
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


A menorah is a candelabra with seven or nine lights that is used in Jewish worship.
// At sundown on the first night of Hanukkah, Elliott's father helped him light the first candle on the menorah.
See the entry >
"Rich with history and laced with just a bit of latke grease, Hanukkah is a time for Jews to gather with family and friends and retell a fabled story of resistance. While certain symbols of the holiday like the menorah (a decorative candelabra) and the dreidel (a four-sided spinning top) may be more easily recognizable in popular culture, there is plenty more to learn about Hanukkah and why it is celebrated." — Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 7 Dec. 2023
In English, menorah was originally the name for the seven-branched candelabra used in Jewish worship. The nine-branched Hanukkah candelabra is called hanukkiah in Hebrew, but English speakers came to use menorah for this too. The Hanukkah menorah recalls expulsion by Judah Maccabee of invading forces from the Temple of Jerusalem. Maccabee and his followers sought oil for the temple’s menorah so that the sanctuary could be rededicated, but they found only enough oil for a single day. Miraculously, that tiny amount of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply could be obtained. The Hanukkah menorah includes a candle for each day the oil burned, plus the shammes, a "servant candle" that is used to light the others.
By Merriam-Webster4.5
12381,238 ratings
A menorah is a candelabra with seven or nine lights that is used in Jewish worship.
// At sundown on the first night of Hanukkah, Elliott's father helped him light the first candle on the menorah.
See the entry >
"Rich with history and laced with just a bit of latke grease, Hanukkah is a time for Jews to gather with family and friends and retell a fabled story of resistance. While certain symbols of the holiday like the menorah (a decorative candelabra) and the dreidel (a four-sided spinning top) may be more easily recognizable in popular culture, there is plenty more to learn about Hanukkah and why it is celebrated." — Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 7 Dec. 2023
In English, menorah was originally the name for the seven-branched candelabra used in Jewish worship. The nine-branched Hanukkah candelabra is called hanukkiah in Hebrew, but English speakers came to use menorah for this too. The Hanukkah menorah recalls expulsion by Judah Maccabee of invading forces from the Temple of Jerusalem. Maccabee and his followers sought oil for the temple’s menorah so that the sanctuary could be rededicated, but they found only enough oil for a single day. Miraculously, that tiny amount of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply could be obtained. The Hanukkah menorah includes a candle for each day the oil burned, plus the shammes, a "servant candle" that is used to light the others.

11,183 Listeners

2,834 Listeners

1,065 Listeners

849 Listeners

420 Listeners

1,379 Listeners

2,301 Listeners

412 Listeners

474 Listeners

151 Listeners

566 Listeners

4,379 Listeners

12 Listeners

813 Listeners

154 Listeners