JHE wishes all of our readers a very happy Hanukkah and holiday season!
Hanukkah — the Festival of Lights — lasts this year from Dec. 16 to Dec. 24.
During the festival Jews light a special nine-branched Hanukkah Menorah, or candelabra (sometimes called a Hanukkiah) or other arrangements of eight candles or oil lamps with a ninth “Shammash”, or flame used to light the others.
The Hanukkah Menorah, with its nine flames, is an often elaborate — sometimes fanciful — ritual object that comes in many shapes and sizes.
It is not all that common to find a Hanukkah-type menorah as a decorative feature of synagogues or other Jewish built heritage. The seven branched menorah (the symbol of Judaism), however — and other arrangements of carved or painted candles and candlesticks — are more frequently found.
Candles and candlesticks, in fact — particularly Sabbath candles — are a common iconographic feature on the gravestones of Jewish women. This is because lighting the Sabbath candles is one of the three so-called “women’s commandments” carried out by female Jews: these also include observing the laws of Niddah separating men from women during their menstrual periods, and that of Challah, or burning a piece of dough when making bread.
In parts of Eastern Europe, the depictions of candles on women’s gravestones can be very elaborate. See the web site about this, a project by JHE Coordinator Ruth Ellen Gruber
To celebrate the Festival of Lights, here are some images showing candles and candlesticks in synagogues and on Jewish gravestones.
Enjoy!
