Brooklyn, NY – In light of the tragic fire that occurred last night in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, as was reported first here on VIN News, a new psak was issued today by Rabbi Yechezkel Roth regarding Chanukah licht.
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He ruled, that if someone is going to leave his home, he should do so after thirty minutes from candle lighting and extinguish the menorah after that.
This ruling was confirmed today by this author.
Officials: Brooklyn home didn’t have smoke detectors
It is bfeirush a Rambam.
why is a psak necessary? People should just use a little common sense.
he is the biggest rav in usa
he is such a tzadik
& learns kabala
yet he is so understanding & down to earth
Have been doing so for years without the Psak, It’s simple common sense besides the skuna involved by leaving candles unattended.
Anything in the psak if it should be lighted again when you come home? How about if you leave a babysitter (adult) do you still have to extinguish it (I do) ? If there is a psak let it be clear all the way.
Tzivia Itah B’ Chaya Sura for a full refuah shleima.
(I’m crying by just thinking of the physical pain and suffering this little one is now going thru.) HASHEM “PLEASE” HELP!!!!
How about Shabbos candles on Friday night?
Please also extinguish before going to sleep.
Any unattended flame is a sakanah.
Most menorah fires occur when people are in the house and sleeping.
Obviously this happens Friday nights as well but most often the meal outlasts the candles.
what does that help there were people home when the tragic fire happened
Finally a Rov with Pleitzesss coming out for what is right. Thank you Rabbi Roth and Thank you Rabbi Hoffman.
how about u shouldn’t put that much oil to begin with. why should it burn till 2-3 o’clock? this whould also be better for the environment.
Can’t do this on Shabbos.
Rabbi Miller ZT’L would recount the story about a child who was nebach killed because of unattended Chanuka licht, and would say it’s simple common sense NOT to leave children by the menorah by themselves.
(Disclaimer: I’m not passing judgment or blaming anyone for the tragedy that happened last night; just want people to know to be careful even when they’re IN the house.)
Once you leave your house, your not in a sakana anymore. Your just risking your belongings.
This family was nebach home when it was burning. That’s when we gotta take precautions.
Maybe we shld have another psak to install smoke detectors.
Hashem yishmor
1) One elderly babysitter in her 70s plus 5 little children = too much to handle; get a 2nd adult or responsible teen to supervise kids, and make sure all children have a ‘no go’ zone near candles and near the hot stove (any child going into that area should be punished quickly in an age-appropriate manner)
2) Burning candles or oil with wicks = danger, why not have them placed on large fireproof table, so if menorah falls, fire will not spread, must remove drapes from area, etc; use a sturdy table, such as the fiberglass tables used in the sukkah.
3) Adult should be in the room while any candle is burning;
4) Use just enough oil for candles to burn 30 to 40 minutes, especially if adults are leaving, in which case candles should be extinguished.
5) Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms should be present on every floor, and operative.
Unfortunately, ‘frum’ children are far and away the leading group involved in fire accidents–just ask any professional at the burn unit in Manhattan.
It is very important that every MAN who prepares the Shabbos lecht b4 shabbos should make sure it it well stuck into the holder , away from flamable areas,and children should NOT be able to reach them while the mother is resting on the couch and falling asleep….We can never be cautious enough ,we need hashem to look down on our kinderlech and watch them every mili second…besiros toyves.freilichen chanukah
How about extingishing the candles in an hour or not buying these huge glass holders even if you are home. Every year these class holders get bigger & bigger. Don’t forget this tragedy happened with an adult at home.
He is the Posek Hador.A major tzadik . He is the only of the biggest gedolai hatorah that combines ahavos yisroel with beauty of the heilige Torah Hakdosha.
hadlaka oisa mitzva, kavsa EIN Zakuk Lah
Ten years ago chanukah candles set a house on fire in my neighborhood and the entire house burned down. Fortunately nobody was injured.
There should be a law requiring parents with at least 1 child to install smoke and CO detectors. It is negligence on the behalf of any parent with any # of children to not install a simple smoke detector. My law would heavily fine adults who don’t have them.
I can see only 3 possibilities as to how a menorah was toppled:
1 the menorah was next to a window or a drafty hall that got knocked down
2 a child ran around playing near the menorah and knocked it down
3 there was some super rare occurrence where the menorah’s leg broke off on its own.
The only way to spot such a fire or to prevent it is to have the candles in constant sight until they burn out, and a smoke detector helps in alerting you faster.
Brooklyn home didn’t have smoke detectors
Time to check the batteries and install a few if one does not have one.
smoke detectors save lives
Smoke/CO detectors are not a luxury!!! They should not be an afterthought, they are a MUST!!!!
Yes. But one does not have to be a talmid chacham like yourself to know that any issur under halacha is contravened by pikuach nefesh which is unequivocably the most important imperative.
it would be a great thing to fire proof the curtains in the house so this whole thing wouldn’t of happened i did
my house in boro park and by my house in monsey and it was tested…. ill give you the person i did it by a himisha person very nice man 718 871 3772
HASHAM YAROCHAM, A tragedy had to happen for people to realize that with small children in the house you have to have a little more responsibility and cannot use your FRUMKEIT to be negligent. Be careful, do NOT put your MANORAH in a small passage, Do not leave your MNORAH burning if you are not next to it, even for one minute. After the time is up, LASH IT UP. It has nothing to do with leaving the house. The danger is more when you are in the house. This incident happened when the parents left a baby sitter with the children, but it could have happened with them home. BE CAREFULL. PIKUACH NAFASH DOCHA .
A very sad state wherein people have simply forgotten to think for themselves. Common sense has become all too rare nowadays. Please for the sake of your children and loved ones…take care and avoid risks. You dont have to look for trouble..trouble has a way of finding us all. Good Shabbos to all and may we have a blessed Chanukah.
To all those who are on their high horse putting down these people who didn’t have smoke detectors, I’d like to ask you if you ever took a fire safety course? I bet none of you did. I got news for you -most of you would not survive a fire ch’vs. It takes effort to know fire safety, most frum Jews don’t take the time to make this effort. Having smoke detectors is but a small part in fire safety.
How about a law (or common sense) that obligates candle lighting in a fireproof glass box only. (Business opportunity guys).
Our Torah does not allow us to rely sollely on ower human brain’s common sense, the Torah is the one who teaches us exactly what is common sense, the secular world they are the ones who rely on their own common sense (go look what their common sense looks like!), and that’s the main difference between us.
As far as the Menora, until this psak, not everybody would know that it’s Mutar, even if their common sense says they should extinguish it!!!
I don’t kow what happened to you people,
‘Where is your seichel???’
Why do people blame it all on a lack of common sense? Does anyone really think, that they were careless? Of course not! They had a babysitter at home. Presumably they were under the assumption that she was watching the menorah. If only people used some common sense…