Menorah

The menorah is a seven-branched candelabra often seen on Jewish tombstones, especially those of women. The menorah is one of the oldest symbols of Judaism. Instructions for making a menorah are given in chapter 25 of Exodus. On older grave markers you may see menorahs with less than seven branches.

The menorah on a Jewish tombstone.

Photo: from the tombstone of Sam L. Meyer (1877-1961) and Ida L. Meyer (1883-1962), Emanuel at Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado

This entry was posted on Monday, September 18th, 2006 at 11:17 pm and is filed under Jewish. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to Menorah

  1. Uri Ladell says:
    October 22, 2006 at 12:08 am

    The Menorah, one of the utensils in The Holy Temple, is a Jewish symbol, preceding the Star of David. Found in archaeological finds of ancient synagogues, it was a symbol of the Temple which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. Jewish Law prohibits building a Menorah similar to that of the Temple hence Menorahs of 6 or 8 branches.

    Reply
  2. John Minelly says:
    January 22, 2010 at 9:25 am

    Hi,
    I know of a menorah on a gravestone in a christian cemetery at Torphican in West Lothian scotland- I can send a photo.

    John

    Reply

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