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I know that as long as channukah candles are lit and the candle goes out by itself, you already did the mitzvah. I also know that you should have the channukah candles lit for at least 30 minutes. What I'm wondering about is what happens if you're going to be leaving the house, and you decide to blow out the candles before you leave, to prevent the unlikely (but still real) possibility of a candle falling and starting a fire in your house. Are you allowed to do so? If you do so, should you relight the candles again when you get home?

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You are leaving before or after the 30 minutes? – Naftali Dec 27 '11 at 19:06
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Don't blow out the fire, rather wave it out (Nahalat Avot). – Hacham Gabriel Dec 27 '11 at 19:31
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Aside from the question of whether you should go out before the time elapses, or whether you should have lighted them: if you must go out, do not leave them burning. The home of one of my community members burned to the ground a few years ago from a menorah. Aside from losing one's home, house fires are a risk to the neighbors as well. – yitznewton Dec 27 '11 at 20:48
@H'Gabriel ha, you were mechaven to my question: judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/12702/… – yitznewton Dec 27 '11 at 20:49
@Naftali, leaving after the 30 minutes are up – Barry Hammer Dec 28 '11 at 7:34

1 Answer

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Orach Chaim 672:2 says that after 1/2 hour you may extinguish the fire.

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