Is it forbidden to do “work” after Shabbat candle lighting time?
In most communities, candle lighting time is eighteen minutes before sunset. Although work is not forbidden until sunset, at which time Shabbat officially enters, it is established custom not to delay the candle lighting until the last possible moment, for fear that something may crop up at the last minute, or that one may then light too late, and thus, G‑d forbid, desecrate the Shabbat. Although Shabbat enters at sunset, one has the prerogative of accepting the Shabbat up to one and a quarter “seasonal hours” (see Hours for the definition of this term) before sunset. After a person ushers in the holiness of Shabbat, although it is still “weekday” for all others in the vicinity, that person is precluded from doing any activity that is forbidden on Shabbat. So the question now is: does lighting Shabbat candles constitute acceptance of Shabbat for the individual who has kindled? Is a person who lit Shabbat candles automatically forbidden from doing work, although it is before sunset? The
