menorah

menorah, 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 located in the wilderness sanctuary (Tabernacle) and then later in the Temple of Jerusalem. Aside from its religious significance, it was also a popular motif of religious art in Jewish antiquity. A nine-branched menorah called a ḥanukkiyah, modeled after the Temple menorah, is used by Jews during the eight-day festival of Hanukkah.

History and symbolism

The menorah is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the 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 was somewhat elevated to signify the Sabbath and was flanked by three lights on each side. It was forged by the craftsman Bezalel and put in the Tabernacle. Its cups in the shape of flower blossoms suggested the tree of life. Exodus 27:20 adds that candelabra should be lit using olive oil and should burn perpetually. The Temple of Solomon (the first Temple), according to I Kings, had 10 golden candelabras, 5 on each side of the entrance to the inner sanctuary.

The Second Temple, 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 ordered construction of a new seven-branched candelabra, which he placed in the Temple after the desecration by Antiochus. According to an account of the origin of Hanukkah related in the Babylonian Talmud, when the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple in 164 bce on Kislev 25, they found only one day’s worth of pure oil, but the oil miraculously burned for eight days until more could be obtained.

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The menorah disappeared after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 ce; according to Josephus, the menorah was displayed during the Roman triumphal march. A depiction of a menorah appears prominently on the Arch of Titus, which illustrates Titus’s victory in the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 ce and shows soldiers carrying away treasures looted from the Temple.

Although the Temple’s menorah disappeared and the Talmud forbade its reconstruction, it became a popular symbol signifying Judaism. Representations of the menorah decorated tombs and the walls and floors of the synagogues in the Jewish Diaspora. During the early modern period the menorah as symbol gave way to the Star of David, 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.

Hanukkah menorah

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The Hanukkah lamp, or ḥanukkiyah, is a nine-branched version of the original Temple menorah that is used to celebrate the rededication of the Second Temple by the Maccabees. The lamp has taken many forms through the ages, but its essential feature has been eight receptacles, all at the same height, for holding oil or candles. It also includes an elevated or set-aside holder for the shammash (“servant”) light, which is used for kindling the other lights in the nightly Hanukkah ritual.

During each night of Hanukkah, candles are inserted into the menorah from right to left, an additional candle on each day of the festival, but are kindled from left to right accompanied by prayers. Hanukkah candles are lit after sundown, except on the Sabbath; because of the prohibition on lighting a fire during the Sabbath, they are lit before the Friday-evening Sabbath candles. The Hanukkah menorah with candles aflame is displayed in a highly visible location, often in public spaces or in the windows of homes, in order to publicize the miracle of the oil lasting eight days.

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