Siman 610

We say in Shabbat (119a): What is that which is written, "and to the holy of Hashem…"? This is Yom Kippur, which has neither eating nor drinking; the Torah said, "honor it with clean garments." That is to say: for previously it is written, "and you shall call the Shabbat a delight, to the holy of Hashem honored," and if it should enter your mind that it refers only to Shabbat—it should have preceded "holy of Hashem…" to the other matters. Rather, certainly they are two things, that is to say: on Shabbat, which you are able to delight—you shall call "delight" through eating and drinking. And "to the holy of Hashem…" and this is Yom Kippur, which has only the holiness of Hashem and not physical delight—you shall see to honor it with other things that you are able. And therefore, you shall honor it with clean garments. And we wear clean clothes on Yom Kippur.

This is what our teacher, the Rema, wrote in section 4: There are those who wrote that it is the custom to wear clean white garments on Yom Kippur, resembling the ministering angels. And so it is the custom to wear the kittel, which is white and clean. It is also a garment of the dead, and through this, a person's heart is broken and humbled. Thus far his words. That is to say: the primary reason is because it is white and clean, and it is a garment of honor. And there is an additional reason: since it is the custom to bury the dead in it, consequently when wearing it—one will remember the day of death, and it will be effective for repentance. (See Tatz subsection 3 who maintained that these are two separate reasons, and in my humble opinion it appears as I have written.) Therefore, a mourner shall not wear a kittel, for one should not adorn oneself during his days of mourning. And women shall not wear the kittel, but nevertheless they have the custom to wear white garments. And know that even one who wears sackcloth for the sake of repentance—it is forbidden to wear it on Yom Kippur (Magen Avraham subsection 5). Our teacher, the Rema, further wrote that there are those who say that one should set the tables on Yom Kippur as on Shabbat; thus far his words. That is to say: even though there is no eating on Yom Kippur, nevertheless this too is included in the category of honoring the day. Therefore, one should also set the beds. And so too in the house there should be cleanliness as on Shabbat and Yom Tov.

And since we have seen that the Torah was meticulous regarding honoring the holy day with whatever we are able, and it is written, "In the lights, honor Hashem..." (Isaiah 24), and the Targum explains: "with lamps," meaning: with the lights of lamps, and such is the custom to honor a king with great lights – therefore all of Israel have the custom to increase candles in honor of this holy day, both in synagogues and in one's home in all the rooms. And they kindle in synagogues and in study halls, and in dark alleyways, and for the sick, so that the light will be abundant and found in every place, even though walking there is not so common on Yom Kippur.

However, regarding the room where a man and his wife sleep, regarding this we learned in Pesachim (53a): In a place where they were accustomed to light—one lights, and in a place where they were not accustomed to light—one does not light. That is to say: there are places where they were accustomed not to light there, so that he should not see her. For if he sees her—we fear for a mishap. And there are places where, on the contrary, for this reason they light, because it is forbidden to have marital relations by the light of a candle. And regarding this it is said: "And your people are all righteous"—for whether they said to light, or whether they said not to light, they intended for one purpose.

And some say not to recite a blessing over the lighting of the candle on Yom Kippur, for on Shabbat the primary blessing is on account of the meal. And some say that we do recite a blessing, for the primary purpose of the candle is for the sake of shalom bayit. And our custom is to recite the blessing "Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the candle of Yom Kippur." And if it falls on Shabbat—it is obvious that one is obligated to light, and we recite the blessing "to light the candle of Shabbat and of Yom Kippur." And the women recite the blessing "Shehecheyanu" as on every festival. And regarding the room where a man and his wife sleep, which we wrote is dependent on custom, if he has a candle in the house—he is obligated to light in the room where he lies there, even in a place where they are accustomed not to light, for since he sees her by the candle that is in his house—if so, there is a concern that he will come to engage in relations, since he has no reminder in his room. Therefore, it is good in any event to make a reminder. And it appears to me that this is when he sees her in his room by means of the candle that is in the house.

And it is customary that for every man, whether great or small, they make a candle as a good sign. And now they only make a candle for a married man, and for a man and not for a woman. And they also make a soul-candle for his father and for his mother who have died, or for one of them who died, and so it is proper, and so wrote some of the authorities. And this is a rectification for the soul, for the soul is called a "candle," as it is written: "The candle of Hashem is the soul of man." And also the dead require atonement, as it is brought in the Sifrei. And know that there are those who, if an incident occurred where their candle was extinguished on Yom Kippur, they become saddened and hold it as a bad sign. And in truth, this is nothing. However, one who is concerned about this—it is better that he mix his candle among the other candles, and he will not know which is his candle. And it is not fitting for a holy people to follow after divination, and "You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your G-d."

And if these candles were extinguished—it is forbidden to tell a non-Jew to return and light them, for telling a non-Jew is a shevut on Yom Kippur just as it is on Shabbat. And even for the purpose of reciting the Machzor, and it is better not to recite a piyut than to recite it by means of telling a non-Jew. However, nowadays, due to the abundance of candles, so that it should not lead to a mishap, Heaven forbid—they station a non-Jew from the eve of Yom Kippur, and he comes at all times and adjusts them on his own, and he acts for his own benefit. And it is forbidden to tell him to gather the wax. And the custom is that one whose candle was extinguished on Yom Kippur should relight it on the night following Yom Kippur, and he should not extinguish it again, but rather leave it to burn until the end. And he should also take upon himself that every night following Yom Kippur he shall not extinguish his candle, neither he nor another. And so it is found in the books of customs, and it is a segulah matter. And it appears that the concern is only regarding the candle made for the living. And they are accustomed to make thick wicks for the Yom Kippur candles, in order to increase their light. And our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote in section 3 that they are accustomed to spread beautiful garments in the synagogue, see there. And we have not known of this custom, and we only hang a white parokhet for Yom Kippur.