Menorah

A Menorah iscandelabrumseven candles thatdisplayedJewish synagogues. The original design formenorahinTorah,it was usedrituals intabernacle (portable sanctuary)laterHoly TempleJerusalem. Sincedestruction ofTempleJerusalem,has had no formal roleJewish prayer services or rituals. The presence ofmenorahsome synagoguespurely symbolic.

The one exceptionthis concernsJewish festivalChanukah,whichnine-branched version ofmenorahused; this nine branched menorahproperly calledChanukiah.

The Chanukkah menorah includes eight candles. Jewish folklore brings down thatreasononeeach dayOil miraculously burned when there was only enoughone day. The Talmud teaches that duringGreek rule inLandIsrael,Jews were not allowedcelebrate Sukkot,holidayeight days. Therefore, Chanukkah was deemed an eight day holiday fromoutsetordermake upthem missed holidaySukkot. Todaycandlesstill litorderremember. The ninth candle,"shammes" (in Yiddish) or "shamash" (in Hebrew), is"servant candle" thatusedlightothers.

The fate oforiginal Menorahobscure. A depictionstill available ontriumph-archTitus,it remainedRome until its sack byVandals455 A.D., butByzantine army under General Belisarius tookback in6th centurybrought itConstantinople. Here,trail ends. Itnot further mentionedany Byzantine chronicles,one can only speculate whetherremained there untilcity was sacked or brought backJerusalem.