עברית
Holidays
Is There a Segulah in the Oil Left from Chanukah Candles?
Question
Hello esteemed Rabbi, I once heard in several shiurim that there is a great segulah in the oil left from Chanukah candles, especially for healing. Should the oil be applied to the body or not at all? Recently, my mother heard on a radio program that people say the leftover oil should be burned and then a salvation should be requested. What is correct? I have some oil left and want to do the right thing. I would appreciate your response.
Answer
Greetings, In the book Seghulot Rabbeinu (page 185), it cites from Tzohar Collection, Part 5 (page 559), in the name of Rabbi the Kotzker, of blessed memory, a segulah for healing the illness called "Shoshana": to take the oil that is left from the Chanukah candles and anoint the afflicted area. There is an allusion to this in a poetic manner from the piyut (liturgical poem) "U’minuter Kankanim Na’aseh Nes LaShoshanim" ("And from the remaining vessels, a miracle shall be made for the lilies"). Additionally, some say that anointing with leftover oil from the Chanukah candle is a segulah not only for other healings but also for infertility—to merit conception with a viable seed (see also there in the name of Rabbi M. Eliyahu, of blessed memory). However, it was added there that all this applies only to oil remaining after the prescribed lighting time (half an hour). But oil remaining from candles that extinguished within the time of their mitzvah should not be permitted for this purpose, since it is designated for the mitzvah, and so replied Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, shlita (may he live long). Blessings, Hillel Meirs
