Arukh HaShulchan, Orach Chaim 296:10-16

Sugya Map: The Havdalah Candle’s Mitzvah

• Issue: Is the ner of Havdalah a birkat hanehenin (benefit) or a birkat hamitzvah (reverence/signpost)?
• Nafka Mina: Can one fulfill the obligation with a candle lit for another purpose? Can a blind person recite the bracha?
• Primary Sources: Pesachim 53b-54a, Berakhot 51b, Shulchan Aruch OC 298.

Text Snapshot

Arukh HaShulchan, OC 296:10: "וזהו מנהג פשוט בכל ישראל... שאין מברכין על האש אלא במוצאי שבת." Nuance: The Arukh HaShulchan uses minhag pashut to bridge the gemara’s ambiguity regarding the ner—moving from a functional necessity (light for the meal) to a zichron ma’aseh bereishit.

Readings

• Rambam (Hilchot Shabbat 29:2): Views the bracha as a zichron of the creation of fire. It is an independent takkanat chachamim unmoored from the meal.
• Ritva (Berakhot 52b): Emphasizes hana’ah (benefit). If there is no benefit (e.g., a blind person), the bracha is questionable. The Arukh HaShulchan’s insistence on minhag effectively democratizes the bracha beyond pure utilitarian benefit.

Friction

• Kushya: If the ner is zichron ma’aseh bereishit, why do we require hana’ah (the ability to see the light/fingers)?
• Terutz: The hana’ah is not the matir (the permitted act), but the siman (the signifier) that the fire is "active" in the human sphere, transitioning from the potentiality of Bereishit to the utility of the new week.

Intertext

• SA, OC 298:1: "אין מברכין על הנר עד שיאותו לאורו."
• Responsa Igrot Moshe (OC 4:103): Discusses whether a flashlight (LED) suffices; implies that the nature of the fire is secondary to the act of utilizing light to distinguish the kodesh from the chol.

Psak/Practice

The Arukh HaShulchan cements the minhag as the definitive rubric. Practically: Do not seek hiddur in the candle type; seek hiddur in the kavanah of the transition. The bracha is not about the flame; it is about the "re-entry" into the workaday world.

Takeaway

The Havdalah candle is the boundary marker of the week; we don't bless the light, we bless the capacity to illuminate the darkness of the mundane.