Stain Glass Menorah

Stain Glass Menorah

The Hanukkah Menorah (Hebrew: מנורה menorah) (also Hebrew: חַנֻכִּיָּה‎ Hanukiah, or Chanukkiyah, pl. hanukiyot, or Yiddish: חנוכּה לאמפּ khanike lomp, Lit: Chanukah lamp) is, strictly speaking, an eight-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah, as opposed to the seven-branched menorah used in the ancient Temple or as a symbol. The ninth holder, called the shamash ("helper or servant"), is for a candle used to light all other candles. It is among the most widely produced articles of Jewish ceremonial art.

Origins

Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple after the successful Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy. The Jews found only enough ritually pure olive oil to light the menorah for one day, but the supply miraculously lasted eight days until a new supply could be obtained. In celebration of this miracle, the chanukkiyah has eight branches for eight candles or oil lamps, none higher than any other, except for one higher branch for the auxiliary candle, or shamash, which guards against secular use of the other lights and is also used to light them.

The common reason for the number of the candles is that they symbolize the eight days of the miracle. Each night an additional light is kindled – one on the first night, two on the second night; and so on – until on the eighth night of Hanukkah all eight lights, plus the shamash, are lit. This is the teaching of the House of Hillel. The House of Shammai teaches to light eight candles the first night, seven the second night, six the third night, and so on all eight nights.

Another possible reason for the eight branches of the Chanukah menorah, as opposed to the seven in the traditional menorah in the temple, may be because according to halakha, it is forbidden to make a menorah similar to the one in the temple because of its sanctity.

Another interpretation for the eight-day ceremony is that it commemorates the story of Hannah and her seven sons. The story depicted in the Talmud and in the Book of Maccabees accounts how Hannah's seven sons were tortured and executed according to Antiochus' policy when they refused to bow to a statue and to taste pork. Hannah herself committed suicide after the death of her sons.