CANDLE POWER LIGHTING THE HANUKKAH MENORAH IN SPIRITUALITY AND STYLE.Byline: Vicki Smith Paluch Correspondent Ruth Failer collects Hanukkah menorahs, the nine-branch candelabras that are used in the celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights that begins Friday at sundown. She likes the feel of them and the weight of them, whether they are brass or pewter or silver plated. She likes to light four of her menorahs on the last night of the eight-day holiday, warming her San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. home with candlelight and her faith. ``There is something wonderful about lighting candles,'' she said as she recently shopped in the gift shop of the Pasadena Jewish Temple Jewish temple:
``I bought a baseball menorah menorah Multibranched candelabra used by Jews during the festival of Hanukkah. It holds nine candles (or has nine receptacles for oil). Eight of the candles stand for the eight days of Hanukkah—one is lit the first day, two the second, and so on. for my friend's eldest son for his bar mitzvah Bar Mitzvah (bärmĭts`və) [Aramaic,=son of the Commandment], Jewish ceremony in which the young male is initiated into the religious community, according to tradition at the age of 13 years and a day. ,'' she said. ``He was into sports, not Judaism. He loved it.'' In addition to being popular Hanukkah and bar mitzvah presents, menorahs are very popular wedding gifts, second only to Sedar plates, said Jon Feldman, a spokesman for the Jewish Museum There are a number museums called the Jewish Museum including:
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . ``When I got married, we received three,'' he said. ``It's a gift that fits into Jewish life.'' The Skirball Cultural Center  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . in Los Angeles and the Jewish Museum in New York have on display historic Hanukkah lamps from around the world. The Jewish Museum has an exhibition called ``Fantasy & Form in the Hanukkah Lamps,'' which displays the wide range of subject matter, design motifs and artistic freedom artisans have used in their menorahs. At the Skirball in Los Angeles, the Hanukkah lamps are part of the center's main exhibition, ``Vision and Values: Jewish Life From Antiquity to America.'' ``Rabbinical rab·bin·i·cal also rab·bin·ic adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of rabbis. [From obsolete rabbin, rabbi, from French, from Old French rabain, probably from Aramaic requirements have posed only a few restrictions on the form of the Hanukkah lamp and none whatsoever on the manner of its decoration,'' said Susan Braunstein, curator of the Jewish Museum in New York. The key requirement is that the lamp must have eight oil containers or candleholders on the same level. It can include a ninth light, the servitor (or ``shamas'' in Hebrew) that is used to light the others. ``The rabbis required that 'no one light should shine above the others,' '' said Adele Lander Burke, museum director at the Skirball. The lamps, Braunstein said, take two basic forms. The bench type consists of a row of oil or candle holders, usually set on or above a horizontal surface and frequently incorporating a back plate and legs. The menorah type consists of eight branches reaching upward from a central stem, which becomes the shamas. Because rabbinical restrictions are few, craftspeople crafts·people pl.n. People who practice a craft; artisans. have had great artistic freedom, often producing fantastical designs and shapes, said Braunstein. Decorative themes over the centuries have included those of architecture, heroes and heroines, plants and animals Plants and Animals are a Canadian indie-rock band from Montreal, comprised of guitarist-vocalists Warren Spicer and Nic Basque, and drummer-vocalist Matthew Woodley.[1] They are signed to Secret City Records. . But today, the sky is the limit. ``They reflect Jewish involvement in the arts of many cultures,'' Burke said. For children, you can find menorahs in the shape of Noah's ark, or with the children of the world carrying the candleholder can·dle·hold·er n. A candlestick. , or representing sports, shoes, motorcycles, sailboats, cats, dogs, monkeys or giraffes. ``Very often each child in a family has a menorah of his own to light at Hanukkah,'' said Marlene Segal, the gift shop manager at the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center. The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles has one of the finest collections of new and unique menorahs as well as replicas of ancient menorahs. Once you have admired them, stop into the gift shop, Audrey's Museum Store, and check out its selection. ``A lot of young artists who have been frustrated by the traditional hanukkiyah (the Hebrew term for Hanukkah lamp) have reinterpreted the traditional candelabra-like hanukkiyah and have made it very sculptural,'' said Pam Balton, acting director of Audrey's Museum Store at the Skirball. A young Los Angeles architect, Dan Freund, has created 500 limited editions of his four designs for the Skirball. Made out of stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. and hammered brass, his menorahs are pieces of art, ranging in price from $350 to $500. Los Angeles artist Rick Oginz has created