Q. I will be traveling overseas on vacation G-d willing during Chanuka with my family and I have a few questions
In the hotel we will be eating our meals in the rooms or occasionally in an outside kosher restaurant, they don't allow lighting candles in the rooms and there are smoke alarms. Should we use an electric chanukiya? What about the brachos?
A. In regards to electric lights Beis Yitzchok (Y.D. 1: 120) opines that they could be used instead of Shabbos candles but not as Chanuka lights since they lack pirsumey nissah. Poskim offer other reasons why electric lights do not qualify. One being that there is no actual fuel present at the time of lightning; it is constantly being generated at the power stations (Pekudas Elozor O.H. 23, Shmiras Shabbos Kechilchoso 43 n.22, et. al.) Accordingly they would permit the use of a battery powered incandescent light bulb. However, some Poskim do not regard the tungsten filament as a wick (Maharshag 2: 107, Levushey Mordechai 3: 59). Most Poskim would not sanction the commonly used fluorescent and LED lights for Chanuka use.
Lehoros Nossan (11: 17) permits battery powered incandescent lights when in need and no other option is available, such as one hospitalized. Nitey Gavriel (Chanuk,a Teshuva 1) quotes Be'er Moshe's opinion, that one should light the incandescent light without a brocho.
Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit"a opinion is similar, however in this case it is better to light proper candles in the restaurant before the evening meal.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit"a
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