menorah

/meuh nawr"euh, -nohr"euh/, n.

1. a candelabrum having seven branches (as used in the Biblical tabernacle or the Temple in Jerusalem), or any number of branches (as used in modern synagogues).

2. a candelabrum having nine branches, for use on the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

[1885-90; < Heb manorah lit., lampstand]

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Multibranched candelabra used by Jews during the festival of Hanukkah.

It holds nine candles (or has nine receptacles for oil). Eight of the candles stand for the eight days of Hanukkah

one is lit the first day, two the second, and so on. The ninth candle, or shammash ("servant") light

usually set in the centre and raised above the others

is used to light the others. The menorah is an imitation of the seven-branched golden candelabra of the Tabernacle, which signified the seven days of creation. The menorah is also an ancient symbol of Jewish identity and the official symbol of the modern state of Israel.

Roman soldiers carrying the menorah from the Temple of Jerusalem, AD 70; detail of a relief on ...

Alinari/Art Resource, New York

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▪ candelabrum

also spelled  menora 

 multibranched candelabra, used in the religious rituals of Judaism, that has been an important symbol in both ancient and modern Israel. The seven-branched menorah was originally found in the wilderness sanctuary and then later in the Temple in Jerusalem and was a popular motif of religious art in antiquity. An eight-branched menorah modeled after the Temple menorah is used by Jews in rites during the eight-day festival of Hanukkah.

 The menorah is first mentioned in the biblical book of Exodus (25:31–40), according to which the design of the lamp was revealed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. The candlestick was to be forged out of a single piece of gold and was to have six branches, “three out of one side, and three out of the other” (Exodus 25:31). The cup atop the central shaft, which is somewhat elevated to signify the Sabbath, was flanked by three lights on each side. It was forged by the craftsman Bezalel and put in the Tabernacle, and its cups in the shape of flower blossoms suggested the tree of life. The Temple of Solomon, according to the book of Kings, had 10 golden candelabras, 5 on each side of the entrance to the inner sanctuary. The Second Temple (Jerusalem, Temple of), built after the Jews returned from exile in Babylon, contained one menorah that was seized in 169 BCE by Antiochus IV Epiphanes when he desecrated the Temple. Judas Maccabeus (Maccabeus, Judas) ordered construction of a new seven-branched candelabra, which he placed in the Temple after the desecration by Antiochus. The menorah disappeared after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE; according to Josephus (Josephus, Flavius), the menorah was displayed during the Roman triumphal march, but the menorah displayed on the Arch of Titus is no longer thought to be the Temple candelabra. Although the menorah disappeared and the Talmud (Talmud Torah) forbade its reconstruction, it became a popular symbol signifying Judaism. Representations of the menorah decorated tombs and the walls and floors of the synagogues. During the early modern period the menorah as symbol gave way to the Star of David (David, Star of), but in the 19th century it was adopted as the symbol of the Zionists. The seven-branched candelabra depicted on the Arch of Titus became the official emblem of the state of Israel in the 20th century.

      The Hanukkah lamp is an eight-branched imitation of the original Tabernacle menorah that is used to celebrate the rededication of the Second Temple. The lamp has taken many forms through the ages, but its essential feature has been eight receptacles for oil or candles and a holder for the shammash (“servant”) light, which is used for kindling the other lights. During each night of Hanukkah, candles are inserted into the menorah from right to left but are lighted from left to right. The lamp is displayed in a highly visible location, and depictions of it are often found on public buildings, synagogues, and private homes.

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