Hanukkah lamps in aluminum in a minimalist, clean design that sell for $250 at Audrey's Museum Store. Patrons can also find menorahs from the Jewish Museum Shops. The Jewish Museum Shops have hanukkiyahs that are remarkable pieces of art, such as those taking the shape of Matisse-inspired dancers in the colorful Dancers of Light Menorah ($375), an Americana fused-glass menorah in the shape of the flag ($225) and a modern sculpted-glass menorah that blends pastel colors and subtle textures ($750). No need to go to Manhattan: visit the Jewish Museum Shops online at www.jewishmuseum.org. You need not spend a fortune on a menorah. You can find contemporary menorahs in metal, glass or acrylic at your nearby Bed Bath and Beyond and a wide assortment of Hanukkah lamps in the gift shops of local synagogues. The Jewish Museum Shops are selling a large number of menorahs made of fused glass and crystal this year, such as the Americana Menorah ($225), Hills of Jerusalem ($225), Flexus ($120) and Glass Blocks ($45), according to Feldman. Growing in popularity this year are artistic menorahs, such as the Jewish Museum Shops TJM TJM Tyumen, Russia - Tyumen (Airport Code) TJM Translation Jean Media Hearts ($89-$95), TJM Moroccan ($85) and Amy Hess' Tree of Life ($175). There are other Web sites that feature collectible menorahs. For JewishBazaar.com, artist Shepsil Scheinberg created a hand-painted resin New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. memorial menorah ($60) that includes the Statue of Liberty Statue of Liberty great symbolic structure in New York harbor. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : America Statue of Liberty perhaps the most famous monument to independence. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 284] See : Freedom , the Chrysler Building and the United Nations building (no World Trade Center). The same artist also has a Lower East Side menorah ($80) and a Fiddler on the Roof menorah ($80). At Hatikva Online (www.hatikva.com) you can find a sleek modern menorah made from pewter ($40), a Klezmer klezmer (klĕz`mər), form of instrumental folk music developed in the Eastern European Jewish community. The style had its beginnings in the Middle Ages; its name is a Yiddishized version of the Hebrew klei zemir menorah ($90) and a traditional lion menorah ($40). You also can find a wide assortment of traditional brass menorahs at www.theshofarman.com. With Hanukkah coming on the heels of Thanksgiving this year, Jewish college students may not be home to celebrate the entire holiday with their families. Segal recommended a palm-size traveling menorah that is made of pewter ($60). When the menorah is not in use, the pewter case can be closed and put away. ``It makes a wonderful Hanukkah gift for a college student,'' she said. From Thanksgiving to thanksgiving Hanukkah is early this year. Jews will have to finish up their holiday shopping by sundown on Nov. 29, which happens to be the day after Thanksgiving. In a way, Hanukkah is the Jewish time of thanksgiving. Hanukkah, which means dedication, commemorates the miraculous events and heroic deeds that occurred in ancient Israel during a desperate war for Jewish religious and political freedom, said Adele Lander Burke, museum director at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. A turning point in the war against the Greek king who had forced the Jews to convert was when Judea Maccabee and a small band of Jewish soldiers defeated the Greeks and regained the central Temple. For rededication Noun 1. rededication - a new dedication; "the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem" dedication - a ceremony in which something (as a building) is dedicated to some goal or purpose of the temple, they could find only one small container of sanctified sanc·ti·fy tr.v. sanc·ti·fied, sanc·ti·fy·ing, sanc·ti·fies 1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate. 2. To make holy; purify. 3. oil with which to rekindle re·kin·dle tr.v. re·kin·dled, re·kin·dling, re·kin·dles 1. To relight (a fire). 2. To revive or renew: rekindled an old interest in the sciences. the new menorah to illuminate the sanctuary night and day. That small container had only enough to burn for one day, but miraculously the oil lasted for eight days. So, Jews around the world light Hanukkah menorahs and Hanukkah oil lamps to celebrate the Festival of Lights, kindling kindling (kinˑ·dling), n change in brain function wherein repeated chemical or electrical stimuli induce seizures. kindling 1. parturition in the doe rabbit. one light on the first night, adding an additional light each night for eight nights. - Vicki Smith Paluch CAPTION(S): 6 photos, box Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) Festival of Light Menorah, $375. (2 -- color) Hanukkah Lamp by Marsha Plafkin, polished aluminum, $210, available at the Skirball Cultural Center gift shop. (3 -- color) NOMI Travel Menorah. (4 -- color) American fused glass menorah, $225. (5 -- color) House Menorah opens the door to a glowing holiday, $275. (6 -- color) College Menorah, $295, is a space-saver for dorm room or travel. Photo courtesy of the Jewish Museum Box: From Thanksgiving to thanksgiving (see text) |
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