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The original design for the
seven-candle menorah is in the
Torah. The menorah originally
burned olive oil, not candles.
The menorah was used in
rituals in the tabernacle
(portable sanctuary) and later
the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Since the destruction of the
Temple, the menorah has had no
formal role in Jewish prayer
services or rituals. The
presence of a menorah in some
synagogues is purely symbolic.
Some synagogues today use a
lamp-stand called the "ner
tamid" to symbolize the
menorah.
The nine-candle menorah is
used to celebrate the Jewish
festival of Hanukkah. Hanukkah
originally celebrated the Maccabees' defeat of the
superior Syrian army. However,
post-biblical Jewish tradition
as recorded in the
Talmud
describes that when the Maccabees were rededicating
the Temple, they only found
enough oil to light the
menorah for one day. A miracle
occurred and the oil lasted
for eight days. To celebrate
Hanukkah, one candle is lit on
the first night, two candles
are lit on the second night,
and so on. The ninth candle,
the "shammes" (in Yiddish) or
"shamash" (in Hebrew), is a
"helper candle" that is used
to light the others, and to
provide light, since tradition
holds that one could not use
the Hanukkah lights to
illuminate one's home.
 The
fate of the original Menorah
is obscure. A depiction is
still available on the Arch of
Titus that still stands today
in Rome.
It remained in Rome until its
sack by the Vandals in 455
A.D., but the Byzantine army
under General Belisarius took
it back in the 6th century and
brought it to Constantinople.
Here, the trail ends. It is
not further mentioned in any
Byzantine chronicles, and one
can only speculate whether it
remained there until the city
was sacked or was brought back
to Jerusalem.
Dates that Chanukah falls on
in the Gregorian calendar
Chanukah begins on the evening
prior to these dates.
December 8, 2004
December 26, 2005
December 16, 2006
December 5, 2007 |
