Jom tov / ávuká, hávdálá

2. The optimum manner of fulfilling the mitzvah is to recite the blessing over a torch. There is one who says that if one does not have a torch, one must light a candle (set aside) for the purpose of Havdalah, separate from the specific candle which lights the house. RAMA: A candle which has two wicks is called a torch. (Agudah)

After discussing the opinion of the students of Rav, the Gemara returns to the story of Rav Ya’akov bar Abba’s visit to Rava. When the time came to recite havdala, Rava’s attendant got up and lit a torch from a candle. Rav Ya’akov bar Abba said to him: Why do you need all this? The candle was present, and you could have recited the blessing over the light of the candle itself. Rava said to him: The attendant did this on his own accord, without consulting me. Rav Ya’akov bar Abba said to him: If he had not heard it from the Master he would not have done it on his own; he must have been following your opinion on this matter. Rava said to him: Does the Master not maintain that using a torch for havdala is the optimal manner in which to fulfill the mitzva? It is for this reason that the attendant lit a torch for havdala.

After raising the issue of the proper order of the blessings for kiddush on a Festival that occurs right after Shabbat, the Gemara addresses the matter itself. With regard to a Festival that occurs after Shabbat, Rav said that the proper order of the blessings follows the acronym yod, kuf, nun, heh: Wine [yayin], kiddush, candle [ner], and havdala; and Shmuel said the proper order is yod, nun, heh, kuf: Wine [yayin], candle [ner], havdala, and kiddush.

With regard to the previously cited dispute, the Gemara asks: What is the practical difference between them? Since the beginning and end of a blessing generally address the same topic, what is the difference between these two opinions? The Gemara responds: The practical difference between them is in the case of a Festival that occurs after Shabbat, as one concludes this havdala with the phrase: Who separates between sacred and sacred.

Tilting a lamp to draw the oil away from the wick is considered extinguishing and is forbidden. Similarly it is forbidden to take a wick from a burning lamp even to place it in another lamp, since the moment one removes it one extinguishes it. Rema: It is permitted to add wicks to a burning lamp so that it burns strongly and goes out quickly. [Ran, ch. Ein Tzadin]

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