Weekly Story: Lighting Shabbos Candles In A Hospital

Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon 

This past Motzei Shabbos , the 17th  of Adar was the yahrzeit of HaRav Zalman Shimon Dworkin, who for over twenty years was the Rov of Crown Heights and he was niftar in 5785 (1985).

A year or two prior to his final illness he was hospitalized for something else and Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky asked me to stay with the Rov for the Shabbos. 

I will now post some of my recollections of that Shabbos. Although this column is not made to pasken halachos, obviously this one will be an exception as I will relate the halachos he taught me then. 

As always your feedback is most welcome and appreciated.

Shortly before sunset, Reb Zalman Shimon said to me, now is the time to bentch licht for Shabbos.

I asked him if he wants me to obtain regular wax candles (which I figured will burn for at least an hour before the nurse will realize what I did).

The Rov replied to me, No. I will bentch licht in the same fashion I have instructed women who were blessed with a child and are in the hospital. I tell them to make the brocha over the lights that are by the headboard of their beds, and those are the candles that I am going to make the brocha on as well. “If it is the Halacha for them, it is the same Halacha for me!”

The Rov then instructed me to pull the string and turn it on and turn it off. He then told me a second time to turn it on and off. He then said now you should turn it on for Shabbos, and he made the brocha with saying Hashem’s name.

[Rabbonim with whom I had shared this asked me why he had instructed me to turn it on and off two times and not just once and I replied I can’t answer that with certainty, but I believe it was to show that the third time he is turning it on just for or in honor of the Shabbos.

Additionally, I was asked by the Rabbonim what kind of bulbs were there? I replied that to the best of my knowledge they were fluorescent bulbs, but I don’t think it makes a difference, and some of them replied it may.]

Some hours later he told me to instruct the nurse to turn off the light (to pull the string).

I asked him if I should say it straight out or if I should say it in a roundabout manner.

The Rov was upset with this question and replied Don’t you know the Halacha that anyone who is in a hospital has the status of an ill person who is in danger (choleh she’yesh bo sakanah), and when a person is in danger, the Halacha is you don’t allude or hint to a non-Jew what to do, but you say to them what has to be done. [See Shulchan Aruch chapter—- , law number—]

I went to the nurse station and said as he had instructed me; “The Rabbi would like to go to sleep, can you please turn off the light of his headboard.”

May we all need the hospitals only for good things such as giving birth.

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their chassidim. He can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com

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This was the second time he gave me such an answer.

Before that I was learning shechita, and I was in the slaughter house almost every day. Being that my parents were close to him, I decided to make him the following offer,

While he gave a hechsher only on glatt kosher animals, there are varying opinions as to what is deemed glatt. Especially then when the animals were shechted in New Jersey, there were only a very few that had no lesions on their lungs. However, most shochtim feel that if there are one or two small lesions and they are easily removed it can be considered glatt.

So I asked him if he wants I will find an animal that is truly glatt, with no lesions whatsoever and I will make sure that it goes to the butcher store he buys from, and everything will be perfect.

Hearing my offer, he was not happy with me and replied, If I give a hechsher and state it is glatt kosher, it is glatt kosher for me as well. Since when is there two shulchan aruchs?!