Safed Candles

Safed Candles, located in the Old City of Safed, was begun almost two decades ago by a Tzfat resident, a member of the Breslav Hassidic sect, who was looking to start a small business that would provide employment for some local residents. He set up his shop in a small cubby-hole on the edge of the Old City. There, a small staff of men and women hand-dipped and wove candles from beeswax into candles to be used for Jewish ceremonial purposes - for welcoming the Sabbath, for Havdalah (the Sabbath-close ceremony), Hannukah candles and others. The little shop expanded through the years, first adding brightly colored and decorated paraffin candles to its inventory and then adding beeswax sculptures depicting biblical scenes, Jewish caricatures, and religious ceremonies, demonstrating that Judaica can be created from anything.....even wax. During the summer of 2008, the Candle Factory was renovated, and new rooms were discovered underneath the existing store - rooms which had been covered over through successive earthquakes in Tzfat, and remained under the ground. This discovery came fortuitously, as in October 2008, a massive fire destroyed the candle shop, burning the structure and the entire inventory within a few hours. Within a few weeks, the staff had regrouped and reopened the shop in the small rooms which had previously been unknown. The owners of Safed Candles emphasize utilizing environmentally-friendly materials in the manufacture of their candles, and are justifiably proud of their product.