Musings of a Dinosaur

A Family Doctor in solo private practice; I may be going the way of the dinosaur, but I'm not dead yet.

Monday, December 03, 2007

My Menorahs

About ten years ago I began collecting Hanukkah menorahs.

A word to the technical: the Hebrew "menorah" just means candle holder. Many menorot (plural) are seven-branched candelabras, representing the days of the week. The special nine-branched menorah used for the holiday of Hanukkah is technically known as a Hanukiah.

Hanukiot are certainly available in a wide variety of candelabra-type designs, but also in an infinite variety of non-traditional forms and materials. Many are magnificent works of art. Once my family became aware of my hobby, they began giving me menorahs as gifts, which made me easy to buy for and helped my collection grow.

One day not long ago, Darling Spouse and I were walking through the mall when both of us caught sight of one of, if not *the* most magnificent hanukiah either of us had ever seen. We decided we couldn't resist it, and so it is not only this year's addition to the collection, but all my Hanukkah presents for the year. (Probably my birthday too, just on the basis of price.)

Of course the first thing I wanted to do was post a picture of it on my blog to share with all of you. But then I realized what I really ought to do was save it for the last night of Hanukkah. For anyone who doesn't know, Hanukkah lasts for eight days and begins tomorrow night. (Jewish holidays always begin at sundown the night before.) Then I had another idea.

On each of the eight nights of Hanukkah this year, I shall post a picture of one of the menorahs from my collection. (I have over two dozen.) Some are cute; some are whimsical; some are cool; all are gorgeous, in my humble opinion, of course. The culmination -- the eighth night -- will be this year's fantastic work of art. So please come back and check them out; I'm looking forward to having you spend Hanukkah with me.

15 Comments:

At Mon Dec 03, 08:50:00 AM, Blogger Sara said...

Eeeeeeeee I can't wait!

 
At Mon Dec 03, 11:25:00 AM, Blogger Cindy said...

What a fun idea, I'll be checking in to see the collection unveiled.

 
At Mon Dec 03, 12:28:00 PM, Blogger rlbates said...

I hope we get the story behind each one, too.

 
At Mon Dec 03, 01:38:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fantastic.

 
At Mon Dec 03, 01:58:00 PM, Blogger Elaine said...

I may be a protestant, but I am very open to allowing others to follow their own beliefs. That sounds pretentious; I think I mean I am happy to share in others' religious beliefs and to learn from them

 
At Mon Dec 03, 03:03:00 PM, Blogger egomosperficio said...

awesome idea, i love it!

happy whatever-holiday-you-celebrate to everyone,

egomosperficio

 
At Mon Dec 03, 08:00:00 PM, Blogger Sid Schwab said...

It's amazing that menorahs present themselves in such a broad artistic spectrum. We have three. The one we use was my grandmother's, which makes it the most beautiful, and, perhaps, traditional. I keep seeing ones I'd like to have, but resist. So I look forward to seeing yours.

 
At Mon Dec 03, 08:06:00 PM, Blogger Detail Muse said...

Terrific idea! Yes, please tell a teeny something about each one?

 
At Mon Dec 03, 08:51:00 PM, Blogger #1 Dinosaur said...

Of course there will be associated commentary. I think you'll all be surprised that not a single one bears the slightest resemblance to a "traditional" menorah, though I have at least 8 more that are "candelabra-form" in shape. I think I have enough to do this for at least 3 years without ever repeating one, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Also: Only a couple of these menorahs have actually ever had candles lit in them. In general, it's kind of a pain to get the wax off them.

 
At Mon Dec 03, 11:19:00 PM, Blogger Ladyk73 said...

Oh....this is wonderful....I love pretty things

 
At Mon Dec 03, 11:40:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great idea. I'll be following with interest.

 
At Mon Dec 03, 11:50:00 PM, Blogger Linda said...

Next time you're in Boston, check out Joan and Ed's Deli on Route 9 in Natick -- they have a small Judaica store with a fascinating collection of menorahs!

 
At Tue Dec 04, 02:51:00 AM, Blogger jmb said...

What a wonderful idea Dino. I look forward to it.

 
At Tue Dec 04, 07:45:00 AM, Blogger CrankyProf said...

Have you been down to ""American Pie," on South Street? They have some of the most beautiful Judaica I've seen.

 
At Wed Dec 05, 10:15:00 AM, Blogger tk said...

Very cool--can't wait to see them all! (I collect eggs . . . not sure what happened to all of them since my divorce though *sigh*)

 

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