The Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah, is one of the religious objects most commonly found in the Jewish home. The tradition of building up to lighting eight oil lamps (plus one shamash, or servitor) over the Hanukkah period began in the 2nd century CE, with the lamp becoming formalized in metal or clay in the Middle Ages.
The hanukkiah, the nine-branched candelabrum, likely got its start among German Jews and pays tribute to the seven-branched menorah that was always kept lit in the Temple in Jerusalem.
In addition to what is believed to be an accurate representation of the seven-branched Temple menorah on the Arch of Titus in Rome, the depicton also appears in countless medieval manuscripts.
Many of these illuminated texts can be found at the National Library of Israel. Among them is a 1738 holiday prayer book from Bavaria, with Ashkenazi style Hebrew lettering, which has French and German Gothic overtones. The manuscript originally belonged to a Jewish girl, noted as “beautiful maiden Reizle, daughter of the late... Itzik Binga.” The page includes a blessing over the miracle of Hannukah and an illustration of lighting the menorah.
Another example is a painted and illuminated gold and silver seven-branch menorah found in a circa 1300 Sephardi Tanach [comprising Torah (Pentateuch), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings)].
The surrounding text reads: “And this is the Torah which Moses set before the Children of Israel. Remember the Torah of Moses.”
Prof. Andreas Lernhertz, an outstanding young German scholar who researches the oaths of Jews in the late Middle Ages, studied in Israel for four years before returning to his homeland when offered a position at his former university there. Lernhertz provided two references to medieval images where the menorah has the nine branches, as required for Hanukkah. One is a 1470 manuscript housed at the Israel Museum that shows a figure lighting a nine-branched menorah. The other, published in Italy in 1379 and kept at the British Library in London, is an illuminated depiction of a nine-branched Hanukkah candelabrum.
In his book The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel, Prof. Steve Fine discusses examples of the seven-branched menorah, referring to one found in a Mishneh Torah from 1470, housed at the National Library in Jerusalem. The chapter “Bet HaBechirah,” on the laws of the Temple and its utensils, contains a copy of a drawing by the author of the book, Moses Maimonides, aka the Rambam, of a menorah with straight branches as he describes in his commentary on the Mishna. The illustration includes micrographic text annotations for each part of the menorah.
Maimonides, nevertheless, was not completely certain that his drawing was correct. Fine wrote that “while the bulbs for the lights were egg-shaped, he [Maimonides] is drawing them schematically to make it easier to draw.” Fine believes that labeling the various parts of the menorah indicates Maimonides’ insecurity in drawing a menorah previously unseen.
Abraham, the son of Maimonides, wrote the following about his father’s innovation: “The six branches extend from the central shaft of the menorah to its height in a straight line as depicted by my father of blessed memory and not rounded as depicted by others.”
“In the beginning of the modern period,” Fine writes, “Jews began, once again, to furnish their synagogues with large menorot... However, in deference to the Talmudic tradition, these menorahs were constructed as Hanukkah lamps with eight branches and a ninth servitor lamp.” He points out: “The servitor lamp (number nine) was usually set off from the others – thus distinguishing the synagogue lamp further.”
Thus the menorah from medieval manuscripts was given new life.
Documenting Alsatian and Algerian Jews
The National Library has wonderful prints and drawings of hanukkiot, providing a sense of how the holiday was celebrated in years gone by. One particular favorite is a postcard titled: “Fête du Hanouka,” part of a series depicting scenes of Jewish life in the region of Alsace by French-Jewish artist Alphonse Lévy (1843-1918). These illustrations were first published in the book La Vie Juive.
The picture depicts a family celebrating Hanukkah at home. The caption indicates that the father is helping his son recite the blessings as his wife watches closely, smiling broadly.
Although Levy’s work was derided by the Parisian Jewish community, it was recognized by art critics. He exhibited at the Paris Salon and won an award for lithography at the Exposition Universelle of 1900.
After moving part time to Algiers, Levy painted Jewish communal life there. Today, his work is recognized for its value in documenting Alsatian and Algerian Jews performing various rituals and customs.
‘Bamahane’: The IDF magazine
The National Library of Israel’s Historical Jewish Press Collection (Jpress) digitizes Israeli and Jewish press from communities all over the world. One of the publications it preserves is Bamahane, the weekly magazine published by the IDF, which began publishing even before the State of Israel was established. In 2016, it became an exclusively online publication.
Bamahane was outstanding in its stories (both fact and fiction), art of all types, creative advertisements, and use of graphics. Its photographs have become classics over the years.
For its 1949 Hanukkah issue, Bamahane used color for the first time, creating a beautiful cover page illustration of a mosaic filled with the instruments used in the Temple, including a seven-branched menorah.
On the back page of the magazine, also in color, a map marking the victories of the Maccabees during the Hasmonean period and their dates was printed.
To browse Bamahane and many other historical Jewish press titles, visit the Jpress website: www.nli.org.il/en/newspapers/