Illustration of menorah
: a candelabra with seven or nine lights that is used in Jewish worship
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The Menorah and Hanukkah
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.
Examples of menorah in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Don’t miss the upstairs museum, which displays priceless menorahs, prayer books, shofars and other historic artifacts, with windows that overlook the grave markers in the courtyard, a remnant of the old Budapest ghetto, where more than 2,000 victims of fascism were buried.
—
Evan Rail, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
Knick-knacks from menorahs to playbills of Josephine Baker are jammed in every corner.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 21 Feb. 2025
The Chabad-Lubavitch movement published an obituary focusing on the fact that Carter was the first president to publicly light a Hanukkah menorah in 1979, five years into the movement’s push for public displays.
—Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2025
The menorah in my parents’ living room and the nightly lighting and gift-giving were enjoyable, but the celebrations of the eternal light had ended in mid-December.
—airmail.news, 21 Dec. 2024
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Evan Rail, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
Knick-knacks from menorahs to playbills of Josephine Baker are jammed in every corner.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 21 Feb. 2025
The Chabad-Lubavitch movement published an obituary focusing on the fact that Carter was the first president to publicly light a Hanukkah menorah in 1979, five years into the movement’s push for public displays.
—Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2025
The menorah in my parents’ living room and the nightly lighting and gift-giving were enjoyable, but the celebrations of the eternal light had ended in mid-December.
—airmail.news, 21 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for menorah
Cite this Entry
“Menorah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/menorah. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
menorah
noun
me·no·rah
mə-ˈnȯr-ə 
: a holder for candles used in Jewish worship
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