"He made the lampstand (Menorah) of pure gold. He made the lampstand—its base and its shaft—of hammered work; its cups, calyxes, and petals were of one piece with it." (Exodus 37:17) The Menorah has long been the preeminent symbol of the Jewish people. It stands outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. It was transformed into the Hannukiyah, the candelabra used on Hannukah to represent the small amount of oil that sparked a Jewish revival. In almost every synagogue in the world there is a depiction of the Menorah. All for the sake of making one statement and that is where there are Jews there is greater light in the world. When the Romans sought to destroy the Temple and exile the Jewish people, they carried away the Menorah (as depicted in the Arch of Titus - see below) as if to suggest the Jewish people could be snuffed out. That was not meant to be. Our task was and will always be to bring greater light to the world. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, your job is to bring greater light to the world.
Please join me this Thursday night on Zoom to hear about “Israel in Real Time: Reflections on my recent trip to Israel” Topic: Israel in Real Time Time: Mar 7, 2024 10:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting Click here for the link.
Greenburgh Hebrew Center rabbistein@ghcny.org 515 Broadway Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522 914-693-4260 office@ghcny.org www.ghcny.org
