita limits the search to a candle. Later the sugya (ח ע״א (8a)) offers reasons: Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak says a candle can enter holes and crevices, Rav Zevid says its light is before the searcher, and Rav Papa and Ravina add distinctions. Without deciding among the reasons here, the baraita clearly names a defined light source and not just any light.

Building the reasoning

1Read the list of excluded lights.
2Find the permitted light.
3Read one of the reasons in the Gemara and attach it to its speaker.

Practice

Compare a candle with a torch according to Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak, attributing the reason to its speaker.

Lesson wrap-up

According to Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak a candle can enter holes and crevices and a torch cannot. A practical halachic conclusion requires further study of the poskim.

Check your understanding

Test yourself before marking the lesson complete.

Question 1 of 1

By which light does the baraita permit searching?

Original explanations and translations: Bonei Atalmud. Excerpts were checked against the site’s Gemara text. Explanations and exercises have not undergone rabbinic review and are not halakhic rulings.

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