Why
'Candle lighting time' is a phrase that is familiar with starting Shabbat. We light candles so that we have light in the home on Shabbat.
When
Shabbat, of course, can only occur on Shabbat. You could not bring in Shabbat on a Tuesday, for instance. Therefore, there is an earliest time that Shabbat can begin on Friday. That time is called 'Plag HaMincha'. It changes each week just like the Shabbat time changes each week since the Jewish legal clock runs according to the hours of daylight for these purposes. The latest time for lighting Shabbat candles is the published time that Shabbat starts, other than in the summer as will be explained below.
Accordingly, the time that appears during the summer as 'earliest time for candle lighting' on the shul website or in the Shmaltz newsletter is the time of Plag Hamincha, the earliest time that Shabbat can start and the earliest time that Shabbat candles can be lit.
Shabbat, of course, can only occur on Shabbat. You could not bring in Shabbat on a Tuesday, for instance. Therefore, there is an earliest time that Shabbat can begin on Friday. That time is called 'Plag HaMincha'. It changes each week just like the Shabbat time changes each week since the Jewish legal clock runs according to the hours of daylight for these purposes. The latest time for lighting Shabbat candles is the published time that Shabbat starts, other than in the summer as will be explained below.
Accordingly, the time that appears during the summer as 'earliest time for candle lighting' on the shul website or in the Shmaltz newsletter is the time of Plag Hamincha, the earliest time that Shabbat can start and the earliest time that Shabbat candles can be lit.
Summer Living
In the summer, many communities have the custom of bringing in Shabbat early, i.e. after Plag Hamincha, so the earliest time is most relevant at this time of the year. To avoid confusion and promote unity, individual members of a community must follow the community's lead and bring in Shabbat early.
Accordingly, the time listed on the shul website or in the Shmaltz newsletter as the 'latest time for candle lighting' is the time that community brings in Shabbat. This is the time that Shabbat starts in the South Hampstead community. The statute book source for this is in the Shulchan Aruch , section Orach Chayim , 263:12.
What happens when Friday services start before Plag Hamincha and you want to go to Shul?
1. If you are the only occupant of your house and are eating at home on Friday night then you should not light candles before going to Shul. Instead, leave lights on before you leave home and when you come back from Shul, these lights will fulfil your obligation to have light in the home on Shabbat. Use of a timeswitch is recommended.
2. If you are the only occupant of your house and eating elsewhere on Friday night then your obligation to have light on Shabbat is 'covered' by the candles of the home where you will eat although leave lights on in your own home for Shabbat if you wish, as in section 1 above.
3. If you are going to shul but somebody else will is staying in the home then the person staying at home (whether they are a man or a woman) should light Shabbat candles after Plag Hamincha but before the latest time for candle lighting published in the Shmaltz or on the shul website.
On holiday...
If you are in a different community for Shabbat, you should follow the custom of that community when you are there.
If you are in the middle of nowhere for Shabbat in a place with no Jewish community, use this site to find out when Shabbat comes in.
It worked for Llandovery when I was there for Shabbat last summer. It's one thing a Tom Tom does not do yet!
Shabbat Shalom
