Winter Lights for Eight Holy Nights

In many town greens across the country stands a Christmas trees. More and more often that tree is accompanied by a large Menorah, the most recognizable symbol of the Jewish holiday Chanukah. These Menorahs, whether in the town square or in the window of a home, hold the flames that are lit over the eight-day holiday, known commonly as the Festivals of Lights. The Menorah looks like the roots from which those lights grow, just as the roots of the holiday springs from the Menorah itself.

Chanukah was born out of a miracle that surrounded a Menorah centuries ago. Ancient Jewish temples housed a seven-branched candelabrum and still do today, yet the eight candle Menorah is used specifically for Chanukah. Every night, the temple’s Kohanium, a member of the holy men who later lost popularity and status to rabbis, would light the candelabrum. Then every morning he would clean it, replacing the wicks and refilling the cups with fresh olive oil. (The Kohanium’s title gives us the term “Kohein,” which is the root of the common Jewish surname, Cohen.)

These candelabrums were constructed in accordance with the exacting guidelines given in Exodus 25:31-40. The passage calls for “a candlestick of pure gold,” made “of beaten work.” It requires that the base, shaft, cups, knops, and flowers all be made of one piece with three branches protruding from either side. The text delves into specific, but imaginative details, describing the look of each branch, calling for “three cups made like almond-flowers in one branch, a knop and a flower.” Lamps like these still stand in today’s synagogues where they are known by the name ner tamid, which is literally translated as “continuous lamp.”

Though they have endured until today, their presence in temples was once threatened along with the rest of the Jewish religion. Although Alexander the Great practiced a rule of tolerance towards Judaism and of moderate Jewish autonomy when he conquered Syria, Egypt, his successor, Antiochus IV was not so benevolent. His rise to power in 175 B.C.E. was marked by oppression and massacres of the Jews, as well defilement of the Jewish religion. A revolt against Hellenistic rule was lead by two groups; the Pharisees lead by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee, and the religious traditional group, Sadducees (no relation to the modern movement), the forerunners of the Pharisees. The revolution, which also revolted against the assimilation of Hellenistic Jews, was victorious and the temple was rededicated.

Chanukah is a commemoration of that victory, but because Jewish law does not glorify military victory, the holiday is more a celebration of the miracle that followed the rededication. According to the Talmud, when the Jews retook the Temple, which had been largely damaged in the siege, they found that only enough oil remained undefiled by the Hellenistic rulers to light the lamp for one night. Yet, the oil lasted for eight. This prompted the declaration of an eight-day festival, the Festival of Lights.

Since the declaration of the holiday, the menorah has changed. While the temple lamp had seven branches, the holiday menorah has nine. Candles are usually used now instead of the antiquated oil. Also, few household menorahs are made of pure gold. In fact, they currently come in all materials, sizes, and styles. They can be brass, silver, crystal, ceramic, pewter, or even stained glass. Traditional menorahs bare rounded branches that slope upwards. More modern ones have angular branches that shoot off the stem at a 45 degree angle. Large modern ones like these have been displayed everywhere from the snows of Anchorage, Alaska to the American-captured Saddam’s palace, and even at the edge of Niagara Falls.

This public display of menorahs is part of the mitzvah, or good deed, of Chanukah that urges the publicizing of the miracle of the oil. For this reason, placing the menorah in a doorway, opposite the mezuzah, or window is preferable. While the use of oil over candles is also preferred, both count towards a mitzvah. Using an electric menorah, however, does not count, but is acceptable as decoration.

Whatever the style, menorahs are lit in the same way. Candles are added, one each night, from right to left (as Hebrew is read). They are lit from left to right (to honor the newer ones first) with the shamus or servant candle, given this name because of its functionality. After the blessings are recited, the candles must burn for at least half an hour. Candles are lit after sundown as a reminder of the light that persists even in the darkest hour.

–Renée R. Donlon