The Menora The LightT hat Burns Since Sinai
resembles a medieval French
centuries by the lighting of candles
cathedral. Another from North-
or oil wicks for the eight-day per-
ern Italy is designed with the
When the State of Israel was re- iod from 25th of Kislev to the 2nd
crenellated towers of a castello.
born 20 years ago, n6 one had any I of Tevet. From the simple Roman
doubt what the emblem of the clay burners fashioned by the early From 19th Century Algeria, we
have
a hanukia in the style of a
young state would be. The menora,1 craftsmen were developed hanukiot
two-story Moorish palace, topped
the seven-branch candelabrum in myriad forms and media.
by a star and a crescent. Made
which was the oldest symobl of
What is believed to be the oldest
in Poland two hundred years ago
Judaism, became almost automa- representation of the menora—the
is a lamp whose temple looks
tically the national symbol of the seven-branch version—appears on
Jewish state, continuing a chain coins of the Hasmonean kings, like a rural synagogue, complete
with chimneys!
that traces back to the time of many of which can be seen in New
York's Jewish Museum. I One of the most extensive collec-
k lamps
tion of Hann
a amps th
n e world
From the very beginnings of the
The earliest actual menora which
Jewish faith, the menora, as the has come to light is one dating is to be found today at the Jewish
symbol of the holy light, has held from the 2nd Century, excavated Museum.
Here we find such rarities as a
an important role. It was in the from a synagogue site near Tibe-
wilderness that God commanded rias. This menora, which may well four-foot-high brass menora which
stood
in a synagogue in Poland
Moses to make a seven-branch be the oldest ritual object in exist-
candelabrum for the service of the ence, is now in the possession of nearly 300 years ago. Three lions !
support the heavy cast base, and ,
sanctuary.
the Israel Museum.
its arms are elaborately adorned
The Divine injunction (Exodus
More recently, fragments of a with bird-heads, leaves, flowers
25:31) reads:
beautiful stone menora were dis- and figure eights. The great con-
"And thou shalt mike a candle- covered in the ruins of an ancient struction is topped by a bird with
synagogue at Sardis in Aiia Minor. outstretched wings.
stick of pure gold; of beaten work
Beyond these rarities, we are faced
shall it be made, even its base
Another Hanuka lamp from 17th
chronological gap. in
by the
and its shaft; its cups, its knobs, Jewish art that is a consequence Centry Hamburg has the figure of
and its flowers shall be of one of the vicissitudes of Jewish exist- Judas Maccabee as a finial.
piece with it."
ence in the Diaspora. Relatively
Judith is a popular subject with
One Bezalel, the son of Uri, the few surviving menorot were made German craftsmen, and one 18th
Century silver menora from Frank-
son of Chur, was commissioned to before 1500.
carry out the assignment. The Tal-
Creations of artisans from the furt has not only a statue of the
mud gives us the dimensions of 16th Century and later have fared Jewish' heroine flourishing her
this menora. It stood, in our meas- better. Hanukiot exist from com- sword and triumphantly bearing
urements, about 72 inches high munities in every part-of the world, aloft the head of Holofernes, but
with a spread of 36 inches.
in a fascinating range of styles also features biblical scenes with
Jacob and Rebekka in red and
Its central shaft and six branches and shapes. Since the miracle took white enamelled medallions on the
were of the same height, so that place in Jerusalem, Jewish artisan-
base.
all seven lamps symbolize the per- craftsmen of both East and West
Menorot designed for the home
fect life. Another interpretation re- often took this geographical fact
as
the
point
of
departure
of
their
were naturally on a smaller scale
gards the menora as the symbol of
designs,
with
results
that
striking-
than
those intended for synagogue
the tree of life, and its branches
use. Household menorot were also
as representing the planets, the ; ly illustrate regional influences.
frequently
designed with a back
Thus we have from 14th Century
firmament. and the days of crea-
wall as a safety precaution.
France, a menora whose facade
tion.
By MIRIAM RABINOWICZ
(Copyright 1968, .TrA Inc.)
I
From the Sanctuary, the holy
ferred was subsequently trans-
to the Temple. No one
knows what happened to Moses'
menora, which disappeared without
trace. According to legend, it was
hidden by the priests before the
Babylonians destroyed the First
Temple and sent the Israelites into
exile.
Pillage, persecution, dispersion
—in the circumstances surrounding
the loss of the first menora, one of
the earliest-recorded works of
Jewish art, we have in microcosm
a history of the fate that overtook
countless ritual objects in the cen-
turies that followed.
Of the 10 great candelabras
that Hiram of Tyre wrought for
King Solomon, of the holy me-
nora that stood in Herod's Tem-
ple, no trace is left. Indeed, of
all the works of Jewish religious
art created in ancient and medie-
val times, a mere handful still
exists.
After the disaster of 70 CE, the
rabbis placed a ban on exact re-
productions of the Temple menora
—in particular proscribing its use
in synagogues. As a result, rela-
tively few examples of the seven-
branch candlestick are to be found,
although it is frequently represent-
ed as a decorative or symbolic
device. The rabbinic interdiction
thus brought into general use the
eight-branch candlestick, which had
become important during the Sec-
ond Jewish Commonwealth as a
reminder of the Maccabean victory
over the Syrians in 165 BCE. It is
this version, known as the Hanukia,
that is widely used today during
the festival of Hanuka.
The miracle of the Hanuka lights
has been re-enacted for over 21
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